Rita’s Varsity Mustang Football team de-feated Chicago’s Public League Champion Simeon 34-20 on Friday, November 27th to win the city’s 76th Annual Prep Bowl. This is the sixth Prep Bowl Championship the Mustangs have captured in Rita history.

Junior running back Jahwon Akui was named the Prep Bowl MVP following his four touchdowns. This included an 85-yard opening kickoff return. Akui had a total of 148 rushing yards on 29 carries.

“We’re really blessed as a team to have been able to win a championship like this,” said Akui.

Senior quarterback Rob Gallik was also a key player in the Prep Bowl victory going 10-of-14 passing, 119 yards, and scoring a touchdown.

“I think winning the Prep Bowl was a great statement about the character and pride that this team has in St. Rita,” said Head Coach Todd Kuska ’90.

“Having the opportunity to practice on Thanksgiving and play a championship game in week 14 is something that only a select few teams at St. Rita have ever done, and it will always be in the thoughts of all of the members of this year’s team. They were given the chance to walk off the fi eld winning their last football game of the year and for some of them the last football game of their career, and they were able to get it done,” he said.

Rita’s Prep Bowl Championship wrapped up a successful season of football for the Mustangs. Overall the team’s record was 11-3 for the season, including a historic

win over Mt. Carmel 54-16. “I am extremely proud of all of our play-

ers and coaches who were a part of this year’s successes,” said Kuska.

“The unity of the team and their desire to play for St. Rita is what ultimately made this season successful. As always it was a lot of dedication and hard work by all of those involved that allowed us to compete at the high level in which we did and to be able to win a championship,” he said.

Kuska himself reached a milestone of his own during this, his 12th season as Head Coach. The Mustangs’ 35-14 victory over local Chicago Catholic League rival Br. Rice on September 11th gave Kuska’s his 100th win. He was also named the “2009 Tom Lemming Coach of the Year.”

It is evident that the Mustangs’ recent Prep Bowl victory only added to the pride Kuska has in being the Head Coach of the players at Rita as he said, “Watching the team sing the fi ght song to the fans at Sol-dier Field was one of the best moments for me as a coach this year. To see the team care so much about celebrating their Cham-pionship with the families and fans of St. Rita really makes me realize how important the community of St. Rita is to all of our players.”

The Ritan

In This Issue

PREP BOWL CHAMPS!

A Student Publication ofSaint Rita of Casica High School

7740 South Western AvenueChicago, Illinois 60620

Volume Eighty-One. Number One. Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Page 2Annual Food Drive helps many in need.

Photo by Mr. Josh Blaszak

Page 3A in-depth look at new Rita faculty.

Page 4Fans � ock to purchase Call of Duty.

Page 5Twenty-seven named State Scholars.

Page 6Sophomore Football wins CCL title.

Page 7Basketball season o� to a solid start.

Merry Christmasand

A Happy New Year

� e Ritan Newspaper Sta� wishes everyone a very Merry Christmas and a

Happy New Year. We hope the students, faculty, and

sta� at Rita have a relaxing, safe, and healthy break.

Let us also remember that Jesus is the reason for the season as we spend time

with our loved ones.

Get ready for a great 2010!

Photo courtesy Institutional Advancement

Photo by Mr. Josh BlaszakTHE VARSITY MUSTANG Football team celebrates their 34-20 victory over Simeon at Soldier Field in the 76th Annual Chicago Prep Bowl. This was the second time in three years the Mustangs captured the Prep Bowl Championship. Their overall record this season was 11-3.

Complete 2009 Football Coverage Located on Back Page

SPECIAL 2009 AWARDS

Tim Wojtecki AwardTommy Hitz & Joe Maes

Wayne Tomas AwardJahwon Akui

Cronin AwardJahwon Akui

Ray Reiche AwardKevin Yerkes

Fr. William Thomas AwardTim Ladd & Jake O’Dea

O� ensive Most Valuable PlayerRob Gallik

Defensive Most Valuable PlayerBruce Gaston

Most Improved PlayerDan Connolly

Kevin Kehoe AwardJoe Campagna

Ed Du� y AwardRon McNamara

Andy Smialek AwardChris Simms & Kyle Jachim

By Dan CollinsSenior Writer

Rita’s Student Government Offi cers for the 2009-2010 academic year started things off right with a spirit fi lled fantastic Homecoming Week.

“This year’s offi cers came into the year wanting to set the bar high for school spirit. The group’s attitude and leadership has re-ally helped to do that,” said Junior Class Moderator Mr. Josh Blaszak.

The theme for this Homecoming Week 2009 was “Veni, Vidi, Vici,” which was taken from Julius Cesar meaning “I came, I saw, I conquered.”

Homecoming Week was once again fun-fi lled will many events to get as many stu-dents involved as possible.

THE FRESHMAN CLASS kicked the week off with the Annual Homecoming Decoration Contest. They covered the ath-letic wing from top to bottom with all kinds of decorations cheering on everything Rita. The repeat winner of this year’s contest was no surprise to some, Biology teacher Mrs. Maureen Pangrazio and her class.

The fi rst school-wide event held was new this year; a students vs. faculty volleyball game. Members of the Varsity Mustang Volleyball team dominated at they took on various members of the faculty who couldn’t keep up with the reigning Chicago Catholic League Champions.

Next up was the Annual Students vs. Faculty Flag Football Game. This was a game that will go down in Homecoming Week history, as an alleged blown class by the referees left the faculty celebrating a thrilling win.

Senior Tom Murphy, captain of the stu-dent team, said, “The refs [seniors Brendan Garrett and Luke Turner] blew the game on purpose. We should have won that game.”

A returning favorite was the Annual Dodgeball Tournament consisting of teams from all levels and the faculty. With balls fl ying everywhere, striking victims on and off the court, victory came yet again for the seniors. “It was a fun tournament to offi ci-ate,” said senior Dan Connolly.

SENIORS CONTINUED TO triumph during the Mustang Olympics. With stands fi lled with a sea of red shirts, each class gave it their all, however, they didn’t have what it took to beat the seniors. “I think

the Mustang Olympic went very well,” said Student Government President senior Mike Basic.

The week concluded with a win for the Mustang Football team over Fenwick and the Homecoming Dance. Queen of Peace senior and Rita Cheerleader Missy Smi-alek was crowned Rita’s 2009 Homecom-ing Queen. “Missy more than deserved the honor of Homecoming Queen,” said Basic, who was also Missy’s escort.

While Homecoming Week was huge for the Student Government during the fi rst semester, that was not all they were busy with. The Annual Thanksgiving Food Drive was held and turned out to be one of

the most successful in recent years.In the week leading up to Thanksgiving

Day, collections taken from the student body, faculty, and staff of Rita brought in 7,983 non-perishable items. This more than doubled the amount of food collected last year at Rita.

AFTER SORTING AND packing the donations, the Senior Class Offi cers were commissioned at the all-school Thanksgiv-ing Mass to go out and deliver the items collected by the St. Rita Family. The food items were delivered to the St. Basil/Visi-tation, St. Clare of Montefalco, and St. Rita of Cascia Food Pantries. Angel’s Touch, another non-profi t organization that is run by Rita staff member Pat Mitchell also benefi ted from the donations.

The Student Government currently looks to continue many traditions in the Spring while adding several new activities.

The Government is gearing up for the Annual Blood Drive and Junior and Se-nior Proms, while the Freshmen are getting ready to host their Hawaiian Pool Night. All levels are looking into the creating some additional class events to build great-er unity amongst their members.

The Freshman Student Government of-fi cers are especially excited to get started as they were only recently inducted.

“Our freshman class seems really moti-vated as they are already so involved in dif-ferent areas of our school. I’m really ex-cited to see them bring their enthusiasm to Student Government and collaborate with the upperclassmen to work on behalf of the entire student body,” said Freshman Class Moderator Mrs. Vicki Blaszak.

Photo by Mr. Zach BlaszakSENIOR CLASS STUDENT Government Offi cers set out to deliver the 7,983 food items that were collected by the St. Rita Family during the Annual Thanksgiving Food Drive. From left to right: Marty Kordas Tim Ladd, Student Government Vice Presi-dent Joe Campagna, Student Government President Mike Basic, Tom Murphy, Tom Kel-ly, and Bro. Gary Hresil, O.S.A. ’86, Director of Activities and Senior Class Moderator.

NEWSPage 2 December 22, 2009

S t u d e n t G o v e r n m e n t s e t t i n g t o n e f o r y e a r

By David Schrader Senior Editor

The soon-to-be Dr. Kevin Burke is the 29 year old student that has been roaming Rita’s halls for the past few months.

Other than being a new target for the good-natured raillery of the students, his main goal for be-ing in the classrooms is gathering information for his dissertation toward a PhD in Education.

Very little research has been done on Catholic education, par-ticularly in secondary schools and those that are single gender schools.

More specifi cally, there has been little research found on how the masculinity of an all-boys academy and the spirituality of

a catholic education infl uence a teen’s education.

Mr. Burke is going to corner this very niche market.

Mr. Burke grew up on the Southside with many siblings and attended Marist High School.

AFTER HIGH SCHOOL Mr. Burke attended Boston College where he graduated with a degree in English. For a couple years he then taught high school English and Theology before going to the University of Notre Dame to re-ceive a Master’s degree in Edu-cation.

Mr. Burke completed yet an-other Master’s degree back at Boston College, while teaching some courses in writing.

Now Mr. Burke is working to receive his PhD from Michigan

State University, as he teaches education and writing classes.

The research Mr. Burke is com-piling at Rita takes place Tuesday through Thursday. On Mondays, he supervises student teachers from Michigan State who are undergoing their practicum in the Chicago Public Schools. On Fridays, Mr. Burke teaches a Master’s degree course to those student teachers.

Looking towards the future, Mr. Burke is already applying for positions that start in September. He is looking toward becom-ing an education professor at a university. Such universities he is looking into include: Butler University, Providence College, Roosevelt University, the Uni-versity of Illinois – Chicago, and

William and Mary Col-lege.

WHILE HE IS a man that simply wished to teach for the rest of his life, Mr. Burke isn’t all academia though. Just a couple months ago he ran the Chicago Mara-thon, his fourteenth, while raising money to benefi t The Chicago Po-lice Memorial Fund.

Mr. Burke understands that it isn’t normal for a man to sit-in on classes while following a stu-dent around, and he is thankful everyone has included him in the St. Rita Family.

Rita setting for research

Photo by Mr. Josh BlaszakMR. KEVIN BURKE (right) interacts with senior Ryan Gallagher. Mr. Burke is spending time at Rita this year collecting research for his doctoral study.

Rita band presents Sounds of the SeasonBy Al Smith II

Senior Writer

Rita’s band spread holiday cheer on the evening of December 9th as they presented their Annual Christmas Concert “Sounds of the Season”. A great crowd was entertained by performances from the Saxophone Quartet, Jazz Band, Symphonic Band, and the Rita-nettes. Parents, students, and the general public showed their sup-port of the music program with loud cheers and applause throughout the evening.

THE JAZZ BAND which treated attendees at the December St. Rita Novena Mass on December 3rd to a Concert preview, follow-ing in the evening with some upbeat interpretations of classic holi-day songs, including “Frosty the Snowman” and “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.”

The Jazz Band has a full bill for the second semester, as they are slated to perform at the Annual Valentine Dinner Dance, a major St. Rita fundraiser, the Mothers’ Club Fashion Show, and at local gram-mar schools during “Catholic Schools Week.”

Photo by Mr. Josh BlaszakRITA’s JAZZ BAND entertains the crowd at their “Sounds of the Season” Christmas Concert on December 9th. Left to right: junior Timothy Doran, junior Maxx Akel, junior Ronald Bigeck, senior Pat Leonard, junior Coty Perreira, and sophomore Kevin Zawaski.

December 22, 2009 FACULTY PROFILES Page 3

A closer look at new faculty at RitaThis past semester the Rita faculty and staff was joined by many new faces. Here is a closer look at some of those new Rita Family members.Mrs. Mary Misiora

Many current Rita students may have alumni fathers, brothers, or other relatives that were

taught by Mr. Jim Misiora. Mr. Mi-siora was a history teacher and varsity hockey coach for many years until he died suddenly in December of 2001.

Now, Rita stu-dents are encoun-

tering another Misiora in the classroom. Mr. Misiora’s wife, Mary, is currently teaching The-ology I and History of Cinema at Rita. Mrs. Misiora is also the new moderator of the school yearbook, The Cascian.

Mrs. Misiora taught elementary school chil-dren for 13 years and then became a principal in Lyons for 10 years. She went on to become principal at Most Holy Redeemer where she re-mained for fi ve years.

After retiring from Most Holy Redeemer and taking a year off, Mrs. Misiora’s heart led her to Rita. This is actually her third year at Rita, for the past two years, she has been fi lling in as a long-term substitute.

Mrs. Misiora is the oldest of four children and loves her cat. She enjoys being able to teach where her husband taught, and likes be-ing about to teach all boys and work with the Rita faculty.

When not teaching, she enjoys scrapbooking, making cards, cooking, and reading by the wa-ter at her second home in Indiana.Mr. Kieran Kellam

Mr. Kieran Kellam, a new English I and U.S. History teacher, is a 1998 graduate of Rita.

He has been rec-ognizable to most students since last Spring when he re-turned to Rita as a student teacher.

Besides teaching, Mr. Kellam was the coach of the fresh-

man soccer team.So far he likes working with the students and

faculty. He said, “I like the fact that we are very focused on God, St. Rita, and St. Augustine. That is a benefi t that most people don’t have and that we capitalize on.”

Married for the past three year, Mr. Kellam also has many interests outside of Rita. He en-joys soccer, fi shing, golf, and researching his family history.Mrs. Katie Curran

Mrs. Katie Curran returned to the Mathemat-ics faculty at Rita earlier this year to teach ju-

niors Algebra II.Mrs. Curran is

originally from St. Mary Star of the Sea Parish and re-ceived her degree from Northern Il-linois University in Education and Mathematics.

She began teaching third graders, but real-ized she would like to teach older students and Mathematics exclusively, so she joined the Rita faculty in 2001.

In 2005 Mrs. Curran left Rita to start a fam-ily. She now has three children: Taylor who is 4, Brendan who is 3, and Kristen who is 1.

She has now returned to teach part-time. “It feels like I never left,” she said.

Outside of Rita, Mrs. Curran spends most of her time with her family, but also teaches some

aerobics class at LA Fitness. She became a cer-tifi ed instructor about 8 months ago.

Mrs. Curran feels as if everyone at Rita is her extended family. She likes and respects her col-leagues, and she enjoys attending athletic events and running into students and past graduates in the community.

This year, she looks forward to preparing the juniors for the ACT as she has been teaching prep courses at night for several years now.Ms. Kathleen O’Neill

Ms. Kathleen O’Neill is a new addition to The Center for Campus Ministry at Rita who

has been an energet-ic addition to Rita.

Ms. O’Neill grew up as an only child outside of New York City, in Larch-mont, NY, where she attended both middle school and high school at Ur-

suline School.She went on to attend Villanova University

in Pennsylvania, which like Rita is an Augustin-ian educational institution. At Villanova, Ms. O’Neill studied and majored in both psychol-ogy and theology and minored in business.

Ms. O’Neill was active in Liturgical Ministry at Villanova. She served as a Eucharistic Min-ister for two years, and then became a part of the Liturgical Council. Ms. O’Neill also went on various service trips throughout college to Louisiana, Florida, and Guatemala.

She was also part of Villanova’s Scholastic Bowl team. Ms. O’Neill was a research assis-tant for the psychology department and helped conduct experiments on aggression and on per-sonality theory.

Her heavy involvement in campus ministry in both high school and college is part of the reason Ms. O’Neill is with the Rita community this year.

Ms. O’Neill is an Augustinian Volunteer who is committing to serving in the Chicago area for one year. Like her many predecessors, Ms. O’Neill found the numerous opportunities available for her to serve others while working at Rita to be the perfect fi t for her year.

While in The Campus Ministry Center, Ms. O’Neill assists with the Knights of Augustine, the R.O.S.E. Hours Service Program, Kairos Retreats, Rita liturgies, and is a mentor to the freshman class amongst other responsibilities.

Outside of school Ms. O’Neill likes to spend time drawing, painting, and cooking.

Ms. O’Neill said of her time at Rita thus far, “I love the sense of Augustinian community that exists at St. Rita. I truly feel at home here.”Fr. Rich Young

“Being here at Rita every day is always a new experience. I am hoping to get guys excited

about their faith.” These words come from Rita’s Theol-ogy I and II teacher, Fr. Rich Young.

Preferably known as Fr. Rich, he is a 1982 graduate of Rita. Following his time as a Rita stu-

dent, Fr. Rich went on to attend Quincy Univer-sity, where he graduated after only three years.

After college Fr. Rich furthered his education by receiving his Master of Divinity degree from St. Thomas Theological Seminary in Denver, Colorado.

Fr. Rich worked with people with disabilities in various work settings, in jail ministry, and with the Native American and Hispanic com-munities in Arizona and New Mexico. He has also worked at DePaul University, teaching in the Religious Studies Department.

Before joining Rita’s faculty, Fr. Rich was a diocesan priest working at St. Ita Parish, a multi-cultural parish, for about 5 years.

In addition to joining the Rita faculty, Fr. Rich also now lives with Augustinian Friars in the St. Rita Monastery as he discerns joining the Augustinian order.

Fr. Rich has one brother who is a Chicago Police offi cer and his parents live happily in Oak Lawn.

Fr. Rich loves spending time with his two nieces and nephew, along with traveling. Other hobbies of his include singing, playing the gui-tar, and music in general. In fact, Fr. Rich is currently in the process of forming a choir at Rita.

In the past few weeks, Fr. Rich has been meeting with many students to create Rita’s choir that will enhance the singing at school liturgies.

Fr. Rich says what he likes most about Rita so far is the great community and how everyone acts as they are, without putting up an fronts.

“Students take care of each other, and even when there are disagreements, they don’t hold grudges; as a community, we forgive and for-get,” he said.Ms. Stephanie Saul

Ms. Stephanie Saul from Naperville is Rita’s French Teacher. Ms. Saul graduated from Na-

perville North High School where she was involved in the French Club and Cross Country.

After high school Ms. Saul went on to attend Bowling Green State Uni-versity in Ohio, but

she wanted to learn more about the French lan-guage and culture, so she then studied in Paris and Tours, France.

Prior to teaching at Rita, Ms. Saul taught French in the U.S. and English in France.

When asked why she wanted to teach French Ms. Saul replied “When I was fourteen, I told my parents that I wanted to be a French teacher.” Her parents sent her to France with her French teacher and continued to support her goal until she achieved this dream.

Outside of the classroom Ms. Saul enjoys practicing yoga, reading, the arts and traveling.

About her time at Rita Ms. Saul said, “I am elated to be here. The students and faculty are all second to none.”

Ms. Saul looks forward to what this year has in store for her. Ms. Saul hopes to plan a trip to France so her students can experience what they are studying.Ms. Marisa Albrarran

Ms. Marisa Albarran is one of Rita’s Spanish teachers. Growing up on the Southside of Chi-cago, Ms. Albarran was a member of the Span-ish club, French Club, and Student Council dur-

ing her time at Curie High School.

She attended Trinity Christian College, where she majored in Spanish Education.

When not in the classroom Ms. Al-barran enjoys going

bowling with friends, seeing movies, attending concerts, and practicing Jujitsu.

Although this is her fi rst teaching position, Ms. Albarran feels a strong connection with the pride and tradition given off by all the students and faculty at Rita.

When asked what teaching Spanish meant to her she replied, “It is such an important language and subject to study, and although the rules of the language are important it is vital to know how to speak and understand the language.”

Ms. Albarran loves teaching at Rita, and the everyday small things like the freshmen saying “swoosh” and all the school reciting the prayer. “It really makes me feel like I am teaching in the right place,” she said.

Ms. Albarran is curious to see how far her and her students can go while studying Spanish.Mrs. Kathy Byrne

Mrs. Kathy Byrne is Rita’s new Biology and Earth Science teacher. Originally from Queen

of Martyrs Parish, Mrs. Byrne was a part-time teacher at Mother McAu-ley High School for twenty-seven years prior to teaching at Rita.

Mrs. Byrne is a graduate of Mother

McAuley. She then attended St. Teresa’s in Winona, Minnesota.

Following college Mrs. Byrne married Tom, a 1977 Rita graduate, and later had fi ve boys. Some of her boys have already graduated from Rita, while one is here now and another one will be attending Rita in the future.

When asked why she wanted to teach at Rita Mrs. Byrne replied, “It was my calling, after so many years of dedication to St. Rita, I knew I had to come and teach here.”

Mrs. Byrne so far has loved her time at Rita, and when asked about the atmosphere she said, “All of the people here are so welcoming, and are willing to give a helping hand.”

“The students are so much fun to teach and I am so happy I am able to be in the classroom and a part of this big loving family,” she said.Mr. Thomas Conlon

Students who are in or pass by room 109 fi rst period are familiar with another new face at Rita. That face is Mr. Thomas Conlon.

Mr. Thomas Conlon is a part-time Theology III teacher at Rita this year.Mrs. Maureen McWilliams

Mrs. Maureen McWilliams is also a new face that has been seen around Rita since this sum-mer. Mrs. McWilliams is the Administrative Assistant to the Chief Financial Offi cer. She handles student tuition.Mr. Tom Ramsden

Mr. Tom Ramsden recently joined the Rita staff as the Director of Institutional Advance-ment.

As the new Director of Institutional Advance-ment, Mr. Ramsden oversees all operations that take place within the Offi ce of Institutional Advancement, including alumni and public re-lations, Rita’s Annual Appeal, and graphic and media design.

In his role, Mr. Ramsden plays a vital role in continuing the success and operation of Rita for many years to come.

Mr. Ramsden is father of three and comes to us having spent time working most recently at St. Ignatius College Prep.Mr. Ernie Mrozek

Mr. Ernie Mrozek, a 1971 Rita graduate, has been named Rita’s new Vice President. Mr. Mrozek, who has been a member of Rita’s Board of Directors for the past three years, also took over as the Chairman of the Board on July 1st.

Upon graduating from Rita, Mr. Mrozek went on to attend the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where he received a BS in Accounting in 1976.

For 12 years Mr. Mrozek worked at Arthur Andersen before he moved on to The Service-Master Company, a Fortune 500 company with annual revenues of over $3 billion.

Mr. Mrozek remained at ServiceMaster for over 20 years and was the President and Chief Operating Offi cer prior to his retirement over a year ago.

Mr. Mrozek has been married for 35 years to his wife Diane and has two children, Maggie 26 and Matt 17.

Mr. Mrozek is offering his services Pro Bono and will oversee long-term planning, school fi nances, the Offi ce of Institutional Advance-ment, and the Admissions Offi ce. He will also be a mentor to the students.

By Brad Dorng, Austin Kingsley, and Jake LePretre

Sophomore and Freshmen Writers

The influx of music games recently has been both-ering me. As I sit there, pounding away on plastic pads as colorful “notes” sprawled towards me, I had to wonder something. Do these games, Rock Band and Guitar Hero, help give you the initial push to actually pick up a real instrument and start playing? Or do they detract, making you believe the plastic toy you have is a good enough substitute for a real instrument?

The reason I thought about this is because of the gui-tar. Currently, five buttons comprise of all the range of notes in a song. The standard guitar has six strings and twenty-two frets. That’s 132 notes, or 127 more notes than can be played on a guitar hero guitar (if my basic arithmetic is correct).

WHAT DOES THAT have to do with the price of tea in China, other than the fact that all this plastic garbage is created there? Nothing. However, it does mean that there is little skill in mastering a music game guitar. That was the point, as people were supposed to be able to feel like they were playing a real instrument while never actually accomplishing a single thing.

Is this a bad thing? Yes, yes it is. For the children who only know this game, a real guitar appears to be an unholy mess that’s about as easy to play as Connect 4 when somebody has cut off your hands.

My little cousin got a guitar for his birthday. After many sessions with his band The No No No’s (for which I created the name and was guest drummer), he thought he was ready and was excited to delve into the experience that only music can give someone.

AFTER TWO MONTHS of going to weekly les-sons, practicing, and probably playing Stairway to Heaven ad nauseam, my cousin quit and went back to Guitar Hero: World Tour. He then kick-started a US tour and never looked back.

What I’m driving at is this, without music games, he wouldn’t have wanted to play a guitar so much. However, it’s because of the game that he quit without so much as a second thought. Joseph Heller couldn’t have thought of a better example of a Catch-22.

The plastic toy guitar offers you nothing to prepare for a real instrument. The drums, on the other hand, are a different story. While hitting one sounds like hit-ting an empty milk jug with a stick (I like to think the sounds it makes is tawk), the basics of the drums are there. You still get the timing down for the foot pedal and you still develop rhythm. So, again, you learn the very basics of drumming.

Music games are the only time where I can actually feel the time I have been wasting. I asked a friend of mine who is a musician if people who become profi-cient at music games are really no-talent hacks. He said yes. That about sums up my feelings too.

Please note, the editorial is a written view of one St. Rita High School student. It does not necessarily reflect the views of others at St. Rita or the school as an institution.

By David SchraderSenior Editor

Them Crooked Vultures is a super group comprised of Josh Homme as the guitarist/vocalist from Queens of the Stone Age, Dave Grohl as drummer from Nirvana and Foo Fighters, and John Paul Jones as the bassist from Led Zep-pelin. Now, most bands comprised of this much talent are usually utter trash.

Take note of the Travelling Wilburys. This band com-prised of George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne, and Roy Orbison. The band consisted of great mu-sicians, but can anyone think of a song created by them.

FOR THAT REASON, excitement for any band con-sisting of three musicians from, arguably, three of the

greatest bands in our time, and Nirvana, tends to dwin-dle. The egos in these bands usually clash as their mem-bers can’t handle shar-ing the spot-light.

Thankfully, that is not the case. The

three together brought all of their musical talents and com-bined it into an unforgettable experience. Each musician brought along with him his own style of music.

However, since Homme is the lead singer and guitarist, Them Crooked Vultures resembles Queens of the Stone Age the most. His sphere of influence has been pushed to the foreground, which is by no means a bad thing. It sounds like a new CD for Queen of the Stone Age instead of an entirely new band. So if you were looking for a re-vitalization of Zeppelin, you are out of luck.

The group’s album also titled Them Crooked Vultures has a very slow, methodical theme to it. Only two songs (Mind Eraser (No Chaser) and Dead End Friends) have a fast tempo to them.

THE REST ARE slowed up and have a very blues feel to them. The song, or battleship as the band likes to refer to the long ones as, Warsaw or the First Breath You Take After You Give Up does not even try to sound like a rock song. It’s a deliberate attempt to mimic what Miles Davis would sound like if he had an electric guitar instead of a trumpet.

That is about all that can be said about this group. The average song is about four minutes long, with three of them being near seven minutes. There are thirteen of them, and each one of is great.

For those who do not want to purchase or listen to the entire album, at least download two songs, New Fang and Mind Eraser (No Chaser). You would be doing yourself a disservice not to. I give Them Crooked Vultures, per-formed by Them Crooked Vultures, 5 out of 5.

EditorialRock Band killing the Music Industry

� e Ritan is a publication of the students of St. Rita of Cascia High School, 7740 S. Western Ave., Chicago IL 60620. Phone: 773-925-6600 ext. 6668. Letters to the editors can be dropped o� at the Mel SchreierRitan O� ce located in the academic wing on the northwest end of the second � oor, submitted via email to jblaszak@stritahs.com or given to Mr. Josh Blaszak in the O� ce of Institutional Advancement.

Senior Editor: David Schrader

Sta� Writers: Dan Collins, Brad Dorng, Sean Gerich, Cesar Guzman, Jake LePretre, Austin Kingsley, Charlie Murphy, Sean Nolan, Bobby Raehl, Craig Sabath, Al Smith II, and Alex Summerfelt

Layout: Matthew Dunson, Jake LePretre, Austin Kingsley, Ed Rowland, and David Schrader

Photographers: Herbie Johnson and Oscar Moscaro

Artists: Matt Gooseherst

Moderator: Mr. Josh Blaszak

Page 4 December 22, 2009STUDENT VIEWS

Them Crooked Vultures group represents the rebirth of rock

Fans flock to buy long awaited Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

By Michael LorimerFreshman Writer

Millions of people across the world eagerly anticipated the long awaited release of Call of Duty: Modern War-fare 2 outside the thousands of stores that had the game in stock and ready to sell.

The game, Call of Duty: Modern warfare 2, or sometimes called CoD6 (kaHd six) for short, was first an-nounced on February 11, 2009 as a sequel for the very popular 2008 title, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, and is the sixth release in the Call of Duty series (after Call of Duty: World at War.)

CoD6 has many features such as breathtaking High-Definition graph-ics, an engaging storyline, and many new multiplayer maps and weapons that weren’t available in past Call of Duty games.

THE VIDEO GAME Club at Rita recently added this game to their cur-rent library and couldn’t be more

satisfied with how the game turned out. Since its releases, after school on Wednesdays, the video game club gets together and engages in battles against each other in CoD6’s multi-player.

Juniors Matt Hiatt and Mike Brac-kee, both members of the Video Game Club, said, “We really do have a lot of

fun playing this game with our fellow Ritamen and can’t wait to see what will happen in the future of gaming.”

Mrs. Marilyn Shannon, the Video Game Club’s moderator, said with a smile on her face, “It’s a great addi-tion to our current game library here at St. Rita.”

SHE WENT ON to say, “It’s both amazing and hilarious how engrossed within the game the students become. Technology has come a far way and it boggles my mind as to what will come out next!”

Kevin Goosherst, a Rita freshman student who pre-ordered his copy and now owns the game said, “The game brings awesomeness to life with great campaign levels, a new multiplayer system, and Special Ops, which is a great new game mode. I love it.”

Sales of the game are expected to reamin steady, if not increase as de-mand gets higher, until the release of the next game in the series.

By Al Smith IISenior Writer

The Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) announced its recognition of 19,345 high school students as “2010 Illinois State Scholars.” The students hail from 752 schools from all across the State of Illinois.

Rita’s Class of 2010 has 27 Illinois State Scholars out of a total of 168 senior students. Therefore, 16% of the students in the senior class are Illinois State Scholars.

Illinois State Scholar winners rank in the top ten percent of high school seniors. Selection is based on SAT, ACT and/or Prairie State Achievement Exam scores, and/or class rank at the end of the junior year.

“EXCELLENT HIGH SCHOOL grades are tremendously im-portant for laying the groundwork for future college success,” said ISAC Executive Director Andrew Davis. “Illinois State Scholars are the best and the brightest in our state’s high schools, and we salute them, their families and their teachers on this achievement.”

The following students of Rita’s Class of 2010 were honored with this special recognition: Austin Bilotto, Terrence Brennan, Jo-seph Cairo, Daniel Dillon, Robert Gallik, Ronald Garcia, Matthew Goosherst, Roberto Hernadez, John Howard, Joseph Jasas, Thomas Kelly, Joseph Loconte, Mike Lopez, Matthew McGowan, William McGrenera, Zachary Moore, Matthew Murawski, Bryan Przepiora, David Schrader, John Sheedy, Kyle Sheehan, Christopher Simms, John Starcevich, Kyle Stearns, Thomas Sujack, Benjamin Velazquez, and Kevin Yerkes.

December 22, 2009 Page 5NEWS

Special dedication ceremony held for Petkus Labs

Twenty-seven named Illinois State Scholars

Photo by Mr. Josh BlaszakRITA’S CLASS OF 2010 has 27 Illinois State Scholars, 16% of the class. Illinois State Scholar winners rank in the top ten percent of high school seniors. This year’s honorees stand with Principal Mrs. Sally Deenihan.

Photo by Mr. Josh BlaszakRITA’S ADMINISTRATION IS joined by Mr. Don Petkus ’51 and Mrs. Nancy Petkus and students during the recent dedica-tion of the Petkus Laboratories. Back row left to right: St. Rita Vice President Mr. Ernie Mrozek ’71, Physics teacher Mr. Don Krystof, Mrs. Nancy Petkus, Principal Mrs. Sally Deenihan, Mr. Don Petkus ’58, Chemistry teacher Mrs. Susan Krystof, and President Fr. Tom McCarthy, O.S.A. ’83. Front row left to right: junior Ryan McGowan, seniors Kevin Yerkes, Jaime Viramontes, Kevin Handler, Dan Dillon, and junior Bob Gallagher.

By Cesar GuzmanFreshman Writer

Rita continued a recently formed tra-dition this year by welcoming seven stu-dents and a faculty member from Colegio Urdaneta located in Bilbao, a city in the Basque Country of Spain to Chicago and into the St. Rita Family.

The visitors were part of Rita’s third installment of the International Exchange Program, which previously conducted ex-changes with Germany and Australia.

COLEGIO URDANETA LIKE Rita is also an all-boy Augustinian school. They first heard about Rita’s International Ex-change Program through last year’s ex-change school St. Augustine’s College located in Sydney, Australia. Once con-tact was made between Rita and Urdaneta plans were underway.

In September seven Rita men, including sophomores Albert Alfano, Kal Nastek, Billy Pink, junior Dan Foley, and seniors Pat Boline, Christian Chavez, and Kevin Yerkes, each hosted an exchange student inviting them to stay at their homes with their families for two weeks.

It was a culture-filled three weeks, as the Spanish students and their hosts took many excursions around the city and in-volved them in their day-to-day activities as Rita students.

The students were introduced to the American culture as they went to the Fed-eral Reserve and learned about politics and the government at City Hall.

On another occasion they traveled to the Willis Towner (formally known as the Sears Tower), Navy Pier, the Chicago History Museum, and to Millennium Park, giving them a taste of the Chi-cago lifestyle.

The Spanish students also spent several days in class at Rita, attended Rita’s 2009 Homecom-ing Week game, dance, and other festivities, and also took part in addi-tional events with their host families.

The return exchange

will be in the first weeks in June as the Rita students will travel to Spain and stay with the families of those students that were hosted in Chicago. This opportunity will allow for Rita’s young men to learn first hand about the culture that is present in Spain.

“WE LIVED AN unforgettable experi-ence that we will never forget,” said Urdan-

eta student Alvaro Izquierdo, who stayed with Pat Boline and his family. “We had had a great time learning English.”

The Rita administration and Mrs. Jodi McLawhorn, Director of the International Exchange Program, are working hard for further participation with countries all over the world in order to bring many cultures in the Rita community.

Cultural Exchange established with Spain

Photo by Mr. Josh BlaszakLeft to right: Colegio Urdaneta students Alvaro Izquierdo, Santi Marquiegui Azuara, Jamie Garcia, Manu Suarez, Diego Bilbao, Ignacio Herera, and Pablo Ibanez. They spent two weeks immersed in the American culture and are joined by Rita students sophomore Albert Alfano, senior Christian Chavez, junior Dan Foley, sophomores Kal Nastek, Billy Pink, senior Pat Boline, and Kevin Yerkes along with Principal Mrs. Sally Deeni-han, President Fr. Tom McCarthy, O.S.A. ’83, and Colegio Urdaneta faculty member Mr. Aitor Eguino.

Sophomore Football wins sixth consecutive CCL titleBy Bobby Raehl

Sophomore Writer

SOPHOMORE FOOTBALLOn a cold October afternoon last year,

Rita’s then freshmen teamed walked away with their perfect season and Chicago Catholic League title, ruined, losing 27-6 to Br. Rice.

This year things changed for the Soph-omore Mustang Football team. A strong running game and an unstoppable defense led to an amazing undefeated Champion-ship year for the sophomores.

Led by captains Nick Dachota, Brendan Duffy, Charles Elmore, and Mario LoV-erde, the Mustangs started out hot and never cooled off.

The season began in Portage, IN. Rita scored quick and never looked back in a 28-6 win. The next week was would be their toughest game. With four seconds left against Morris, Stan Sojka kicked a beautiful fi eld goal from 30 yards and the sophomores won 3-0.

Rita then began its CCL play taking on Br. Rice. Seeking revenge, Rita scored early as running back Russell Williams found holes. Rita ended up trouncing the Crusaders 17-6.

Homecoming Week for Rita followed, and the Mustangs dominated Fenwick in a 34-0 blowout. The next game proved to be no challenge for the sophomores as they easily put away Bishop McNamara 27-6.

Mt. Carmel week soon followed and a strong defense led to a 27-7 win over the Caravan.

As the sophomores took on local Augus-tinian school rival Providence they game was close, but a fumble return touchdown by Julio Ibarra gave the Mustangs the win 25-16.

The sophomores went on to crush the Wolfpack of St. Ignatius with a 54-0 and fi nished their season undefeated by taking down the Ramblers of Loyola Academy 28-23.

The outstanding performance made by all the players and coaching staff of this year’s team rightfully earned the Mustangs

the CCL title, giving Head Coach Brian O’Sullivan his sixth consecutive title with the sophomores.

“Despite numerous personal losses from last year’s freshman team, they came to-gether and formed a very good team,” said Defensive Coordinator Coach Brendan Coughlin. “Our number one goal is to pre-pare our players for the varsity level.”

Key players included: quarterback Chris Stoeberl, running back Russell Williams and Sean Esposito, receivers T.J. Verdun and Kenneth Golladay, fullback Chris Ward, and a strong offensive line Mario LoVerde, Kyle Kavalauskas, Jake Gold-ing, Ricky Valadez, and Nick Dachota.

The defense was led by linebackers Charles Elmore and Julio Ibarra, while Shakir Spells, Matt Marciano, and Trace Shoup anchored the defensive line.

Former tight end converted into a line-backer, Pat O’Connor, was a key contribu-tor to the defense. Performances made by kicker Stan Sojka were also crucial for Rita this year.

As the season concluded many already earned their shot to move up to Varsity ear-ly, while the others anticipate being a part of what will hopefully be another cham-pionship year for them and the Mustang Football Program.

FRESHMAN FOOTBALLThe 2009 Mustang Freshman Football

season was a roller coaster. Learning something new was not easy, but the fresh-men took what they learned and turned it positive.

As was the case for all level of football at Rita, the season started out in Portage, IN. Portage was no match for the Mus-tangs as they put them away 46-6.

The next week, however, proved more diffi cult as the freshmen fell to Morris 12-6. That did not keep the Mustangs down though, as they came back in their next game that was a thriller, as Rita edged out the Crusaders of Br. Rice 26-25.

The next game brought too many mis-takes, as Fenwick handed Rita a loss 14-

13. The freshmen quickly rebounded again with a rout of Bishop McNamara 40-0.

The roller coaster ride continued for the freshmen as their next pairing against Mt. Carmel once again proved diffi cult. The Mustangs could not take over and fell to Mt. Carmel 24-14.

In another tough game the following week, the Mustangs took on Providence. Rita went on to upset the Celtics 14-7. They also were able to close out their season defeating the Ramblers of Loyola Academy.

The defense was led by Connor McLain, Tim Lombard, and Bobby Doherty, while the offense was led by quarterback John Kelly, running back Guerby “Preacher” Ministre, and Aris Irizarry.

“We started out thinking we were great after the Portage game,” said fellow fresh-man football player Zach Pickering. “Af-ter our other games we came together as a team and did better.”

The freshmen Mustangs have a lot of talent, and the future looks bright as they prepare to move to the sophomore level.

FALL SPORTS RECAP Page 6 December 22, 2009

Successful Cross Country season complete with new personal records

By Alex Summerfelt Junior Writer

Rita’s golfers have raised the bar for all future Mustang golfers. The team achieved many great successes this year, under the leadership of new Head Coach Pete Godfrey.

At the beginning of the year, Coach Godfrey asked of his team the vague question, “What goal are we going to set for ourselves? Whatever you choose, we’re going to work until we get there.”

THE TEAM MUTUALLY decided they want-ed to send someone down to the state competition for the fi rst time in Rita history.

The Mustangs went on to reach that goal when senior Henry Capouch became the fi rst-ever Rita student to have the honor of competing in the IHSA State competition.

The golf team also sent four of its members to IHSA sectionals. They were seniors Capouch, Jack McDonnell, Tanner Panozzo, and junior Quinn Sweeney.

Panozzo won the IHSA regional competition shooting an unbelievable 67.

While Capouch did not have the fi nish he would have liked in the state competition, his achieve-ment in getting there made this a successful sea-son for the Mustang Golf Team.

Rita sends � rst golfer to State

By Austin KingsleyFreshman Writer

Rita’s Mustang Cross Country team completed another great season this Fall.

Lead by captains senior Kevin Favela, junior Connor LeP-retre, and sophomore Albert Alfano the Cross Country team competed successfully in the Chicago Catholic League and made it past IHSA Regional and into the IHSA Sectional.

The team was guided by the leadership of Head Coach Rory Haran and assistant coaches Chuck Knibbs and Tony Sosnowski.

This was team’s fi rst year under the leadership of Coach Haran. He is a 1995 Rita graduate who was on the Cross Country and Track teams. He went on to the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology (exercise physiology, biomechanics, and coaching strategies). This year he will also be an assis-tant coach for Rita’s Track team.

ALMOST ALL OF the season included improvements from runners, which is easily seen by looking at the statistics. However, there were a few set backs for the team including a few injuries.

“You must be careful with injuries, especially with the freshmen,” said Coach Haran.

“You have to think long-term and be careful not to run them too many miles. But there is great improvement among the freshmen,” he said.

This season personal records were set constantly, such as with junior Gavriel Wilkins who set fi ve new personal re-cords through the season.

“Everyone loves setting personal records and the practices are even fun,” said Alfano.

He went on, “The hills, rain, mud, dirt, grime, and other forces of nature make running a path again feel like you nev-er ran it before. Running Cross Country give you experience that you could never get in any other sport.”

Although some had decent feelings about their running times at Sectionals, a few of them were somewhat disap-pointed.

“THE COURSE WAS the most grueling and muddiest course I have ever raced at,” said Favela after racing the fast-est time among the Rita runners at Sectionals.

Despite their efforts, the racers did not make it to the IHSA State, however one must also take into account that the IHSA Sectional is made up of some of the best high school runners in the country.

The team suggest that next year anyone who is interested should give the Cross Country team a try.

“Nobody warms the bench,” said LePretre.Rita’s team sees many stars in the future, in fact, almost the

entire team.Haran said, “Throughout these halls of St. Rita, there is a

State Champion in any sport, they just need to come out, try the sport and work on it. It may not be visible right away, but they are there. You don’t need to go anywhere fancy to gather world class athletes, they are probably right here in front of your eyes.”

The Mustangs are young and only has three senior leaving the team: Favela, Isaiah Brown, and Steve Scheide. Next year Rita looks forward to another success season from the Cross Country team.

Photo courtesy of Institutional AdvancementSOPHOMORE SEAN ESPOSITO runs the ball during Rita’s game vs. Providence. The sophomore Mustangs had an undefeated season, winning a sixth consecutive championship.

Running Mustangs receive locker room

December 22, 2009 MUSTANG SPORTS Page 7

By Sean GerichSenior Writer

It is that time of year again, the time when everyone piles into Southwest Ice Arena to watch and cheer on the Skating Mustangs. The Mustangs have been in the midst of action since the beginning of Sep-tember, and rarely disappoint.

The team has only lost four players from last season due to graduation. Last year’s back-to-back Kennedy Cup Champion team was young last year but this year they are more mature and experienced.

With experienced leadership from se-nior captains Jack McDonnell and Henry Capouch and upperclassmen the team is heading in the right direction. Everyday at practice the team has been focused on working hard to become better. Head Var-sity Hockey Coach Craig Ferguson has been instrumental in pushing the team to do their very best.

HE IS NOW in his sixth year at Rita; Coach Ferguson is determined to lead the Mustangs to their third consecutive Ken-nedy Cup Championship.

The Mustangs’ tournament opener for the year was the Great 8 Invitational that took place at Naperville Central. Rita proved victorious fi nishing champs for the second year in a row.

The season opener at the tournament was against Prairie Ridge. The team came out with a 4-2 win. The game was tied at 2 until 1:54 was left in the third period when senior Blake Nevin put in the rebound. An EN capped the game off.

The second game was against Naperville North. The team ran the table and won 7-2. The third and most important game was against York. York came out hard and wanting to beat Rita. However, that did not happen. Rita pulled out a 1-0 win, to advance to the semi-fi nal game.

The game was against the host team Na-perville Central. The Mustangs came hard and skated to a 7-1 win. For the champi-onship, it came down to a revenge pairing with York. York fought hard to overtake Rita in their second go around, but the Mustangs pulled off a 2-1 OT win.

The OT goal was scored by junior Mike Tisoncik. Following his goal, he was named the MVP of the game.

THE MUSTANGS WENT on to open their play in the Chicago Catholic Hockey League with two big wins. A 10-2 win over Br. Rice and a 6-0 win over St. Igna-tius College Prep.

The Skating Mustangs also recently bat-tled for the Wolves Cup at the Prairie Ridge Invitational, led by the great goaltending of seniors Sean Gerich and Bill McGrenera.

In fi ve games the two goaltenders let up 11 goals. The team fi nished 3-0-2 in the tournament. The biggest win came in the championship game against Hamilton South East, with a fi nal of 4-3 in OT.

The game winning goal was scored by freshman Chris Foley. Three of the Mus-tangs were named to all-tournament team, forwards junior Mike Ferguson and fresh-man Keith Burchett and goalie Sean Ger-ich.

The team has been rolling since their victory at Prairie Ridge with many great victories including those against Provi-dence 3-0 and Br. Rice 7-1. A loss came for the team, however, against new CCHL rival Fenwick 3-2.

RITA CAME BACK though and played a hard defensively sound game against Glenbrook North tying 1-1. No scoring went on until the third period when the Mustangs went down 1-0, after a power play goal with 9:42 left in the game.

The tie-up came when sophomore Stan Sojka had a silky smooth backhand from the goal line with 5:19.

Over the Thanksgiving weekend Rita took part in the Loyola Ramblers Thanks-giving Tournament. Being invited to this tournament was an honor as only 16 teams are invited and they are top teams from Il-linois, California, and Canada.

In the Mustangs bracket was Sandburg, which Rita defeated with a 6-1 victory and Naperville Central, which was another vic-tory 4-2.

Rita’s fate in the tournament came down to the third game in which they were paired matched up with the 2-0 St. Paul team from Winnapeg. In a game that was played like a sea-saw, Rita ended up with a 2-1 win and the Mustangs advanced to the semi-fi nals.

In the semi-fi nals Rita took on host Loyola, and after a rough fi rst period be-ing down 3-0, the Mustangs fell short los-ing 5-4.

Due to their high scoring in the semi-fi nals, Rita was able to claim third place overall in the tournament.

IN THE PAST weeks, the Skating Mus-tangs have taken on fi ve teams, St. Viator, Br. Rice, Notre Dame, Fenwick, and Provi-dence, all within the CCHL. A tie against St. Viator, 2-2, and wins against each of the other four opponents helped move the Mustangs into a better position toward achieving 1st place in the CCHL.

The Mustangs had another big win against Br. Rice 9-1, and one goal victo-ries over Notre Dame, Fenwick, and Provi-dence each.

With every game Rita has taken steps forward and it appears this will be a yet another great year for the hockey team and Coach Ferguson.

Rita’s current record at time of print is 28-4-7 overall and 10-2-3 in the CCHL.

Hockey rarely disappoints in quest for 3-peat

Rita recently unveiled a new state-of-the-art basketball locker room. This locker room facility is just one of many recent ef-forts made by new Head Coach Gary DeCesare to enhance the basketball program and student experience at Rita.

The locker room features individual lockers for every mem-ber of the Varsity Mustang Basketball team, a video viewing area complete with theater seating, and areas for players to work on their academic studies and socialize with one another. Pictures of past teams are also hung in the locker room to pay tribute to those who have been a part of the Mustang Basketball tradition.

“IN BUILDING UP the program, I wanted to start with hav-ing something for the past, present, and future St. Rita Bas-ketball players to call their home. This new facility will truly allow our program to grow and build great team unity,” said Coach DeCesare.

This basketball locker loom project was made possible through the generosity of friends of Coach DeCesare. It is lo-cated on Rita’s lower level in what used to be a storage room.

By Sean Nolan Junior Writer

Under the leadership of new Head Coach Gary De-Cesare, the Varisty Mustang Basketball team has been doing a tremendous job ever since the season began.

The season began for the Mustangs with participa-tion in the Annual McGovern Classic Tournament. The McGovern Classic was held at Rita between No-vember 23-28.

The teams that participated in the tournament were Rita, St. Ignatius, Morgan Park, Lincoln Park, Ace Tech, Uplift Academy, Ellison, and La Lumiere (In-diana).

The Running Mustangs fi nished 2-2, with wins over Ace Tech 72-46 and La Lumiere 78-51; but tough losses to Uplift Academy 55-48 and tournament winners Morgan Park 86-66, led by tournament MVP Wayne Blackshear.

The Running Mustangs were led by senior shoot-ing guard Lane Barlow, who opened the season with a 23 point game against Ace Tech. Junior Luke Barry and sophomore Tony Hicks also played major roles in the tournament.

HICKS SHOWS AMAZING talent and a lot of potential under Coach DeCesare. “We should have won the tournament, we are a young team though and we are looking to work hard and win the Catholic

League,” said junior point guard David Murphy.

Even though the Mustangs did not win the McGovern Classic, the tournament had one of the biggest turnouts in recent years.

Coach DeCesare appears to be guiding the Running Mustangs in the right direc-tion and he is helping to give the team a great chance of winning the Chicago Catho-lic League.

“Coach is very experi-enced and we all have faith in his coaching,” said Barry.

The Mustangs are now 4-4 but they are on the verge of being the next big thing in the Catholic League. A win over Hales Franciscan on Friday night will guide them on their way to becoming Catholic League champions.

McGovern kicks o� basketball season

Photo courtesy of Institutional AdvancementWITH THE EXPERIENCED leadership of senior captains Jack McDonnell (pictured) and Henry Capouch and upperclassmen the Varsity Skating Mustangs are heading in the right direction. The Mustangs are on a quest to win their third consecutive Kennedy Cup.

Photo courtesy by Herbie JohnsonJUNIOR LANE BARLOW attemps a shot as the Mustangs take on St. Ignatius. The Mustangs are off to a great start under new Head Coach Gary DeCesare.

Page 8 December 22, 2009MUSTANG FOOTBALL

By Craig Sabath Sophomore Writer

After enduring triples in the sweltering summer heat, the Mustangs opened the season at Portage Indiana to represent the Chicago Catholic League against the Portage Indians.

Rita entered the “Warpath” and scored on their fi rst possession with junior run-ning back Jahwon Akui capping it off with a run of 34 yards. That drive went easy enough, but the next three were not.

The Portage defense seemed to get stronger after each punt it forced. Portage scored in the second quarter with a 42 yard pass. However, Rita responded with a drive that ended with Akui going 5 yards for a touchdown with 2:26 left in the half.

In the second half, Akui exploded with three more touchdowns. Rita won their fi rst game of the season 35-20. “I felt we were the better team, but we just didn’t execute in the fi rst half,” Akui said. “We had a slow start because it was our fi rst game.” Akui fi nished the game with 305 yards total.

THE MUSTANGS TRAVELED again in Week 2 to face Morris Community High School. Rita walked away with an easy 42-7 win with Akui tearing up the fi eld again with 219 yards on 22 carries and four touchdowns.

Rita defenders seniors Mike Parker, Javier Green, Pat Walsh, juniors Richard Garcia and Jake Pikowski each intercepted a pass. Green returned his for a 75 yard score and Garcia returned his 55 yards for a touchdown. Morris scored its only touch-down late in the fourth quarter.

Rita returned to play their home opener against CCL rival Br. Rice. Big plays by Rita determined the outcome as Rita won 35-14.

Senior Rob Gallik threw a 40 yard touchdown pass to senior Kyle Jachim. Rita was up 7 at halftime, but Br. Rice began a potentially game tying drive. However, senior linebacker Joe Campagna recovered a fumble on Rita’s 30. The next play Gallik connected with junior Mitch Saffold for a 70 yard touchdown.

Br. Rice kept coming close until Akui went three yards for a touchdown with 6 minutes left in the game and Rita up by 14. Gallik completed 11 passes for 176 yards, and Akui picked up 108 yards on 25 attempts. Senior linebacker Chris Simms led the team with 13 tackles.

The Br. Rice game also held special signifi cance, as it marked Coach Todd Kuska’s 100th victory as Head Coach for the Mustangs.

The following week, Rita stayed up to face Fenwick for the Mustangs’ Homecoming Game. Rita cruised past Fenwick 35-13. Akui powered the Mustangs past the Friars with 308 yards on 37 carries.

‘‘I felt comfortable in the fi rst half,’’ said Akui. ‘‘The offensive line was open-ing some big holes.’’

FENWICK GOT ON the board in the second quarter on a 53 yard run by their quarterback, and again in the third quarter, however that wasn’t enough to close the gap. Senior Bruce Gaston, considered the best defensive linemen in the Midwest, led the team with 7 tackles. He and junior Joe Maes both had a sack.

In a battle between CCL unbeatens, Akui again led Rita to another victory, albeit a tough one, over Bishop McNamara. Bishop McNamara scored fi rst, however, Rita responded in the second quarter with a 5 yard run by Akui to tie the game. Rita scored again, capping a 98 yard drive with a 16 yard touchdown pass from Gallik to junior Tim Gorski with 0:16 left in the fi rst half.

In the second half, Bishop McNamara wouldn’t let up, scoring two more touch-downs in the second half. Rita wouldn’t either. Akui went loose for a 50 yard touchdown in the third quarter. He scored two more in the fourth to seal a 34-19 vic-tory, allowing Rita to begin preparations for their game against Mt. Carmel.

Thousands packed the stands at Gately Stadium to watch the 87th meeting between Rita and Mt. Carmel. Rita came ready and Mt. Carmel didn’t stand a chance, as Rita put 54 points in one of Rita’s most lop-sided wins against Mt. Carmel.

IT TOOK RITA only six plays to get on the board, with Akui going 55 yards for a touchdown. The Caravan turned the ball over with a fumble on their fi rst posses-sion, which was recovered by senior Dan Connolly.

On fourth and goal, Akui went 2 yards for his second touchdown. In the second quarter, Akui broke free again scoring his third touchdown on a 70 yard run to put Rita up 19-0. Mt. Carmel responded with a 37 yard run to make it 19-7.

However, the Mustangs still had time in the half. Gallik bombed one to Gorski for 45 yards. On the next play, Akui fi nished the drive with an 8 yard touchdown run, his fourth.

The Caravan wasn’t done yet, however, they scored a fi eld goal to close the half and marched down the fi eld on the fi rst drive of the second half to cut the defi cit to make 26-18.

“The pressure was on us. They scored to cut the lead to eight, and we knew we had to go back and make plays,” said Akui.

Junior Travis Starks returned the ensu-ing kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown to make it 33-18. On the next Caravan pos-session, they fumbled it again, this time it was recovered by senior Ron McNamara. On the following drive, Akui scored his fi fth touchdown on a 24 yard run to give the Mustangs a 40-16 lead. Starks went on to score two more touchdowns of his own.

THE NEXT WEEK the Mustangs returned home to face the Providence Celtics. Akui left the game in the second quarter with a strained Achilles tendon and didn’t return. Starks took his place. The game was battle of defenses as neither team scored in the fi rst half.

However, a short punt in the third quar-ter gave the Celtics the ball deep in Rita territory and they escaped with a fi eld goal. They scored again. The Mustangs fought hard, but couldn’t come back and lost a heartbreaker 10-0 in what was a showdown to two huge CCL Blue pow-erhouses.

The Mustangs faced the St. Ignatius Wolfpack next. Starks started in place of the injured Akui and ran for 90 yards on 20 carries. Gallik sliced through the St. Ignatius defense for 232 yards on 14 completions. He also completed a 60 yard touchdown pass to Jachim and another to Starks.

Sophomore safety Charles Elmore had a great game, as he intercepted two passes, one of which he returned for a touchdown, and one sack.

Coach Brendan Coughlan commented on Elmore’s success, “He played Ignatius.” Rita emerged victorious, winning 27-10 and began preparing for the regular season fi nale at Loyola.

Rita scored on the fi rst snap of the Loyola game as Gallik bombed a 90 yard touchdown pass to Jachim. However, Rita would not score again.

“That’s the best defense we had faced all year — and we knew it coming into the game” said Coach Kuska. “After our fi rst score, I didn’t expect not to score again. Our defense played well, too, but their blitzes and schemes prevented us from doing what we wanted to do.”

Loyola scored 10 points in the second quarter and sealed their win with a touch-down in the fourth quarter. Fortunately for the Mustangs, nothing signifi cant was a stake for Rita in regards to the IHSA State playoffs.

The Mustangs opened up their playoff run at home, and dominated the visiting Plainfi eld North Tigers 40-14. Travis Starks ran for 250 yards and four touch-downs, and McNamara recorded two sacks.

In the second round, Rita traveled to Marian Catholic and again dominated. Akui returned to play and rushed for 69 yards, providing an emotional lift. Starks received the most carries, though, and rushed for 149 yards. The Mustangs took down Marian Catholic with a 34-14 vic-tory.

In the IHSA State quarterfi nals the Mustangs faced the Wheaton Warrenville South Tigers. The fi rst quarter went score-less. In the second quarter WWS scored on a 1 yard run. Rita responded with a 13 yard touchdown run by Akui.

With not even two minutes left to play, WWS’s punt went 60 yards and rolled sideways and out of bounds, pinning the Mustangs behind the 5 yard line. The offense couldn’t move the ball and were forced to punt.

WWS THEN KICKED a 47 yard fi eld goal with little over 35 seconds left in the half to put themselves up 9-7. In the sec-ond half, WWS scored fi rst again on a 3 yard run. In the third, Akui went into the end zone again to make the score 16-14.

The stalemate returned until in the fourth quarter Rita fumbled a punt that was recovered by WWS. WWS capital-ized and tossed the ball 3 yards for the fi nal score of the game. Rita couldn’t come back and walked off the fi eld in a heartbreaking defeat of 23-14.

However, the season wasn’t over yet, as the Mustangs were given the chance to upset Br. Rice once again, this time for the CCL Prep Bowl Championship.

Br. Rice ran 70 plays from the line of scrimmage to Rita’s 39. That did not matter though because Rita still emerged victorious 21-0.

It was a game fueled by big plays. Starks made a perfect read and returned an interception 99 yards. Gallik in the second quarter tossed a fade to Jachim who went 88 yards for the Mustangs second score. Elmore sealed the victory, returning an interception 23 yards for a score.

The Mustangs second defeat of Br. Rice in one season led Rita to their sec-ond Prep Bowl appearance in three years. Rita reigned victorious as Prep Bowl Champions yet again as they beat Simeon 34-20 at Soldier Field. See the front page for more Prep Bowl and season ending coverage.

Successful season leads to Prep Bowl victory

Photo courtesy of Institutional AdvancementJUNIOR JAHWON AKUI powers the Mustangs past Fenwick with 308 yards on 37 carries.

Photo courtesy of Institutional AdvancementRITA’S VARSITY MUSTANGS opened their season with a victory against Portage, IN 35-20.