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44 | June 21, 2018 | The orland park prairie sports opprairie.com Former St. Michael School football standouts Wildcat players from that team still making their marks in the sport PATRICK Z. McGAVIN Freelance Reporter The snow arrived early in the late fall Saturday in November, 2011, blanketing the surface at Marist High School on the far southwest side of Chicago. “It was bitter cold, you could see your breath form in front of your face, and there was the snow,” remembered Danny Meehan. A two-way tackle on the Widget team at St. Michael School, an Orland Park Catholic elementary school, Meehan was part of an elite group that proved almost untouchable during that magical season. “We were best friends, on and off the field, and everything about that team just clicked. We were just bigger and faster than everybody else, and we had great coaching. “Most of the time we knew we won before we even took the field.” The iconic Wildcats’ team swept through the regular season and the playoff bracket of the Southside Catholic Conference in finishing a perfect 10-0. The Wildcats did not yield a point in their first four games. They exploded for more than 30 points in six of their games. The final point differential was 303-82. Some of those fifth and sixth graders just graduated high school, Some more will be seniors in the fall. The Coronation That cold day at Marist served as a coronation of St. Michael’s Widget football team from 2011, shown during a game that season, went undefeated and dominated most of their opponents. PHOTOS SUBMITTED sorts. Aristotle Nakos ripped off a long touchdown run on the team’s signature play, the 28 sweep, as the Wildcats defeated St. John Fisher of Beverly 23-14. “Two of my favorite memories are Aristotle’s first touchdown and my buddy Brian [McElligott] picking me up with a hug when the clock hit zero,” said John Richardson, a fullback, linebacker and kicker on the team. Michael Lawlor played wide receiver and defensive back. “We all loved football and we were pretty intense about the game. I remember how tough and physical the practices were. For a lot of us, it was our first chance at playing organized football and we just had tremendous passion and excitement.” The Wildcats took on all sides and never flinched. That is not to say they were not tested. “It was a great team,” said Mike Mishka, who directed the 45-player roster. “I have been coaching there for 14 years, and I have only had two undefeated teams. The thing that stands out for me is that as dominant as we were, we were behind in all three of our playoff games. “Think about that, especially with kids that age. You get behind, and somebody standing on your neck and it is easy to lose confidence or feel defeated and they came back each time.” The most difficult game was a first round playoff game against Christ the King, who the Wildcats eventually subdued in a back and forth duel 32-27. St. Michael also recovered to beat Queen of Martyrs 18-7 in the semifinal round. Getting out of the way Few things are more exciting in sport than formative young talent dramatizing their own emergence. For the standouts on that team, the St. Michael experience offered a jolt of excitement and a traditional rite of passage that marked their own private ritual. “With the best kids, the best coaching was just not coaching at all and just getting out their way,” Mishka said. In reflecting on that dynamic young group and its championship season, the memories fuse together in a concrete period of their lives. This throwback moment also helped to form the next stage of their careers as the four principal figures on the team prepare for the start of Aristotle Nakos finds the end zone in a 2011 game with St. Michael, which finished 10-0 that season. ANATOMY OF A PERFECT SEASON A look at St. Michael’s perfect 2011 Widget season. • Beat St. Mary Star of the Sea, 31-0 • Beat St. Daniel the Profit, 33-0 • Beat St. Linus, 38-0 • Beat St. Cajetan 29-0 • Beat St. Barnabas, 33-7 • Beat Annunciata, 38-20 • Beat Most Holy Redeemer, 28-7 • Beat Christ the King, 32-27* • Beat Queen of Martyrs, 18-7* • Beat St. John Fisher, 23-14* *- Playoffs their college careers. The images sing. “It all fell into place,” Nakos said. “We all grew up together, which I think helped a lot because we knew everyone and we knew how we were going to play and what players were going to be best at certain moments. “Every game in the playoffs we were down, and I think our mindset was we were not going to stop.”
opprairie.com sports The orland park prairie | June 21, 2018 | 45 reflect on their dominant Widget season of 2011 Wildcats had more than just football talent on the squad JEFF VORVA, Sports Editor Ready for the next step Players, especially kids at that age, develop at different rates and at different junctures. Nakos already was blessed with the breakaway speed, elusiveness and vision that prefigured his success at Mount Carmel, where he was a three-year starter. As a senior, Nakos earned the most valuable player recognition and led the Caravan to a Class 7A state semifinals and is heading to Butler. Meehan grew into a mobile and rangy linebacker at Marist with ideal size (6- foot-2, 245 pounds) blessed with the power to make plays at the point of impact and the speed to get to the edge. A heady and skilled defensive back, Lawlor brought an intelligence and presence in giving shape to the secondary at Marist. They were standouts on an undefeated East Suburban Catholic Conference champion that finished 11-1 and reached the quarterfinals of the Class 8A state playoffs. Meehan is set to play at Dayton University and Lawlor at the University of Chicago in Hyde Park. Richardson is going to kick at Northern Illinois after a stellar career at Brother Rice in which he set a state record by booting 101 straight successful extra points. He also had a 48-yard field goal his junior campaign with the Crusaders. No sport exists in a bubble and time moves on. As seventh and eighth graders, the class had comparable success and reaching the semifinals of the playoffs each year. Their high school destination were not necessarily linked, only adding to the intrigue and also deepening the memories of what they achieved together. Nakos and Richardson played against each other in the Catholic League Blue. Richardson also played Brother Rice pitcher Ryan Palmblad was a member of the St. Michael 2011 Widget team that was undefeated in the Southside Catholic Conference. TIM O’BRIEN/22ND CENTURY MEDIA One of the top pitchers on Brother Rice’s baseball team this spring was left-handed Ryan Palmblad. He was the winning hurler against Mt. Carmel to give the Crusaders a Class 4A regional and sectional championship in a stacked field. He is heading to Central Michigan on a baseball scholarship. There probably are not a lot of people who may remember that Palmblad also was on the unbeaten St. Michael School Widget football team that turned in an undefeated season in 2011. On this roster of 45, there are some athletes who went on to play football in high school and will be playing in college — Danny Meehan, Michael Lawlor, John Richardson and Aristotle Nakos. There also are a few more who will likely be playing the sport in college after they complete their senior seasons in 2018-2019. But there are also plenty of graduating seniors and seniors-to-be from the Orland Park area on this roster who are making their marks in other sports. The list includes golfers, wrestlers, baseball players, track and field athletes, volleyball players, swimmers and soccer players. They have gone on to schools including Sandburg, Brother Rice, Marist, St. Laurence, Mt. Carmel and Lemont. Oddly enough, the roster features 16 players whose last name begin with “M.” Tony Majchrowicz, A.J. Markett, Michael Markett, Mark Martino, Kyle Matre, Rocky Mayer, Aiden McCarthy, Liam McCarthy, Jake McClain, Brian McElligott, Liam McElligott, Jack McMahon, Michael Mishka, Danny Meehan, Ryan Meehan and Greg Molda. against Lawlor and Meehan in the annual Brother Rice and Marist rivalry game. “It was a bit strange, even surreal, to be playing against guy who were your best friends growing up,” Nakos said. “It also gave us this memory, this connection, to what we experienced and you could not take that away.” As seventh and eighth graders, the class had comparable success and reaching the semifinals of the playoffs each year. Not quite matched the fall of 2011. Success tends to beget more success, individually and within the context of the group. “The confidence that I developed from being on that Other players on that roster include Brian Cooke, Colin Bartolotta, Jack Detample, Jack Donnell, Joe Frangella, Massimo Frangella, Zach Gambla, Jack Guinn, Johnny Hand, Sean Harlin, James Hart, Drew Hnilo, Joe Hull, Tommy Klein. Christopher Kitchin, Marty Larkin and Tom Lagen. Also, David O’Keefe, Andrew Pellettiere, Sean Rein, Declan Ryan, Matt Sekula, Ian Stoub, Miles Trahey and Joshua Tuman were on the squad. team made me realize that I can do anything I put my mind to,” Richardson said. “It also made me realize how passionate I am about football and how I want to keep playing at a higher level.”
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