List of 9 news stories.

• St. Francis shakes off uncertainty, wallops Clark

  For St. Francis, Saturday's 45-0 Class 4A first-round football playoff victory over Clark was more fun than a bye week ever could be.

   

  Clark (5-4), a member of the Chicago Public League, saw its playoff hopes jeopardized by a teachers' strike that ended just in time for the Eagles to play the game. They only got the minimum three days of practice, however, and it showed.

   

  Clark fumbled seven times, losing two. Twice St. Francis gang-tackled quarterback Trevon Sanders in the end zone for safeties.

   

  "We haven't had contact in two weeks, so it hurt a lot," Clark coach Kevin Simmons said, adding his team also missed a few players due to injury and other reasons. "I mean, (the Spartans) are a good team, very disciplined. ...

   

  "It is just a bad mix all together. And then us having two days practice off of being off a week and a half doesn't help when you play a team like this."

   

  Even St. Francis felt the effects of the uncertainty.

   

  "We prepared like we were going to play a game," St. Francis coach Bob McMillen said. "It got to be a distraction. It was tough. I understand it was tough for the city schools, but it's tough for us. Do we go a full practice? Do we take it easy so we can give them a rest? It was kinda one of those.

   

  "It's a tough decision for the IHSA, but I'm glad those boys got to play. I'm glad Clark was able to come out and play."

   

  Leading 2-0 after one quarter, St. Francis kicked its offense into gear in the second quarter. The Spartans led 38-0 at halftime, coming just a missed 2-point conversion pass from having a running clock for the entire second half.

   

  "Today was a slow start, but we always come through," Spartans senior offensive lineman Kevin O'Connell said.

   

  Quarterback Michael Baffa, starting in place of the injured Tommy Rittenhouse, ran for a touchdown and threw for two more to receiver Ryan French before leaving the game late in the second quarter.

   

  Running back Ben Radel added a 7-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.

   

  "We started off slow, and there are things we've got to work on," McMillen said. "We looked confused blocking early in the game, but we were able to clean it up. I thought Michael and (backup quarterback Jackson Gerard) both came in and did a nice job for us. Ben Radel again was a workhorse for us in the backfield. And then you can't say enough about our defense. Our defense was flying around making plays."

   

  Junior Calvin Piemonte's 2-yard touchdown run with 5:32 to play in the third quarter gave the Spartans a 45-point lead and a running clock the rest of the game.

   

  The St. Francis offense marked its ninth game scoring 40 points or more. The St. Francis defense recorded its fifth shutout of the season.

   

  The fourth-seeded Spartans (9-1) will host No. 5 Genoa-Kingston (9-1) next week in the second round.

   

  "It means a ton," O'Connell said. "We're really excited and we're excited to play the next opponent."
  
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  https://football.dailyherald.com/sports/20191102/st-francis-shakes-off-uncertainty-wallops-clark  

   

   

   

• St. Francis finishes unbeaten in MSC Blue

  St. Francis senior Ryan French found a different way to the end zone Friday.
  
  

  Filling in for senior Michael Baffa on special teams for the first time, French returned the opening kickoff against Aurora Central Catholic 83 yards for a touchdown.
  
  

  "Once I passed that last guy and I took off, it was awesome," French said. "It's been a goal of mine to have a special teams touchdown. That was really fun."
  
  

  The Spartans also scored a TD the first time the offense touched the ball, and they posted a 45-0 victory at Wheaton College to secure an outright Metro Suburban Blue championship.
  
  

  St. Francis (8-1, 6-0) returns to the playoffs with plenty of momentum but a bit of adversity, personnel-wise. Last year's 8-3 team reached the Class 5A second round before losing at Rockford Boylan.
  
  

  "It's obviously really great feeling this," said French, who has 8 TDs. "Winning conference was obviously a main goal of ours, but now it's moving on to our goal of winning state. It's a been a lot of fun, especially as my last season as a senior."
  
  

  Baffa, filling in for injured starter Tommy Rittenhouse at quarterback, had a 3-yard TD run and threw TD passes to Jake Tangorra, French and Ben Bettag for 19, 80 and 37 yards, respectively. With help from Jackson Gerard's 17-yard end-around TD run and 8-yard TD pass to Amari Head as backup quarterback in the third quarter, St. Francis scored at least 40 points for the eighth time this season.
  
  

  Defensively, Luke Meyer had two fumble recoveries on the first two possessions by ACC (1-8, 0-6) as the Spartans posted their fourth shutout.
  
  

  "Just a great season," St. Francis coach Bob McMillen said. "A lot of this goes to the boys, the way they worked in the off-season, how they came in prepared, focused, determined to be a team to be reckoned with. They went out and did it this year."
  
  

  The Spartans earned their first conference championship since 2014, when they shared the Chicago Catholic League Green Division title with Montini. That team lost to Class 6A champion Nazareth Academy, their furthest playoff run other than their 2008 Class 5A championship.
  
  

  The sweetest victory was last week's 20-19 nail-biter over three-time defending state champion IC Catholic Prep that also snapped the Knights' 33-game winning streak.
  
  

  In that victory, however, Rittenhouse, suffered a broken left arm. McMillen said Rittenhouse already has undergone surgery and could be ready for the first round of playoffs. The starting offensive line also lost left guard Ryan Holleman for the season to a left knee injury. T.J. McMillen moved from center to replace Holleman Friday.
  
  

  "I thought a lot of guys stepped up. We're moving some pieces around, seeing what's going to be the best fit for us in the playoffs," Bob McMillen said.
  
  

  In the first half ACC reached the 14 before Eric Welch's second interception of the season in the end zone on third-and-4. On the next play Baffa found French wide open at the ACC 45 and he did the rest for an 80-yard TD reception and 26-0 halftime advantage.
  
  

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  https://football.dailyherald.com/sports/20191025/st-francis-finishes-unbeaten-in-msc-blue/

• St. Francis loses QB Tommy Rittenhouse, snaps IC Catholic Prep's 33-game winning streak Baffa, Radel lead Spartans' 20-19 comeback win to clinch MSC Blue

  There was an uncomfortable silence that filled Wheaton College’s McCully Stadium Friday.
  
  

  St. Francis starting quarterback Tommy Rittenhouse remained down after making one of several plays with his legs Friday night. He grasped his left, non-throwing arm as backup quarterback Michael Baffa entered the game.
  
  

  With the Spartans already trailing late in the third quarter and chance of knocking off powerhouse IC Catholic Prep seeming unlikely, Baffa led St. Francis to a come-from-behind 20-19 victory to clinch the Metro Suburban Conference Blue Division title.
  
  

  The Spartans (7-1, 5-0 MSC Blue) clinched the conference title, and in the process snapped ICCP’s 33-game winning streak. The Knights (7-1, 4-1) had won three state championships, two in Class 3A and last year in 4A, and four straight MSC titles during that run.
  
  

  “This is probably the biggest win this program has ever had,” Baffa said. “That was probably one of the best teams in [Class] 4A, well, the best team in [Class] 4A, until us, now.”
  
  

  Baffa entered the game with his team trailing 19-7, in large part due to ICCP running back Kyle Franklin. The junior running back finished Friday night’s game with a game-high 197 yards and two touchdowns.
  
  

  When his first drive in charge ending by getting tackled inside the one-yard line on fourth down, Baffa quickly got another chance as one play later the Spartans defense forced a fumble. The backup senior single-caller didn’t miss this opportunity as he scampered into the end zone from a yard out to cut the deficit to six.
  
  

  After Franklin’s score with 8:04 to play in the third quarter, before Baffa’s touchdown, the Spartans did not allow another point for the rest of the night.
  
  

  “Michael Baffa has been working so hard in practice to understand what we’re trying to do here,” said St. Francis coach and ICCP graduate Bob McMillen. “We don’t know what’s going on with Tommy [moving forward], but you can’t say enough about the way Michael Baffa came in and took over, how [running back] Ben Radel ran the ball and how great our offensive line stepped up tonight.”
  
  

  While Baffa and the Spartans had all the momentum on their side late in the contest, it was a 4th-and-11 play that kept the comeback victory alive. After a series of runs by Radel, who finished Friday night’s game with a team-high 111 yards on the ground, Baffa escaped the pocket, eluded a couple of would-be ICCP defenders and hit wide receiver Tyler Bishop on the sideline for a first down.
  
  

  Radel ran it in from nine yards out two plays later. The senior running back’s second score of the night, plus the extra point from Jackson Gerard, gave the Spartans a one-point lead with 5:31 to play.
  
  

  “What a play by Baffa,” said Bishop of the fourth down conversion. “To make a play like that, in that situation, was so huge for us. A win like this puts us on the map, for sure. If people didn’t know who we were before tonight, they definitely know now.”
  
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  https://www.fridaynightdrive.com/lists/2019/10/18/ee7724b76aaf4b9888286a790a86db04/index.xml?page=5

• Michael Bumpus, St. Francis clinch playoff bid with blowout win at Riverside-Brookfield

  St. Francis two-way starter Michael Bumpus had his football family ties torn in a great way Friday at Riverside-Brookfield.
  
  

  After the Spartans’ impressive 59-13 Metro Suburban Blue victory, the 6-foot-3 junior certainly was excited as the right tackle for the offensive line, which is coached by his father, Mike.
  
  

  Linebacker Michael was even more elated about the defense allowing just one touchdown.
  
  

  “I don’t want to get in trouble, especially because my dad’s the offensive line coach, but I think I’ve got to go with defense (tonight),” Bumpus said.
  
  

  “The offense’s gotten the credit they deserve every game but I think the defense really steps up, showing that we’ve got great coaches and great players.”

   

  The Spartans (6-1) clinched consecutive playoff berths for the first time since 2013-14 and remained tied for first in conference at 4-0 with IC Catholic Prep (7-0).
  
  

  The co-leaders meet next Friday in Wheaton.
  
  

  “We’re excited. It’ll be a great game,” said St. Francis head coach Bob McMillen, who played at ICCP.
  
  

  “We’re a special team this year. We’re playing against a good team, a back-to-back-to-back state champion. We want to see where we are and how we compete against the best.”
  
  

  The Spartans have scored at least 40 points every game. Senior receiver Jake Tangorra led Friday’s output with four TDs and senior running back Ben Radel rushed for two.
  
  

  The defense allowed just one score for the fifth time to go with three shutouts. The Bulldogs (5-2, 2-2) entered Friday scoring at least 25 points every game and 26 twice.
  
  

  St. Francis scored 44 unanswered points after R-B closed to 15-6 6:15 before halftime on a 10-yard halfback option TD pass from Luke Gentile to Nic Novak.
  
  

  It all starts with the offensive line of center TJ McMillen, Bob’s freshman son, senior Joey Mayor and junior Ryan Holleman at guard and senior Connor Schmidt and Bumpus at tackle.
  
  

  The elder Bumpus played at Boston College, missing the final season of longtime professional quarterback Doug Flutie by one year but playing with Flutie’s brother Darren.
  
  

  “My dad’s a great guy to be under. He understands. He played the game,” Bumpus said. “He’s done a good job just kind of staying off my case, letting other coaches coach me. That’s helped, especially since coaching as a youth.”Tangorra had 20-, 59- and 10-yard TD receptions in the first half from junior quarterback Tommy Rittenhouse, who already has 23 passing TDs. Tangorra’s exciting 91-yard punt return TD with 9:27 left for a 52-6 lead initiated the 40-point-margin running clock.
  
  

  “This is the first year I’ve ever done punt returning and that’s definitely the longest punt return I’ve had in my life,” said Tangorra, who doubled his 2019 TD total to eight.
  
  

  “(Scoring 4 TDs) feels good obviously. I have to give it to my team. Anyone could have gotten those four touchdowns. All of our receivers are talented. We’re all open. It’s just who (Rittenhouse) finds first, basically.”
  
  

  Radel’s TD runs of 14 and 57 yards give him a team-best 12. Junior Jackson Gerard kicked a 39-yard field goal in the third quarter, and junior Michael D’Orazio and senior quarterback Michael Baffa had and 3- and 65–yard rushing TDs in the fourth.
  
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• St. Francis blows by Aurora Christian

  St. Francis' football team reached its average offensive numbers Friday night against Aurora Christian.
  
  

  The performance was anything but average.
  
  

  Scoring touchdowns on each of its first 4 possessions, the Spartans (5-1, 3-0) built a 28-0 halftime advantage and continued to push the pedal down in the second half en route to a 50-7 Metro Suburban Blue triumph over the Eagles (3-3, 1-3) in Aurora.
  
  

  Junior quarterback Tommy Rittenhouse finished 12 of 14 for 211 yards and 3 touchdowns while rushing for an additional 57 yards on 6 carries and a touchdown for the Spartans, who have now scored 300 points in their first 6 games.
  
  

  "We're trusting the coaches and doing our jobs," said Rittenhouse. "When you've got 11 guys doing their jobs, it's unstoppable."
  
  

  Rittenhouse was virtually unstoppable himself during the Spartans' 22-point first quarter, completing 7 of 8 passes for 95 yards -- and a 26-yard TD pass to Ben Bettag, while carrying the ball 3 times for 48 yards, highlighted by his 38-yard TD run that opened the scoring.
  
  

  "He's magical," Spartans coach Bob McMillen said of Rittenhouse. "He's doing a great job back there for us. He's doing a great job with his feet, he's smart with the ball and he isn't forcing anything.
  
  

  "I just hope he keeps it going because he's playing with great confidence."
  
  

  Rittenhouse, who added a 1-yard TD run in the second quarter, tossed touchdown passes covering 35 and 25 yards, respectively, to wide receiver Jake Tangorra (6 receptions, 120 yards) in the third quarter as the Spartans extended their lead to 42-0.
  
  

  Forcing the Eagles to be one-dimensional on offense, the Spartans' defense recorded 10 sacks, including 4 ½ by senior linebacker/defensive end Luke Meyer.
  
  

  "I don't know what to say about Luke Meyer right now," said McMillen. "He has had a tremendous season and he had a tremendous game tonight. Our (defensive) front four are doing great for us right now."
  
  

  Connor Schmidt had a pair of second-half sacks, T.J. McMillen had 1 ½ sacks, and Tyler Duzansky and Kevin O'Connell each added a sack.
  
  

  "That was one of our better defensive games," said McMillen.
  
  

  Backup quarterback Michael Baffa closed out the scoring for the Spartans with a 7-yard TD run, followed by Michael D'Orazio's 2-point conversion run.
  
  

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  https://football.dailyherald.com/sports/20191004/st-francis-blows-by-aurora-christian

• DuPage County notes: Tommy Rittenhouse, St. Francis go for it, get signature win at Bishop McNamara Rittenhouse throws for 365 yards, 4 TDs to beat Irish 46-43

  St. Francis quarterback Tommy Rittenhouse had one thought he wanted to relay to his teammates before Saturday’s final play.

  His team trailing by three points with 1:20 left in regulation against Bishop McNamara, Rittenhouse drove the offense down the field for a potential winning play. With the ball resting on the 4-yard line, the Spartans had two options: Attempt a tying field goal or go for the win.

  “I told each of my wide receivers that this is exactly what we want,” Rittenhouse recalled. “I wanted this pressure. I said, ‘I want to win.’”

  Rittenhouse tossed a 4-yard touchdown pass on a slant pattern to Jake Tangorra for a 46-43 victory in Metro Suburban Blue play.

  “I saw a mismatch on the corner right off the gate,” Rittenhouse said. “They were bringing the house, so I knew I had to get it out quick. It was a great feeling to win. We worked our tail off the whole week, then had adversity with the game moving to Saturday. We weren’t sure if we would play, had to drive an hour and a half.”

  The Spartans (4-1, 2-0) gained a signature victory by knocking off Bishop McNamara, which was ranked sixth in Class 4A. Rittenhouse spearheaded the comeback, completing 26 of 44 passes for 365 yards and five touchdowns. Tyler Bishop paced a talented crew of wide receivers with 10 receptions for 139 touchdowns and three touchdowns. 

  The Spartans are within reach of a second straight playoff berth heading into Friday’s road game against Aurora Christian.

  Rittenhouse said he’s become more comfortable leading the offense this season.

  “Having last year under my belt really helped, getting used to the speed of the game,” he said. “Coming out this year, having played with the guys from my freshman year has really started to click with our concepts and the uptempo of the offense.”

  St. Francis coach Bob McMillen said his players have to build off the victory.

  “That was a huge win for our program, the biggest win in (my) three years our coaching staff has been here,” he said. “To beat a good football team that played in the state championship game and almost beat IC Catholic last week is a testament to all the hard work by the guys. We have to continue to play our best each week.”
  
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  https://www.fridaynightdrive.com/2019/09/30/dupage-county-notes-tommy-rittenhouse-st-francis-go-for-it-get-signature-win-at-bishop-mcnamara/awuvh4/

• Tommy Rittenhouse, St. Francis ride fast start to rout of Westmont

  WHEATON – St. Francis took nothing for granted this week against Westmont.

  And played like it too.

  The Spartans rolled out to a 42-0 lead after just one quarter, and went on to a 63-0 win over Westmont on Saturday afternoon at Wheaton College.

  St. Francis' offense was unstoppable, looking well like a team with a promising season ahead.

  “Everyone has bought in," said senior Ben Radel, who scored St. Francis' first touchdown. "We know we can go really far. We all really believe in each other."

  It was a resounding bounce-back win for St. Francis (2-1), which came in off a tough 49-46 loss to Shepard. The Spartans said they underestimated Shepherd, but refocused their game to come out strong against Westmont (1-2).

  “We bounced back from last week. Last week we had some alignment problems,” said Tommy Rittenhouse, St. Francis' junior quarterback.

  “We underestimated a team that was very good and they took it to us," St.Francis coach Bob McMillen said. "It’s a learning experience. It was a bad taste we put in our mouth and we don’t want to have it again.”

  The Spartans wasted no time getting on the board. Radel's 39-yard touchdown run came just over a minute into the firt quarter.

  The momentum just kept going for them.

  “I think our offense is very strong," Rittenhouse said. "We’ve got many weapons I can use. Our offensive line is one of the best."

  The first quarter set the tone for the rest of the game. Football is a game where one play can determine the game’s direction.

  That happened for Westmont.

  With 7:22 left in the first quarter, Jake Tangorra scored a touchdown from a 36-yard pass from Rittenhouse.

  “We had a third and 19, had a screen pass and we made a good job of making a tackle," Westmont coach Dan Woulfe said. "We were fourth and long. We were in position. We were keeping everything up front and got a guy behind us and there you go. Instead of a stop, it was a touchdown."

  Less than 10 seconds later, Tyler Bishop scored a 5-yard touchdown run to take St. Francis ahead 21-0. Vincenzo Rendina then scored on a 20-yard interception return with 5:34 on the clock make it 28-0. Radel, who ran for 72 yards on just three carries, scored his second touchdown of the game with less than three minutes left in the first quarter on a 21-yard run.

  “Ben did a nice job. The offensive line protected really well,” said McMillen.

  With less than six seconds left in the first quarter, Ryan French scored on a 35-yard pass from Rittenhouse, who was 5-for-8 for 103 yards, to end the quarter 42-0.

  “Our quarterback continues to do some good things," McMillen said. "He’s been a great leader. He is just going to get better."

  In the second quarter Mike D’Orazio scored a 3-yard touchdown run to take the Spartans ahead 49-0. With about two minutes left in the second quarter, Jackson Gerard had a 27-yard run for a halftime score of 56-0.

  Toby Reynolds scored the final touchdown in the fourth quarter with an 18-yard TD run.

  “It was a good win. A lot of kids got a lot of playing time,” said McMillen.
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• St. Francis leaves no doubt in hometown

  Home away from home has been very good for St. Francis' football team.

  The Spartans also have been very good at Wheaton College, beating Metro Suburban Blue foe Wheaton Academy 40-0 Saturday, creating a running clock the entire second half a second straight game.                                                                                                                                                        

  "They're cross-town rivals so, I mean, we just want to hold down our hometown of Wheaton," said St. Francis defensive end Luke Meyer.

  The game was marred by more than 20 penalties and 200 yards of lost yardage and also by an injury to Wheaton Academy junior cornerback Charles "Tre" Becks after he made a tackle with 7:21 left in the second quarter. St. Francis (3-1, 1-0) led 18-0 at the time.

  Becks lay on the turf for about 20 minutes while being examined for a spine injury before he was taken by ambulance to Central DuPage Hospital in Winfield as a precautionary measure. Warriors coach Brad Thornton later reported X-ray and CT scans came back negative and Becks would return home later in the day.

  "He's one of my really good friends and we've been in a ton of classes in school, so it was just tough. I know he's good, so I'll just go see him and he should be fine," said Warriors quarterback David Dorn.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

   

  Already banged-up Wheaton Academy (2-2, 0-2) lost one of Dorn's protectors, lineman Dan Kowalczyk, also to injury.

  Aside from its penalties, St. Francis played fine on all counts. Defensive linemen Meyer, Ryan Holleman, Connor Schmidt and T.J. McMillen and middle linebacker Michael Bumpus dominated scrimmage, barely allowing any forward progress aside from Trevor Donna's isolated 47-yard run and Javonte Rucker's 21-yard catch.

  Jackson Gerard intercepted 2 passes and Michael D'Orazio tackled the Warriors' punter in the end zone for a safety.

  Shortly after D'Orazio's play St. Francis quarterback Tommy Rittenhouse dropped a snap, calmly picked it up and lofted a 25-yard pass to Ryan French for that combo's second touchdown. Josh Winslow's kick made the score 40-0 at halftime.

  Rittenhouse finished 15-of-19 passing for 269 yards and 3 touchdowns and also ran 59 yards for another score. Ben Radel scored on runs of 13 and 6 yards and caught a 12-yard touchdown pass.

  "I would get there, great hole, big hole, run through it," Radel said. "Then, the receivers were blocking, so it just felt good. Everyone's doing their job and that's all you've got to do."

  
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  https://football.dailyherald.com/sports/20190921/st-francis-leaves-no-doubt-in-hometown/

• St. Francis stuns Bishop McNamara

  A gutsy decision gave St. Francis one of its biggest victories in years.​
  
  

  Trailing 43-40 with three seconds left and the football at Bishop McNamara's 4-yard line, Spartans coach Bob McMillen elected to run a play to win the game rather than attempt a game-tying field goal Quarterback Tommy Rittenhouse found receiver Jake Tangorra on a quick slant pattern for the game-winning touchdown in a 46-43 victory Saturday in Kankakee. St. Francis improved to 4-1 overall and 2-0 in the Metro Suburban Conference Blue Division.​
  
  

  Bishop McNamara (2-3, 1-2), ranked sixth in Class 4A, had scored with 1:20 left in the fourth quarter. Mike Baffa's long kickoff return gave St. Francis possession at the 50-yard line. ​
  
  

  "Pretty much it was whoever had the ball last is what it came down to," McMillen said.​
  
  

  Rittenhouse completed 26 of 44 passes for 365 yards and 5 touchdowns. Tyler Bishop caught 10 passes for 139 yards, 3 touchdowns. Jackson Gerard caught 6 passes for 118 yards and a touchdown and Tangorra caught 6 passes for 63 yards. Ben Radel ran the ball 10 times for 73 yards, 2 touchdowns. The Spartans scored on 7 of 9 offensive possessions.​
  
  

  "I think this is the biggest win we've had here in our three years (with McMillen as coach)," McMillen said. "That was a real good Bishop McNamara team that played in the (Class 4A) state championship last year."​

   
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  https://football.dailyherald.com/sports/20190928/st-francis-stuns-bishop-mcnamara/