2024 Lions Football Schedule

Aug. 31 vs. Julian
Home
Cronin Field at St. Rita
78th and Western
Chicago, Illinois
Kickoff: 5 p.m.

Sept. 7 at Amundsen
5110 N. Damen Ave.
Chicago, Illinois
Kickoff: 12:30 p.m

Sept. 13 vs. St. Patrick
Cronin Field at St. Rita
78th and Western
Chicago, Illinois
Kickoff: 7 p.m.

Sept. 20 at Marian
700 Ashland Ave.
Chicago Heights, Illinois
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m.

Sept. 27 at St. Laurence
5556 W. 77th St.
Burbank, Illinois
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m.

Oct. 5 vs. De La Salle
HOMECOMING
Cronin Field at St. Rita
78th and Western
Chicago, Illinois
Kickoff: 1 p.m.

Oct. 11 vs. St. Rita
Cronin Field at St. Rita
78th and Western
Chicago, Illinois
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m.

Oct. 18 at Notre Dame
7655 W. Dempster
Niles, Illinois
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m.

Oct. 26 vs. Marmion Academy
Cronin Field at St. Rita
78th and Western
Chicago, Illinois
Kickoff: 1 p.m.

The Academy of St. Benedict the African: Flag Football Champs

by Dan McGrath

The Academy of St. Benedict the African is the Alabama of Leo’s Jr. Flag Football program. 

Just as the Crimson Tide has dominated college football for the better part of the last decade, St. Ben’s has dominated Leo’s flag football league for elementary schools, taking the title in each of the last three sessions after finishing as runner-up to S. Sabina in the first session.

St. Ben’s downed HIATT of Merrillville, IN., 24-14 in the Spring ’24 title game at Leo’s Alumni Field on Saturday, May 4. St. Ben’s (4-2) finished second to Barbara Sizemore (5-1) during the regular season, but rolled through the playoffs while Sizemore was losing to HIATT (2-4) in the playoff semifinals.

St. John De La Salle (3-3) and Burke Elementary (0-6) were this session’s other entries.

Just as Alabama lost Hall of Fame Coach Nick Saban after last season, St. Ben’s is losing its Principal at the conclusion of the school year. Jennifer Farrand is relocating to Pittsburgh, where her husband Mike has accepted a job transfer. Mrs. Farrand has been both a great principal and a good friend to Leo, and we wish her well in her new adventure. 

Leo Alumni and Varsity Basketball Players Entertain

By Dan McGrath

On Final Four Sunday, the first Alumni Game between the current Leo varsity and alums from as far back as 2009 resulted in a highly entertaining 72-65 victory for the old guys. They led by as many as 18, and watching Malcolm Bell ’18 and Chris Lockhart ’09 shoot the lights out while Darius Branch ’16 conducted a ball-handling clinic was a fun reminder of how much good basketball I’ve been fortunate to watch over 14 years at Leo.

But as Emanuel Walker, Brian Kizer and Karon Shavers brought the young Lions back in the second half, I got a sense that Leo’s basketball future just might be as bright as its past.

Most of the alums stuck around for a barbecue lunch afterwards. They know they’re always welcome at Leo. 

Fred Cleveland ’19, Stars in the HBCU All Star Game

Not to take anything away from South Carolina’s win over the Iowa Caitlins in the NCAA women’s championship game, but Sunday, April 7 was a pretty good day for Leo High School basketball as well.

In Phoenix, Fred Cleveland Jr. ’19 started for Team Rick Mahorn in the HBCU All-Star Game and scored 20 points in a 108-97 loss to Team Ben Wallace. Fred’s total included six three-pointers. We heartily concur with TV commentator Avery Johnson’s suggestion that “Fred’s in range when he gets off the bus.”

Fred was one of the most decorated basketball players in Leo history over his two varsity seasons including All-Area, All-City, two-time All-Catholic League for a Lions team that reached the Class 2-A Supersectional. A 5-foot-9 senior guard at North Carolina Central, he continued to distinguish himself as a collegian, winning the Sam Jones Award as HBCU Player of the Year after leading the Central Eagles in scoring (15.3 points per game), minutes (33 per game) and the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference in assists (5.3 per game).

Fred, a first-team HBCU All-American, was named winner of the Sam Jones Award as HBCU Division I Player of the Year. The Sam Jones Award is named for the late Boston Celtics great who was a five-time NBA All-Star and a 10-time NBA champion, second only to teammate Bill Russell, who won 11 titles. Sam Jones also played at North Carolina Central.

Central was 9-5 in the conference, good for second place, and 18-13 overall. The season ended with an upset loss to Norfolk State in the MEAC tournament.

Fred was a true student-athlete at Leo, graduating as the salutatorian for the Class of 2019. Younger brother Cameron, completing his sophomore year at Morehouse College, was valedictorian for the Class of ’22. The Leo family salutes the Cleveland family as they continue to make us proud. 

Leo Youth Roars to IHSA Win As March Madness Begins

by Bill Figel

Leo’s young varsity players cleared their first hurdle in IHSA 2-A division competition Wednesday night at Julian High School beating Longwood 35-34 in a tense game decided as the final shot clanged off the backboard and rim. 

Leo never trailed in its first regional game and ran its record to 12-19 on the season. 

In a game of spurts and breakdowns, the Lions coughed up the ball and leads of 14-2 at the end of the first quarter and 17-10 at half.

Led by Kalvin Leonard’s 23 points, Longwood got within one – and the final scoring – with 20 seconds left on Leonard’s 35-foot wide-open wing jumper. After Longwood got the ball back with 11 seconds left, Leo doubled up on Leonard who was looking for the same magic as time expired but his shot hit hard off glass and rim in that order.

Junior forward Neil Anderson led the Lions with 11 points while working the post and the offensive glass. Ramone Little chipped in eight points.

Freshman point guard Brandon Gandy may have saved the day and helped the Lions advance in a game in which they were not at their best.

With the score 29-24 and Longwood beginning to believe, Gandy entered the game to start the fourth quarter. The slender 6-1 shooter nailed a three to break a tie at 24, forced two turnovers, fed Anderson on two open-floor breakaways and pump faked a jumper leading to his own baseline layup to give Leo a 35-29 lead and finish Leo’s scoring for the night with 4:35 to play. 

Grandy finished with five points, two steals and three assists in half a frame of action.

Leo’s defensive schemes worked early and late, both its man-to-man coverage and an impressive half-court trap with its “bigs up front” to cause havoc. In all Leo forced six Longwood turnovers in the first half and 10 in the second half.

Leo entered the IHSA 2-A division as a No. 2 seed at the Julian Regional Wednesday and will face host Julian (23-5, the No. 3 seed) that beat No. 5 seed Butler College Prep (13-16).

Leo and Julian tip off at 7:00 Friday, with the victor taking the regional title and earning a berth in the Corliss Sectional.

Hansberry (16-10), competing in the South Shore Regional, is the No. 1 seed in the Corliss Sectional that begins next week.

Julian is located at 10330 South Elizabeth Street, just east of Vincennes Avenue. There is plenty of parking in front of the building and west of the building.

Leo Falls to St. Ignatius on the Wolfpack’s Senior Night

By Bill Figel Leo and St. Ignatius – both in the highly competitive Catholic League Blue – faced off Friday night with the home team beating the Lions 72-43 on Senior Night, which served as another reminder of how young Leo is with only one senior. Leo finished its regular season 11-18 and 1-6 in Catholic League play. While the young Lions have made significant strides this season, turnovers continued to plague them. A heads up 30-footer by Marlo Moore sparked the Lions to close the first quarter down 16-11. As St. Ignatius saluted its seniors with generous playing minutes for some non-starters, Leo was able to keep the contest close, trailing 18-16 early in the second quarter. Enter the regulars, who smacked Leo with a 24-6 run for a 42-22 lead at half, along with a tutorial on crisp passing, limited dribbling and interior strength. The home team had three players in double figures, led by Reggie Ray’s 13. Stephen Barze led the way for Leo early with eight points and Kam’ron Dove decorated the scorebook with three 3’s in the final frame for a team-high nine points. The good news is the Lions’ season starts fresh on Wednesday, February 21, after some home court practices to prepare for the spacious gym at Julian, where the Lions have had success and could win a regional with the lessons learned this season. Leo enters the IHSA 2A division as a No. 2 seed at the Corliss Sectional at 6 p.m. versus the winner of the play-in game between No. 8 seed Harlan and No. 6 seed Longwood. Julian is located at 10330 South Elizabeth Street, just east of Vincennes Avenue. Host Julian (21-5), the No. 3 seed, will face No. 5 seed Butler  College Prep (13-15) at 7:30, with the winners meeting for the regional title and a berth in the Corliss Sectional on Friday, Feb. 23 at 7 p.m. Hansberry (16-10), competing in the South Shore Regional, is the No. 1 seed in the Corliss Sectional.

Mt. Carmel defeats Our Lions, 63-41

By Dan McGrath

If the Leo Lions didn’t get a good enough sense of what a championship team looks like in earlier beatdowns by Catholic League Blue powers Brother Rice (70-34)  and DePaul Prep (62-23) this season, Mt. Carmel offered them a refresher course at Leo Tuesday night.

The Caravan (26-3, 5-0 CCL Blue, No. 4 Chicago Sun-Times) sped out to a 39-14 halftime lead as sophomore point guard Noah Mister collected 17 points with five assists. 

To their credit, the Lions kept playing hard, and Carmel’s delay tactics and liberal substitutions made for a more competitive second half. But Leo was never in it and lost 63-41, falling to 11-17, 1-5.

“We don’t play well in ‘the Den,’” Carmel Coach Phil Segroves insisted before the game, but his “concern” was quickly alleviated as the Caravan seemed to make every shot they took in opening a 21-9 first-quarter lead. It was Game Over after Leo shot 2-for-10 and committed six turnovers while scoring just five second-quarter points.

How good is Mt. Carmel? Leading scorer and Northwestern signee Angelo Ciaravino missed the game with a hip injury, and Mister was barely heard from in the second half. But the Caravan still won by 22, getting 20 points from Cameron Thomas and 13 from Grant Best and avidly contesting every shot and every pass the Lions tried to make.

Emanuel Walker led the hosts with 11 points. Stephen Barze and freshman Brian Kizer scored seven apiece. 

How good is Mt. Carmel? Road games at Brother Rice (23-3, 5-1) on Friday and DePaul Prep (25-2, 6-0) on Tuesday stand between the Caravan and the Blue Division title. Who’s the best of the three?

Mt. Carmel has two big-time players, a share-the-ball mentality and defensive diligence, but lacks depth. Brother Rice does everything well and has plenty in its toolbox, but no marquee players. DePaul Prep plays suffocating defense and moves the ball, but lacks the surefire 20-point scorer who can go get a bucket whenever one is needed.

“I like DePaul,” Leo Coach Jamille Ridley said. “Defense and discipline. The two key building blocks.”

Leo wraps up the regular season at St. Ignatius (14-11, 1-4) on Friday. The Lions will be assigned to an IHSA Class 2-A Regional at either Julian or South Shore. The postseason schedule will be posted on the school web site as soon as it’s available. 

Lions Can’t Catch Up to Oak Lawn in the E.P. Shootout

By Dan McGrath

The South Suburban Red Conference which Oak Lawn (9-1, 18-6) is dominating this season is not as highly regarded as the Chicago Catholic League Blue in which Leo competes, so Coach Jamille Ridley expected the Spartans’ best shot in their meeting at the Evergreen Park Sunday Shootout.

“Beating a Catholic League Blue team would be a big deal for them,” he said.

The Lions (11-16, 1-5) made Oak Lawn work for it, trimming a 36-21 halftime deficit to 40-36 midway through the third period and remaining within striking distance thereafter. But as the Spartans were wrapping up a 68-61 victory, it was apparent that their guard line of Donte Montogomery and Corey Lee would be difference-makers on any team Leo has seen this season, irrespective of conference. 

Montgomery went for 25 points and Lee scored 20, controlling the game at both ends of the floor. They got to the basket with aplomb, and when Leo’s big men came out to contest, they slipped the ball to Kyle Brennan or Jack Dempsey for layups. Four points was as close as the Lions would get in the second half, despite another all-out effort.

“They beat us off the dribble too often and too easy,” Ridley said. “That’s my responsibility. We should have been in the gym yesterday, but I thought we needed the rest and we didn’t practice. We came out sluggish and they jumped us.”

Marlo Moore kept the Lions in it with 11 points in the first half, finishing with a team-high 18. Stephen Barze’s 13 points all came in the second half. Neil Anderson worked maniacally to score nine, and with designated shooter Emanuel Walker in foul trouble, freshman Brandon Gandy got some minutes and scored eight points.

The Lions will attempt to play spoiler by knocking Mount Carmel (25-3, 5-0) from the top spot in the CCL Blue when they meet at Leo on Tuesday. The regular season wraps with a game at St. Ignatius (14-11, 1-4) on Friday.

The Revival of Leo Wrestling Continues at an Accelerated Pace

By Dan McGrath

The revival of Leo wrestling continues at an accelerated pace.

With junior Nick Armour leading the way at 285 pounds, the Lions placed second in the 10-team IHSA Class 1-A Regional at Chicago Military Academy Bronzeville on Saturday, Feb. 3. Eight Leo wrestlers finished third or better to advance to Sectional competition at Quest Multisport Center on Feb. 10-11, the Lions’ best showing since wrestling was restored as a varsity sport 10 years ago.

Leo accumulated 118 points to host Chicago Military Academy’s 176 points.

Armour pinned two opponents and won by disqualification over a third to finish first in the 285-pound weight class. Two weeks earlier he took third place in the Chicago Catholic League meet. With a 31-4 record, Armour has been one of the most accomplished wrestlers in the Chicago area this year. He’s also an All-Conference Catholic League Red Division defensive lineman and made Academic All-State for maintaining a GPA of 3.2 or higher. 

Joining Armour as a regional champion was freshman Vandell Dudley, who pinned all three opponents in the 126-pound weight class. Freshman Byron Lee (106 pounds), sophomore Taylor Atkins (157 pounds) and freshman Jubril Kannike (165 pounds) achieved second-place finishes, while sophomores Aiden Bright (138 pounds) and Venson Jones (150 pounds) and junior Amir Abdul-Shakur (215 pounds) advanced by way of third-place finishes.

The future looks bright for a hard-working squad that includes no seniors, only two juniors and the rest freshmen and sophomores.

On Jan. 27, the Lions finished eighth at the 16-team Catholic League frosh-soph meet at Brother Rice, outperforming such larger, known-for-wrestling schools as Loyola Academy, De La Salle and DePaul Prep.

“I’m really proud of our guys,” Assistant Coach Mike Anderson said. “For some of them, this is the first time they’ve ever wrestled and to do as well as they have is a reward for how hard they have worked.” 

Third-place finishes by Dudley at 126 pounds and Jones at 150 pounds helped the Lions collect 80 points as a team. Kannike and fellow freshman Lucas Villanova placed fifth at 175 and 215 pounds, respectively, while Taylor Atkins was sixth at 165 pounds.

Host Brother Rice was a runaway winner of the meet with 284.5 points, followed by Mt. Carmel (193), St. Rita (167.5), Fenwick (164), Montini (131), St. Ignatius (104.5), Providence Catholic (90) and Leo. 

Congratulations, Jim Earner

Jim Earner, Leo’s Vice President for Business Affairs, integral part of the management team and longtime wrestling official, has been selected to work the IHSA state wrestling finals at the University of Illinois’ State Farm Center in Champaign on February 18 and 19.

Mr. Earner also was given regional and sectional assignments leading up to the state meet. Officials earn these assignments based on how they are rated by coaches and meet directors over the course of a season.

Mr. Earner wrestled competitively at Brother Rice. He has worked the teams competition at the state meet before, but in an officiating career spanning 30-plus years, this will be his first time officiating individual matches.

His Leo colleagues salute Jim for a most worthwhile honor.   

Lions Have a Tough Time at Loyola

By Dan McGrath

Coming off two semi-disheartening, coulda/woulda/shoulda losses to St. Francis de Sales and Riverside-Brookfield,  Leo Coach Jamille Ridley wanted nothing more than to “pop” Loyola Academy with an upset in a Catholic League Blue Division matchup in Wilmette Friday night.

Didn’t happen, but not for Leo’s lack of effort. Playing the perpetual-motion offense and vice-grip-tight defense that have been their hallmarks forever, the Ramblers ground out a 58-37 victory. 

With two state-champion football players among its starters, Loyola (23-5 overall, 3-3 Catholic League Blue) was a little too big, a little too strong and a little too old —its senior-dominated lineup is comfortably accustomed to playing together, while the young Lions are in Year 2 of a scorched-earth rebuild.

“Played them up here last year and they smoked us—running clock,” Ridley recalled. “Tonight, we competed. We played hard and held our own. We’re getting there. And if we trust the process, we’ll get there.”

The Lions have seen quite enough of Loyola senior sharpshooter Miles Boland, who outscored them (10-9) by himself in the first quarter on his way to a game-high 17 points. Boland would manage seven over the remaining three periods, but the Ramblers are an equal-opportunity offense and three other double-figures scorers would make sure their 33-20 halftime lead was never seriously threatened.

Andrew Hollerich scored 13 points, Brendan Loftus (a football recruit as a tight end) had 12 and Daniel Birmingham provided 10 off the bench.

Leo (11-15, 1-4 CCL Blue) got 16 points and a strong all-around game from junior Stephen Barze, and nine points from Emanuel Walker. Good shots are so hard to come by against Loyola’s miserly defense that you have to make more than 27 percent of your attempts. And you can’t further burden yourself with 13 turnovers and 9-of-16 free-throw shooting. 

“No one in this room should be sad or disappointed or hanging their heads,” Ridley said. “Of course you’re disappointed when you lose, but that’s a quality, veteran team that’s just better than us right now. But we’ll get there. If we continue to compete, put the work in and trust the process, we’ll get there.”

Next up for the Lions: Oak Lawn (17-6, 9-1 in the South Suburban Conference) in the Evergreen Park Shootout on Sunday. Game time is 3 p.m.