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36 | October 4, 2018 | The Homer Horizon sports homerhorizon.com Golf Lockport golf teams sweep conference tourneys Randy Whalen Freelance Reporter Orland Park might be “The Golf Capital of the World,” but Lockport is the Golf Capital of the Blue Division of the SouthWest Suburban Conference. The Porters showed that, as both their boys and girls golf teams won the SWSC Blue Division championship last week. The girls edged out Sandburg by a score of 321- 323 to stop the Eagles’ streak of five-straight SWSC Blue titles on Sept. 25 at Silver Lake Country Club in Orland Park. On the boys side, that same day, the Porters finished with a season best, and what is believed to be a school record, score of 290. That took place at Coyote Run in Flossmoor, as Lockport won by 12 shots over Sandburg (302). Host Homewood-Floosmoor (310), Lincoln-Way East (325) and Bolingbrook (355) rounded out the scores, as the Porters won the conference for the first time since 2014 and for the sixth time since it formed in 2015. As she often has this season, freshman Lizzie Anderson shot an even par 75 to lead the way for the Porters. That was good for second place overall, behind Sandburg senior Hannah Kilbane, who won her fourth-straight individual SWSC Blue Championship with a 5-under 70 to win by five strokes. “Yes, I did,” Anderson said when asked if she expected to come in as a freshman and help the Porters to a conference championship. “I stayed pretty close to [Kilbane], but just for us to win as a team was pretty cool. None of us on the team have beat them before. “I was just hitting the ball, working on my swing, and it’s finally going right for me. Our goal now is to make it to The LTHS boys golf team shot a season-best score of 290 to capture the SouthWest Suburban Conference Blue Division title Sept. 25 at Coyote Run in Flossmoor. Sheri Greci The Lockport girls golf team ended Sandburg’s streak of five-straight SouthWest Suburban Conference Blue Division titles with a two-stroke victory on Sept. 25 at Silver Lake Country Club in Orland Park. Photo submitted state. We just have to play our game and focus.” Sophomore Caire Ancevicius (80, 4th place) had a pep talk with the team beforehand, and it worked. “I huddled the team together and told them what we needed to do,” Ancevicius said. “I told them if they had a bad shot or hole, that they had to rebound quickly. Then, I also pumped everyone up with motivational music like Eminem. Before the season, I wanted to be the hype person, and I am. “I went to Silver Lake with some teammates on Sunday [Sept. 23] for a practice round and shot a 74. So I just wanted to play a round like I normally do and shoot an 80 or better. We just wanted to have fun, play the game and play well. Overall, we were surprised, and it was exciting that we won conference.” Juniors Rachel Kuzel (81, 7th place) and Megan Kohley (85, 10th place) rounded out the carded scores for Lockport. Sophomores Katie Tomczuk (88), Fiona Heeney (90), along with seniors Kearney Pluth (108) and Gwyn Marshall (123), rounded out the rest of the Porter scores. The Porters hosted their own Class 2A regional this week, on Wednesday, Oct. 3, at Broken Arrow Golf Course in Lockport. On the boys side, sophomore Ben Sluzas and senior Nolan Weis each shot 1-under 70s to lead the Porters. Because of a random scorecard playoff, Weis was second overall individually, and Sluzas was third. Seniors John Elsen (74, 6th), John Weis (76, 8th) and Eric Gasienica (77, 9th) all finished in the Top 10, and by virtue of that, they were all named All- Conference players. “When we put a lot of good scores together, we can do big things,” Nolan Weis said. “For me, my wedge game and my putter was working well. For the team, it was just playing consistent, playing to our strengths and doing what works. We just all kind of fit together. So when one of us has a bad hole, the others just pick them up. “I’ve never experienced this type of teamwork before.” Sluzas felt the same way. “We all played really well,” he said. “We just believed that we could shoot that well and just did it. I had a bad start with a 3-over through the first five holes. But then I went 4-under, all on birdies, on the last 13. I just didn’t get mad. I kept playing. “We can’t wait for the regional and the sectional. I think this shows that we have a good chance to go to state.” Lockport, which placed third in Class AA in 2000, hasn’t qualified for state since 2006. The quest to get back begins this week. Eber believed the score of 290 is possibly a school record for an 18-hole tournament for the Porters, but it’s definitely the lowest in his decade as coach. This week, the Lockport boys were at the Class 3A Joliet Central Regional, which was held on Tuesday, Oct. 2, at Inwood Golf Course in Joliet. Football Porters can’t keep up with Raiders in homecoming game Randy Whalen Freelance Reporter A look at the final score doesn’t show it, but there were some good signs for the Lockport Township football team in its latest loss. That was a 39-7 setback to Bolingbrook in a South- West Suburban Conference matchup before a homecoming crowd that was held down because of pregame rain on Friday, Sept. 28, at the LTHS football stadium. Senior running back Anthony Williams Jr. scored four touchdowns to lead the Raiders (5-1, 3-1) to the victory, which made them playoff eligible. If Bolingbrook qualifies for the postseason, it will be the 26th time in the past 27 years. On the other side, the Porters (0-6, 0-4) have qualified for the playoffs one time since 2011. “We came out and battled hard and really only gave up two defensive touchdowns in the first half,” Lockport coach Dan Starkey said. “But Bolingbrook gashed us in the third quarter with the rushing game. They have a lot of big, tall, lean but strong players.” One of those was Williams, who scored on TD runs of three and eight yards in the second quarter, and on scampers of 39 and 67 yards in the second half. Despite Williams’ offensive explosion and a pair of special teams TDs, Lockport’s defense made some plays against the Raiders. Senior defensive back Ryan Michalowski had a first-half interception. Then, to open the second half, sophomore linebacker Joseph Suchorabski recovered an onside kick. Junior linebacker Joseph Kenney and junior defensive lineman Brandon Little added second-half fumble recoveries for the Porters. There were some bright spots on offense for the Porters. Trailing just 7-0, senior kicker Ryan Barth was just a few yards short on a 43-yard field goal attempt in the first quarter. Senior running back Austin Hubert (16 carries, 118 yards) continued to impress with solid running. Junior quarterback Marcos Voulgaris (10-of-21 passing, 55 yards; 12 carries, 61 yards) scored Lockport’s touchdown on an 8-yard run with 7:11 to play in the game. Bolingbrook vs. Lockport 1 2 3 4 F Bolingbrook 7 13 13 6 39 Lockport 0 0 0 7 7 Top Performers 1. Anthony Williams Jr., Bolingbrook RB — 14 carries, 215 yards, 4 TDs 2. Marcos Voulgaris, Lockport QB — 10-of-21 passing for 55 yards; 12 carries, 61 yards, TD 3. Austin Hubert, Lockport RB — 16 carries, 118 yards
homerhorizon.com sports the Homer Horizon | October 4, 2018 | 37 Entire cheer squad votes Homer girl as homecoming queen Burros squad selects Chisholm for honor Jacquelyn Schlabach, Assistant Editor It was hard to miss the bright smile that formed from ear to ear, teeth showing and her cheeks raised so high they almost closed her eyes. She stood in front of the crowd wearing a tiara, a sash and holding a bouquet of flowers. Audrey Chisholm was happy, and it’s all because of the 24 girls on the Mokena Burros eighth-grade cheer squad. On Sept. 6, members of the squad cast their votes on who they wanted to represent them as their homecoming queen. The only ballot that didn’t have Audrey’s name circled as a contender was her own. “When you get to the eighth-grade level, this is it, this is like your final shot at [homecoming queen], and just like in a high school environment, everybody’s kind of hoping that it’s them, and for all theses girls to put their dreams aside for one cheerleader was really emotional,” Audrey’s mom, Jody, said. Receiving this recognition for homecoming from her teammates means more to the Homer Jr. High eighthgrader than wearing a tiara and sash. “For her, she just wants to be included, she wants to have a lot of friends, and for her, it’s like the ultimate sign of acceptance,” Jody said. Audrey has Down syndrome, but her squad doesn’t see a disability — they see a 13-year-old girl who loves to cheer. “I think that all the girls love having her on the team,” coach Christine O’Donnell said. “I hope she feels the same way about them, and I’m really, really glad that they took it upon themselves to bestow the honor of homecoming queen for her, because I truly think that that for Audrey, it’s an experience that I think she’ll remember for a long, long time.” Jody is the team mom for the eighth-grade squad and helped count the votes with the coach during the last practice before homecoming on that upcoming Saturday, Sept. 8. After tallying all of the votes, she couldn’t believe her eyes. “I was speechless,” Joday said. “There was a knot in my throat, because I really couldn’t believe what they had just done, and this is not initiated by any of the coaches, this is initiated by one cheerleader, Kailey O’Donnell, and she suggested [they all vote for Audrey] in a group chat, and everybody agreed that that was what they were going to do. It’s really remarkable.” Christine’s daughter, Kailey, told her mom just days before they were to vote that she sent out a text to all of the girls on the cheer squad suggesting that it would be a great opportunity to vote Audrey as their homecoming queen. They were all in. “Every girl on that squad had voted for Audrey, and so when we were counting ballots, it was determined by all of them because they knew how important it would be for Audrey and what a great experience it would be for her,” Christine said. “And you know, sometimes my girls are wise beyond their age because my daughter says, you know, mom, I think it’s a little bit cool, and I’d be excited for all of one day, but Audrey’s going to be excited for a long time about this, and this is great.” Needless to say, Audrey’s reaction was one of surprise. Homer Jr. High eighth-grader Audrey Chisholm is all smiles after she was voted homecoming queen of the Mokena Burros eighth-grade squad by every member of the team. Photo submitted “It made me feel great,” she said. Two days after learning she was queen on Sept. 8, Audrey was ready to carry out her duties as queen. “Homecoming day, holy smokes, Audrey was so darn excited,” her mom said. “She got out of bed early, which is really hard to do, and everybody was at the field by 9 a.m.” All of the different cheer squads and football teams with the Mokena Burros were celebrating homecoming at Main Park in Mokena, with the eighth-graders designating a king and queen, and the other age groups selecting princesses and princes. “The wind was blowing, and it was cold, and the grounds were so muddy they called it the mud fest, but it didn’t matter — everybody just really still had a great time, because it was homecoming, and it’s a completely different atmosphere; you know everybody is happy, tons of people everywhere,” Jody said. Throughout the Saturday, each squad did sideline cheers for a game, followed by a homecoming cheer dance. At halftime, Audrey, among the princesses, princes and king, were honored with their tiaras, sashes and flowers, respectively. “It was heartwarming,” Jody said. “All of the parents agreed with the decision [to vote Audrey queen], so you have 24 sets of parents and their grandparents there and friends, and there wasn’t anybody that would have walked away and been disappointed with the decision. I think even the parents were really proud of what their girls had accomplished with that vote.” The rest of the day, Audrey never let go of the bouquet of flowers she received. “She walked around with those flowers until it was time to get in the car, so she was really, really proud to be the homecoming queen,” Jody said. Her squad was equally as happy, taking pictures with and giving lots of hugs to Audrey, showing her love and support. “And the little boy that was king, they also told him to be nice to her or else they would get a hold of him and he’d have the wrath of eighth-grade cheer,” Christine said. “It was kind of cute.” Jody said that even though Audrey was honored by her teammates, she wants to honor those girls who put aside their dream of being homecoming queen for her daughter. She said it’s a relief to finally see her daughter accepted for who she is. “It’s a relief, and there’s so much joy in seeing her smile and seeing her fit in and having these kids accept her as a friend,” Jody said. “There’s a difference here, because it’s not just ‘oh, yeah, we accept her, we accept that girl with Down syndrome on our squad.’ No, they don’t see Down syndrome when they see Audrey, they see Audrey. And I think that’s the part that warms my heart the most. She’s not seen for her disability.” This is the third year that Audrey is a cheerleader on the squad and her coach, Christine, said that she can’t imagine the team without her. “They’re really good about helping Audrey,” she said. “If she needs help with motions or help with a skill, they’re all very, very patient with her, and they’re also very protective of her. When we go to competitions, if she needs to go to the restroom or wants anything, they are right there with her. She’s just an integral part of our team.” Audrey has brought a level of excitement to the team that Christine said has given the other cheerleaders a different perspective on not taking things for granted that they may have in the past. “She’ll step up and say, ‘you got this guys, we’ve got this, come on, let’s do this,’ and I like that about her,” Christine said. “I like that she brings that positive attitude, even when we’re struggling with skills or we’re struggling with tumbling. And I think that she lightens the stress load for the rest of the girls by always being that positive influence on the team.” Christine has been a cheer coach since 2004 and said Audrey is the first girl with Down syndrome that she has had on her team. She believes in being accommodating and accepting of the differences that people have but said that just because Audrey has a disability, it doesn’t mean she should be labeled as such. “Why should Audrey be labeled for her disability? Which I don’t consider Down syndrome a disability, but I’m sure lots of people do,” Christine said. “Why can’t Audrey be labeled as a 13-year-old girl who just wants to be a cheerleader? That’s how we look at Audrey.”
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