First place in SSC Blue on the line
when Lemont and Oak Forest meet
By Steve Millar
Lemont and Oak Forest will battle for the top spot in the South Suburban Confernce Blue Division when the longtime conference rivals meet at noon Saturday at Oak Forest.
Lemont (5-2-3, 3-0-2) has not won the Blue title since 2015; Oak Forest (7-3-2, 3-1-1) has never won the championship since the league’s formation in 2006.
“One of our big goals for the season, we talked about the fact that we haven’t won conference in quite some time,” Lemont coach Rick Prangen said. “It used to be something we were doing regularly, and then it stopped happening. To get back to that, without a doubt, would be huge. Saturday goes a long way toward that.”
Lemont has put itself in a strong position with wins over the teams that have accounted for the last five Blue championships> It knocked off Bremen 4-0 on Sept. 16 and topped two-time defending champion T.F. United 3-1 Monday.
Lemont followed up the win with a 1-1 tie on Wednesday in a crossover game with Argo, which has emerged as the favorite in the league's Red Division.
“We went on the road against the team that’s won conference the last two years,” Prangen said of the T.F. United game. “You’ve got to respect them. I was really pleased because we went up 2-0 and gave up a goal early in the second half. That was a good character test. Do we collapse or see it through? We were able to see it through, get the third goal and get the win.
“Then we go to Argo, get down 1-0. We’re against the wind in the second half, but we were able to get the goal to tie it up.”
Saturday’s game will be the fourth in a stretch of five-straight road games for Lemont.
“It’s one of the toughest stretches of games I’ve had in coaching for a long time,” Prangen said.
Lemont has relied on a strong backline, led by senior Peter Borzecki, and a mix of veterans and youth up-top, including senior forward Will Harris and freshman forward Tyler Chrisman.
Meanwhile, Oak Forest has snuck by with back-to-back 1-0 wins over Tinley Park on Monday and Evergreen Park on Wednesday.
Junior forward Ian Plancarte scored the lone goal in Monday’s win over district rival Tinley Park. The backline has played well, anchored by seniors Gavin Collery and Kyle Baker.
“We’ve kind of put in a new philosophy this year with our new assist coach Frankie Cabrera,” Oak Forest coach Kieran Byrne said. “What I’ve liked the last couple games is we’re starting to see what we do in practice actually happening on the pitch in games. Now, we’re going to be tested against Lemont.”
Byrne is making sure the Bengals do not get too far ahead of themselves in terms of the conference race. Oak Forest still has games with T.F. United and Bremen, as well as tough crossover contests against Reavis, Argo and Shepard.
“We look at game-to-game,” Byrne said. “Our schedule is heavy at the back end of the schedule. It’s like here’s where we’re at now, but let’s see where we are at the end of it.
“Saturday is going to be a tough one. Lemont is a quality program. It’ll be a very good indicator to see where we’re at. We’ve had a couple good performances. This is going to be a tester.”
when Lemont and Oak Forest meet
By Steve Millar
Lemont and Oak Forest will battle for the top spot in the South Suburban Confernce Blue Division when the longtime conference rivals meet at noon Saturday at Oak Forest.
Lemont (5-2-3, 3-0-2) has not won the Blue title since 2015; Oak Forest (7-3-2, 3-1-1) has never won the championship since the league’s formation in 2006.
“One of our big goals for the season, we talked about the fact that we haven’t won conference in quite some time,” Lemont coach Rick Prangen said. “It used to be something we were doing regularly, and then it stopped happening. To get back to that, without a doubt, would be huge. Saturday goes a long way toward that.”
Lemont has put itself in a strong position with wins over the teams that have accounted for the last five Blue championships> It knocked off Bremen 4-0 on Sept. 16 and topped two-time defending champion T.F. United 3-1 Monday.
Lemont followed up the win with a 1-1 tie on Wednesday in a crossover game with Argo, which has emerged as the favorite in the league's Red Division.
“We went on the road against the team that’s won conference the last two years,” Prangen said of the T.F. United game. “You’ve got to respect them. I was really pleased because we went up 2-0 and gave up a goal early in the second half. That was a good character test. Do we collapse or see it through? We were able to see it through, get the third goal and get the win.
“Then we go to Argo, get down 1-0. We’re against the wind in the second half, but we were able to get the goal to tie it up.”
Saturday’s game will be the fourth in a stretch of five-straight road games for Lemont.
“It’s one of the toughest stretches of games I’ve had in coaching for a long time,” Prangen said.
Lemont has relied on a strong backline, led by senior Peter Borzecki, and a mix of veterans and youth up-top, including senior forward Will Harris and freshman forward Tyler Chrisman.
Meanwhile, Oak Forest has snuck by with back-to-back 1-0 wins over Tinley Park on Monday and Evergreen Park on Wednesday.
Junior forward Ian Plancarte scored the lone goal in Monday’s win over district rival Tinley Park. The backline has played well, anchored by seniors Gavin Collery and Kyle Baker.
“We’ve kind of put in a new philosophy this year with our new assist coach Frankie Cabrera,” Oak Forest coach Kieran Byrne said. “What I’ve liked the last couple games is we’re starting to see what we do in practice actually happening on the pitch in games. Now, we’re going to be tested against Lemont.”
Byrne is making sure the Bengals do not get too far ahead of themselves in terms of the conference race. Oak Forest still has games with T.F. United and Bremen, as well as tough crossover contests against Reavis, Argo and Shepard.
“We look at game-to-game,” Byrne said. “Our schedule is heavy at the back end of the schedule. It’s like here’s where we’re at now, but let’s see where we are at the end of it.
“Saturday is going to be a tough one. Lemont is a quality program. It’ll be a very good indicator to see where we’re at. We’ve had a couple good performances. This is going to be a tester.”