This ‘Super Saturday’ better than most

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Around the Northwest Herald office, many years ago, we started referring to the first weekend in November as “Super Saturday.”

It is the day for the IHSA Cross Country State Meet in Peoria, girls volleyball supersectionals around the state, and the second round of the football playoffs.

“Super Saturday” usually produces its share of memorable feats and performances, although this year’s was more super than most.

The area had one state cross country champion and one third-place finisher (from the same family), three volleyball teams win supersectionals, and four football teams advance to the IHSA playoff quarterfinals. Prairie Ridge, a fifth football team, punched its ticket to the quarters Friday night.

What a day!

Woodstock junior Kayla Beattie won the Class 2A girls race at the state cross country meet, and her senior sister, Elise, took third. In the Class 3A boys race, Cary-Grove senior Phil Fairleigh and Dundee-Crown junior Anthony Manfrin, both with sparkling high school résumés, neither however with a state medal until Saturday, finished in the top 12 to earn All-State status.

Perhaps the most remarkable finish of the day belongs to Harvard’s girls volleyball team, which won the Class 2A Spring Valley Hall Supersectional by fighting off five match points against Illinois Valley Central. The Hornets won, 16-25, 31-29, 25-20, to earn their third trip to state in five seasons. Harvard made the Class A State Tournament in 2005 and 2006.

Crystal Lake Central won the Class 3A Grayslake Central Supersectional against Nazareth Academy, 13-25, 25-15, 25-13, to make state for the second time in three years. And Cary-Grove did away with any drama to win the Class 4A St. Charles East Supersectional, 25-20, 25-13, against the host Saints.

In Class 4A football, Richmond-Burton and Johnsburg set up a quarterfinal neighborhood battle with wins Saturday, and Cary-Grove (6A) and Woodstock (5A) also continued to roll. That makes five area teams in the quarterfinals, the most ever, although the number almost was higher than that. Crystal Lake Central (6A) and Crystal Lake South (7A) came up just short in their games.

As Super Saturdays go, it definitely lived up to the billing.

Pumping them up: Johnsburg coach Barry Creviston this week asked his team to name the best Skyhawks player they had seen. Most of the players answered, “C.J.,” for wide receiver-linebacker C.J. Fiedorowicz, one of the nation’s top college tight end prospects.

Creviston revised the question to include the word “former,” and the players answered with Trevor Bupp, who quarterbacked former coach Jason Aubry’s high-flying offense in 2003 and 2004. Creviston then asked Bupp to speak with the team Saturday, just before it took the field against Herscher.

Bupp wore his 9-0 shirt from the 2004 team over his old jersey. Toward the end of his pep talk, Bupp told the players he and several other former players there hadn’t suited up for a while, then he ripped off his T-shirt to reveal his jersey and said, “Today, everyone bleeds blue and gold!”

“They all went crazy,” Creviston said.

Johnsburg defeated Herscher, 10-7, to advance to the quarterfinals for the first time in school history.

Scheduling problem: Cary-Grove athletic director-football coach Bruce Kay said principal Jay Sargeant wanted to set up the Trojans’ Class 6A home playoff game with Chicago De La Salle for noon Saturday, but the IHSA would not allow the game to be scheduled that early.

Sargeant was looking out for the C-G fans, many of whom might like to see the football game, then make it to Normal to see the volleyball team, which either will play for third place at 6:45 p.m. or the state title at 7:45.

Kay said the football game will be Saturday, but as of Sunday, he still was nailing down a time.

• Joe Stevenson covers high school sports for the Northwest Herald. He can be reached at 815-526-4513. He also can be reached by fax at 815-459-5640 or by e-mail at jstevenson@nwherald.com.