Carmel does not have an opportunity to win a state championship this year, but the Prep Bowl playoffs have given the Corsairs a shot at redemption.
More Top Picks Best Native American Flutes
No. 6 Carmel, which lost to Mt. Carmel last weekend in the Class 6A state quarterfinals, defeated St. Rita 40-7 in the Catholic Metro championship game Saturday and will play the winner of Sunday’s Dunbar-Morgan Park game in the Prep Bowl on Friday at Hanson Stadium.
Quarterback Mark Venegoni (12-for-18, 218 yards) led the Corsairs (12-1) by throwing three touchdown passes and running for a 1-yard score. Venegoni also led Carmel with 55 yards rushing on eight carries.
Carmel led 14-0 before St. Rita (8-5) opened the second half with a 63-yard drive on seven plays, capped by Paul Standring’s 1-yard run with 9:16 left in the third quarter. The Corsairs responded by driving 87 yards in 11 plays. Venegoni passed 15 yards to Mike Serio to restore the 14-point cushion.
Girls basketball
Nadia Bibbs, who said she loves airplanes so much that she’s going to major in aeronautical engineering at Boston University, could have used one this weekend.
She and her Hillcrest teammates are traveling from Country Club Hills to Deerfield for the Warriors’ 12-team girls basketball tournament.
That meant a Friday night game, back home at 11 p.m. and up Saturday for the trek up to the northern suburbs again.
“It’s very long,” Bibbs said of the trip that preceded Hillcrest’s 68-43 victory over Highland Park. “I slept OK, probably about seven hours. But it’s still a long drive.”
Bibbs led the No. 17 Hawks (2-0) with 18 points and Nikita Odom added 14 as Hillcrest faces three more trips in the upcoming week to play Lake Forest, Round Lake and Glenbrook North in pool play.
Highland Park (0-2) was led by Juanita Russell’s 13 points.
There are no other ranked teams in the tournament, but Loyola’s young Ramblers improved to 3-0 with a 50-27 victory over Nazareth. Freshman Brittany McCoy and Maggie Duggan each had 16 for Loyola.
Alan Sutton.
Bison Classic: No. 7 Trinity opened a 26-0 lead, then cruised to a 75-36 win over Maine South in the annual Bison Classic, played in Buffalo Grove. The Hawks (0-3) didn’t break the ice until 5:57 of the second quarter, the first time in Mike Deines’ 25-year coaching run that his team has been held scoreless for an entire quarter.
“There weren’t very many positives, and that’s an understatement,” Deines said.
The Blazers (2-1) had three double-digit scorers, led by Caprice Smith’s 16 and Ciara Johnson’s 15. Ashley Owens had 11. The host Bison (1-1), meanwhile, used 20 points from Jennifer Guth and 16 from Ashley Sandstead to defeat Libertyville (1-2) 61-46. Eighth-ranked Buffalo Grove led 19-4 after the first quarter, then 38-19 at halftime.
No. 16 New Trier (2-0) defeated Barrington (0-2) 62-55 behind 17 points from Deidre Naughton and 16 from Katherine Wegert, while Amy Peters’ 26 points led Warren (1-1) past Lake Park (1-2) 63-51.
Hinsdale South tournament: Brittanie Taylor-James notched 14 points for No. 3 Neuqua Valley (2-0) to defeat Plainfield South (0-3) 68-28. . . . Kristen Wilk dropped in 15 points to lead No. 20 Hinsdale Central (1-1) past Larkin (0-2) 47-23.
Benet/East Aurora/Naperville Central tournament: At Benet, No. 6 Regina (2-1) used an 11-point effort from Lauren Schober to cruise past East Aurora (0-3) 73-28. . . . Chandra Smith and Kaitlyn McInerny scored 14 and 10 points, respectively, for Benet (2-0) to trounce Batavia 62-19. . . . At Naperville Central, Tiffany Hudson scored 13 points and dished out four assists for No. 5 Naperville Central (2-0) to move past Glenbard West (1-2) 57-39. . . . Kelly Sikora led No. 11 Sandburg (2-0) with 24 points and rebounds over Elgin (0-2) 59-44.
Waubonsie Valley/West Aurora tournament: No. 14 Niles North (1-0) beat Waubonsie Valley 58-41 behind 17 points, nine rebounds and four blocks from Natasha Williams.
More Top Picks Jbl Flip 4