Romeoville wins big over Evergreen Park
Romeoville High School christened its renovated football stadium in a special ceremony Friday night. And to complete the festive occasion, the Spartans went out and buried nonconference foe Evergreen Park 40-6.

Wildcats offense explodes against Peotone
Yes, football season officially has arrived in Wilmington. And the Wildcats (2-0) kept their rabid fans happy the whole night with a convincing 41-0 victory over Interstate Eight rival Peotone (1-1) in a conference crossover game.

Brown leads Plainfield S.
Plainfield South's workhorse Chris Brown led the way Friday night with 127 yards and a touchdown on 33 carries as Plainfield South (2-0) rolled to a 37-7 nonconference victory over Joliet Township.

Patience pays off for Provy tailback
Tim Hanrahan, a 5-foot-10, 175-pound junior, ducked in behind the big boys in front of him, waited for them to put a hat on a hat and then exploded for a career-high 228 yards rushing in Providence's 24-0 victory over Fenwick.

Second-half blues send JCA to defeat
Joliet Catholic Academy senior quarterback Matt Ginnetti ran a bootleg left over the muck that was the Memorial Stadium playing surface. He turned up the sidelined and picked up 14 yards for a first down near midfield.

Lincoln-Way North can't hang with L-Way E.

FRANKFORT -- Being a first-year varsity program in any sport, but especially in football, can be difficult.

Neuqua Valley tops Plainfield C.
During Week 1 of the football season, Plainfield Central High School did most everything right during a 47-25 victory over Elgin.

LWC rolls to victory
NEW LENOX -- Opportunity knocked for Lincoln-Way Central High School's football team on Friday against rival Andrew.

Non-call leads to Lockport downfall vs. Thornton
With a minute to go in the first half, the Lockport High School football team was locked in a tie with state-ranked Thornton. The Porters looked to maybe pull an upset and give themselves some momentum for the season.

Driscoll turns on the lights, routs Morris
ADDISON -- In the day time, under the lights, it just doesn't matter.

St. Viator tops Plainfield N.
Lions and Tigers both felt the effects of the jungle-like rain tropical storm Gustav provided a day earlier. In this case the Lions of St. Viator High School emerged victorious over Plainfield North in a game laced with slips, bobbles and fumbles on the slick field Friday.

Lemont makes it a romp
LEMONT -- Good football teams can overcome early deficits in games.

Martin, Bolingbrook avoid a letdown
Bolingbrook High School running back Jamel Martin helped make sure the Raiders avoided a letdown Friday night following last week's thrilling 21-20 victory over state-ranked Downers Grove South.

Area schedule
TODAY'S EVENTS

Joliet upsets P'field N.
PLAINFIELD -- The Joliet Township High School volleyball team continues to take down the ranked teams.

Uribe homers boost Sox
CHICAGO -- Juan Uribe homered twice, Paul Konerko added a solo shot and Mark Buehrle pitched six shutout innings to help the White Sox beat the Los Angeles Angels 10-2 in a meeting of division leaders Friday.

Cubs lose sixth straight
CINCINNATI -- Jay Bruce hit his first career grand slam and Joey Votto added a two-run homer Friday night, an all-rookie power display that sent the Cincinnati Reds to a 10-2 victory on a day when nothing went right for the first-place Cubs.

Helio does victory dance
The way Helio Castroneves spent a majority of last offseason, fans of the Indy Racing League IndyCar Series wondered whether his focus would wane.

Make room for the IRL
Yes, this is football season.

JCA trounced by WWS
The top-ranked team in 7A met the No. 2 ranked team in 6A at Memorial Stadium in Joliet tonight. And the No. 1 ranked Wheaton Warrenville South got the better of the matchup,defeating Joliet Catholic handily 31-6.

The Saints are mudders
The seniors in the University of St. Francis football program have been waiting for this for four years.To come out in the atrocious conditions Thursday night and lay a 21-0 whuppin' on NCAA Division I-AA Valparaiso University in the season opener, well, that felt so, so good.

Joliet Catholic's Wyman? Well, why not?
Lainey Wyman, a 6-foot-2 sophomore middle hitter playing in her third varsity match, achieved a level of perfection seldom matched even by girls much more seasoned in Joliet Catholic's 25-13, 25-13 victory over Morris on Thursday night.

Local football has huge games in Week 2
High school football fans in the Joliet area can thank their lucky stars Gustav decided to leave its mark a day ahead of tonight's full schedule.

Joliet area teams move up
Joliet area high school football teams fared well in this week's Associated Press state polls. Not only that, but certain of tonight's opponents for local teams also are held in high regard.

Sox's Quentin makes splash

CHICAGO -- Fans chant "MVP! MVP! MVP!" when Carlos Quentin steps to the plate. They hold up signs with his head superimposed on Superman's body and call him Q-perman.

Timeout strategy boosts Lockport over 'Brook
Timeout. That's what the Lockport needed. Once the Porters got it, they regrouped and went on to a 25-21, 25-18 victory against Bolingbrook in the Southwest Suburban Conference Blue Division opener for both teams on Thursday.

Celtics begin year 3-0

WHEATON -- A strong effort helped Providence Catholic High School register three victories Thursday in the Wheaton North Invitational.

Lemont balance tops Romeoville

ROMEOVILLE -- Three different players scored goals Thursday as Lemont High School posted a 3-0 nonconference boys soccer victory over Romeoville.

Cubs' ace suffers from rotator cuff tendinitis

CHICAGO -- Ryan Dempster stepped out in front of the team's headquarters at the beginning of spring training nearly seven months ago and made a bold statement: He said he thought the Cubs would win the World Series.

Bears' Hester ready for Colts
LAKE FOREST -- With a new stadium and a prime-time audience watching, the anticipation will be heavy when the Bears visit Indianapolis on Sunday night.

Orton seeks some respect
LAKE FOREST -- By the end of a week of doing his gosh-darned dangedest to imitate Peyton Manning, Kyle Orton had the routine down pretty good for the Bears.

Giants put title defense on D-fence
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The New York Giants kicked off their Super Bowl title defense with what else -- defense.

Joliet Cath. aces Minooka in rivalry matchup
Joliet Catholic traveled to Minooka on Wednesday for its annual early season matchup with the Indians. And, once again, it showed that it will be a force to be reckoned with by toppling Minooka 25-16, 25-15.

Scott Dixon on verge of IndyCar title
For a guy who should be on top of the world, Indy Racing League IndyCar Series superstar Scott Dixon will arrive in Joliet this week for Sunday's Peak Antifreeze 300 feeling he has unfinished business.

Joliet football offers a meaner machine
This is the third year of Joliet coach Jason Aubry's version of the spread -- a one-back, shotgun-based offense that in Week 1 nearly jolted Richards.

USF older, wiser for starters
You know how you get the feeling that something special is about to happen, but you're almost afraid to say anything?

Cubs losing streak up to five
Randy Wolf pitched a six-hitter for his eighth career shutout and Ty Wigginton homered Thursday night as the Houston Astros won their eighth straight with a 4-0 victory over the slumping Chicago Cubs, who've lost a season-high five in a row.

L-Way C. thwarts Waubonsie

NEW LENOX -- It went down to the wire on Wednesday, but Lincoln-Way Central High School came out on top during its nonconference volleyball opener.

Saavedra leads Celtics past Wildcats in soccer
It was Joe Saavedra to the rescue for the Providence Catholic High School boys soccer team. Saavedra scored 2 goals in the first half Wednesday, leading the Celtics to a 2-1 nonconference victory over Plainfield Central. Alec Pickett made 17 saves for Providence (2-3).

Vazquez helps White Sox avoid sweep by Tribe
Following his team's 4-2 win over Cleveland on Wednesday, Ozzie Guillen leaned back in his chair and breathed a sigh of relief.

2007 IndyCar champ Franchitti returning 'home'
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Dario Franchitti will leave NASCAR and return to IndyCar in 2009 as the replacement driver for Dan Wheldon at Chip Ganassi Racing.

Bears shore up line
CHICAGO -- Dan Buenning might not address the Bears' need for a reserve offensive tackle, but the veteran guard supplies instant depth for another area of need.

Final weekend a big one
CLEVELAND -- It's not as if White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen is lying awake at night, studying the final weeks of the schedule before going into the fetal position as he thinks of that dark place that awaits his team.

Cubs' Zambrano leaves with arm problems
CHICAGO -- No one knew Carlos Zambrano was hurting.

L-Way C. builds with Byar essentials
In the Lincoln-Way Central High School volleyball camp, optimism comes in all sizes and shapes. Take Jamie Rademacher. She is a 6-foot-1 middle hitter who already has committed to play in the Division I ranks next year at Central Connecticut.

Rain falls on South, Central soccer
The latest chapter in the rivalry between the high school soccer teams from Plainfield Central and Plainfield South got underway on Tuesday but it won't finish until Friday.

Plainfield S. looks to Brown to carry offense
In the fourth quarter Friday night, with the Plainfield South High School football team trailing Rich South for the third time in as many quarters, Chris Brown could have pleaded with Cougars coach Mike Briscoe to call his No. 13 -- the one that he wears for a favorite cousin, Marissa, who died.

Sox lose game, not ground
The White Sox remained tied with Minnesota for the AL Central lead despite losing for the fifth time in six games. Chicago will try to avoid a three-game sweep Wednesday.

JCA starts with sweep of Hinsdale S.
Behind the setting of senior Gina Vera, the hitting of junior Annemarie Hickey and a host of junior newcomers, the Joliet Catholic Academy volleyball team opened the season as usual. With a win.

Two Sox sluggers scratched
CLEVELAND -- White Sox outfielders Carlos Quentin and Ken Griffey Jr. were out of the lineup Tuesday night against Cleveland.