ELGIN -- St. Edward senior Jimmy Mathisen, like many of his teammates, was overcome with emotion following Friday night's crushing 33-27 home loss to Montini -- ranked No. 2 in the Class 5A state poll.

Tears ran down both sides of Mathisen's face, smearing the phrase "No Regrets" that was written on each side of the eye black under his eyes.

Like so many times before, St. Edward was less than a handful of plays away from shocking not only the Suburban Catholic Conference, but the state with a possible victory over the undefeated Broncos (8-0, 6-0) at Greg True Field.

That didn't make the difficult defeat any easier to digest, but it did prove a point to some degree -- St. Edward, which won one game last season, has sure come a long way in a short time. Still, a postseason berth will not happen this season.

"We knew what we were playing for tonight. If we didn't win there was a very slim chance of getting into the playoffs," Mathisen said. "We told ourselves to leave nothing on the field and play with no regrets.

"Losing never feels good, but everyone should be proud. A couple of years ago the coaches just told us to play as hard as we could against teams like this. This year, we knew we had a chance against them and we came out ready to win tonight."

St. Edward (3-5, 1-5) had Montini backpedaling from the very start. The Broncos didn't take their first lead until early in the second half before pulling ahead by their biggest margin, 26-14, with 5:43 left in the third quarter.

However, this time St. Edward wasn't about to back down, responding with a touchdown on its next drive following a fumble recovery in the end zone by Moises Quiroga. Quiroga (19 rushes, 84 yards) scooped up a loose ball after Cory Diaz had fumbled at the goal line on second-and-goal from the 1-yard line to make the score 26-20.

"We convinced them all week that we could beat this team," Wave coach Mike Rolando said. "They finally came out confident they could win. It was senior night and all the history they've been through, the guys really wanted this one and they played with a lot of heart tonight."

St. Edward then stopped Montini on consecutive drives, but was unable to come away with any points despite starting its possessions inside the Broncos' 40-yard line on both occasions. The Broncos eventually made the Green Wave pay for its inability to seize control -- pulling a rabbit out of the hat to break the hearts of the Green Wave.

Facing third-and-31 from the St. Edward 45-yard line, Broncos quarterback Tom DiCristina (15-of-19 passing, 335 yards, 3 TDs) eluded a near sack and found Grant Goebel behind St. Edward's last line of defense and alone in the back of the end zone for a TD and a 33-20 lead with 2:53 remaining.

"We were one play, one break away from making this happen," Rolando said. "Give Montini credit, they stepped up when they had to and made a big play. We had our fingertips on his jersey, but (DiCristina) was able to scramble around and make something happen."

St. Edward still refused to give up, getting back within 33-27 with 29 seconds left after Mathisen (20 carries, 167 yards, 2 TDs) rumbled in from 9 yards out. However, the onside kick attempt was recovered by Montini to seal the victory for the visitors.

"The only overwhelming feeling I have right now is just how proud I am of these boys," Rolando said. "We are not going to get to play in the postseason and it's just a shame. We are one of the best (Class) 4A teams there is and these kids deserve it."

St. Edward scored on its first possession of the game, marching 69 yards on 14 plays, while chewing up 7:59 off the clock. The drive was finally capped off by an 8-yard touchdown pass from Cory Diaz (4-of-9 passing, 39 yards) to Zack Von Ahnen.

Montini tied it at 7 early in the second quarter before St. Edward went back on top, 14-7, on a 21-yard touchdown run by Mathisen with 1:32 left in the half. Montini needed just three plays before the end of the half to get back within 14-13 after DiCristina hit Goebel on a 20-yard strike.

Quiroga alternated snaps with Diaz at times throughout the game for the first time this season, completing 5 of 7 passes for 53 yards.

2008 Football Banquet RSVP Form
Click Here to view Invite October 15, 2008

Please click the link above to print your 2008 Banquet Invite and turn it in to your Head Coach or Paula Diaz ASAP.

Thanks

Coach Ro

Click for Flyer #2

Football Garage Sale!!!
April 29, 2008 Don't forget about the May 10th GARAGE SALE fundraiser.  The garage sale will be held at the STEDHS field parking lot.   100% proceeds will go to the Football program so we need EVERYONES help!!!!

We are looking for:
Donations for the garage sale  
Setup on Friday 5/9
Sale on Saturday 5/10.

For more information please contact Paula Diaz @ 847.602.2170.  This would be a good opportunity for freshman parents to get involved and meet everyone!

GO WAVE!!!!!

Let There Be Lights!
April 17, 2008

This was taken 4/17 as they are half way done with the install... I believe the electrical will be another month, but it is coming to reality.  Thank you for everyone's support to make this happen!

Coach Ro

Thank You to all who made permanent lights possible, from all of the St. Edward HS Football family!

National Underclassmen Combine This Saturday 4/19
April 13, 2008

The National Underclassmen Combine is comming to Libertyville, IL this Saturday, April 19.  Several of our Freshman and Sophomore players have registered for this event.  For those that need transportation, we will meet at St. Edward HS and leave no later than 11:00 AM, this Saturday.  Please bring something to drink and a snack, as well as shorts, running shoes, and your football cleats.  It is recommended that you bring a mouthpiece for the 1 on 1 drills.  This event should last approximately 4 hours.  Be prepared.

 

If you have not pre-registered for the Underclassmen Combine you may still attend.  The Walk-Up registration fee is $110.00

***SPORTS PHYSICALS FOR ALL 2008 Soph, Jr, and Sr. MAY 27th***
click here for REQUIRED FORM May 1, 2008

EVERY Player must have a physical prior to August practice and the physical is good for one year so counts for all sports. 

Our Training Staff, and Fox Valley Orthopaedic are having a special that will fulfil that requirement for the entire 2008/2009 school year. 

 

May 27th, 2008 @ 6:00PM (must be in the door or in line by 7:00PM)

 

1975 LinLore Lane

Elgin, IL 60123

(medical building by St. Joe's Hospital)

 

NOT for incoming Freshmen, only incoming soph, jr, and sr.

 

wear shorts/t-shirt

BRING ATTACHED PHYSICAL FORM with History Filled Out (FORM IS ATTACHED in Link Above)

***Parent Signature Required***

 

The Cost is $25 and that cost goes back to help the athletic training staff at St. Eds SO PLEASE GET YOUR PHYSICALS DONE AT THIS TIME.

 

Football Fundraiser @ Colonial Cafe Wednesday, April 9th from 4:30p to
close. Pass the word on to family and friends. The more customers for
Colonial, the more money for the football program. Come have a great
dinner and meet with the other football players/parents!


NIKE Combine this Sunday - March 30
March 26, 2008

This Sunday Nike is holding a free football combine at the MAX McCook Center in McCook, IL.  The results from this event are recognized nationally with college recruiters, and football prospect reporting sites like Rivals.com.  Athletes performing at this combine should meet at St. Edward HS no later than 7:30 AM.  Coaches will be there to provide transportation if you need a ride.  Bring football cleats and running shoes (no track spikes).  Also bring something to snack on and plenty of water. 

Matt Ardiente & Ryan Gilbert to Play at St. Ambrose University
March 11, 2008

St. Ambrose University will be the lucky recipient of our very own #20 and #12 next year when they start football camp.  Matt Ardiente has decided to play football there after having several options as to where he wanted to play, eventually opting for St. Ambrose over Benedictine.  They hope to see Matt returning kicks for them very soon, and maybe getting involved in the offense.  Ryan Gilbert has also signed his letter of intent to play for St. Ambrose, after going back and forth between Carthage and St. Ambrose.  With starting QB and back up QB graduating this year, Ryan will go in as a potential QB and also be looked at for other skilled positions as well.  St. Ambrose finished with an 8-3 record and had a roster of 121 players in 2007. 

 

Congratulations to Matt and Ryan!!!

 

This is a very PROUD Day for Your St. Edward Football Family!

Coach Ro

 

Strength Progress Recognition
March 2, 2008

These players made strength gains to their power number by 50 pounds or MORE (excluding those that did not have a record for both lifts) since the January Testing and deserve special recognition.  The hard work continues, and the list continues to grow!  We need everyone to improve as much as they can over the next 6 months.  These guys led the way in improvement over the last 2 months.

Keep it up, Everyone!

Coach Ro

Power # Increase!!!  50+
Name	Yr.	Power # Change
Duffy, D	Jr.	179
Sakolari	Fresh.	175
Mathisen	Sr.	170
Finnane, E	Fresh.	160
Unto	Soph.	153
Quiroga	Sr.	145
Sandoval	Jr.	141
Finnane, S	Jr.	134
Duffy, L	Fresh.	128
Angarola	Soph.	103
Fortune	Soph.	100
Posadas	Jr.	95
Godfrey	Jr.	94
Slizewski	Soph.	93
Budish	Jr.	85
Riso	Sr.	85
Eigenhauser	Sr.	80
Johnson, M	Sr.	79
Waclawik, B	Soph.	77
Hoebbel	Jr.	75
Lehman	Soph.	72
Von Ahnen	Jr.	72
Pilman	Soph.	72
Ptak	Soph.	71
Juns	Sr.	59

Strength Progress Recognition
January 18, 2008

These players made strength gains to their power number by 50 pounds or MORE since the November Testing and deserve special recognition.  The hard work will translate to more success on the football field.  We need everyone to improve as much as they can over the next 8 months.  These guys led the way in improvement over the last 2 months.

Keep it up, Everyone!

Coach Ro

Name	Yr.	Power # Change
Budish	Jr.	247
Porto	Soph.	199
Brockner	Fresh.	173
Rodriguez	Sr.	157
Quiroga	Sr.	150
Arciuch	Jr.	136
Riso	Sr.	119
Slizewski	Soph.	118
Keo, Jon	Soph.	97
Juns	Sr.	96
Richmond, S	Fresh.	87
Pozezinski	Soph.	83
Scholly, N	Soph.	74
Johnson, M	Sr.	68
Sakolari	Fresh.	66
Godfrey	Jr.	65
Richmond, A	Sr.	58
Hoebbel	Jr.	57
Scholly, J	Sr.	52
Martinez	Jr.	51
Finnane, E	Fresh.	51

Tug O Pride at Chicago Rush Game March 3rd
January 15, 2008

The football program will compete in a tug of war tournament on March 3rd, Monday Night, Opening Night for the Rush!  We'll compete just prior to the game on the game field, and then get to stay for the game.  The 11 participants in the competition will get to attend for free.  Our hope is that eveyone else will purchase a ticket for $8 to attend.  We need to sell 150 tickets.  The 11 participants will be the top 11 strength testing power numbers as ranked by their results (their bench max plus their squat max) from their March 1st Strength Testing!  I've listed the top 20 below, the entire list is on our strength page.

Good Luck!

Coach Ro

 

 

1	Finnane, S
2	Rodriguez
3	Budish
4	Quiroga
5	Arciuch
6	Johnson, M
7	Juns
8	Mathisen
9	Porto
10	Riso
11	Hoebbel
12	Martinez
13	Torres, Jordan
14	Posadas
15	Richmond, A
16	Kelly, JJ
17	Diaz
18	Pozezinski
19	Finnane, E
20	Eigenhauser

Weight Room Schedule
November 20, 2007

Weight Room Open Lifting 2008
Supervised by the Football Coaching Staff
	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
7:00AM	Open	Open	Open	Open	Open			7:00AM
Noon						Open	Open	Noon
3:00PM	Open	Open	Open	Open	Open			3:00PM
5:00PM					Open			5:00PM
6:30PM	Open	Open	Open	Open				6:30PM

 

The Next STRENGTH TESTING WEEK is January 7th-12th any day.

Congrats to Our All Area & All Conference Selections

Congratulations to Our Football All Area & All Conference Selections!

Great Job!

Academic All Conference- SCC

Ryan Eigenhauser- Jr.

Matt Johnson- Jr.

Jim Waclawik- Jr.

All Conference- SCC

Moises Quiroga- Jr.

Honorable Mention

Matt Ardiente- Sr.

All Area First Team- Courier News

Moises Quiroga- Jr.

Honorable Mention

Matt Ardiente- Sr.

All Area First Team- Daily Herald

Matt Ardiente- Sr.

Honorable Mention

Ryan Eigenhauser- Jr.

Moises Quiroga- Jr.

Defensive Player of the Week- Daily Herald

Moises Quiroga- Jr.

Courier All Area
click for article

Daily Herald All Area
click for article

Green Wave claims victory
October 6, 2007

Green Wave claims victory

October 6, 2007

By Chris Pummer Staff Writer

ELGIN -- The word heart kept passing through the lips of St. Edward players and echoing across Greg True Field on Friday night.

The Green Wave showed plenty of it with a 28-26 overtime win against St. Francis in Suburban Catholic Conference play.

For St. Edward, it snapped a school-record 26-game losing streak. But more than just ending the victory drought, it validated the efforts of the players that endured almost three winless years.

"It's unbelievable right now," Green Wave senior Matt Ardiente said. "There's no words that can describe it right now. It's just amazing. The team believed, we all believed we could do it. It just feels great to come out on top after three years of struggle. It just feels good."

The last time St. Edward (1-6, 1-4) collected a victory was a 45-14 rout of Aurora Central Catholic on Oct. 8, 2004.

The Green Wave broke into the win column in gutsy fashion.

After overcoming an eight-point halftime deficit to take the game into overtime, St. Edward owned the first possession of the extra period.

Facing fourth down from the 1-yard line, Moises Quiroga rumbled off left tackle into the end zone to put the Green Wave ahead 26-20.

That was when St. Edward coach Mike Rolando elected to make the bold decision to go for the two-point conversion. While that has been a move that's backfired on the Wave this season, Rolando thought it was an easy call.

"I don't think there's a better way to call it," he said. "You have to put the pressure on the other team. They elected to play defense first so they'd know what they had to do. The only way to put the pressure back on them is to get two points."

The Wave did it with quarterback Ryan Gilbert rolling out and tossing a pass to Quiroga in the right side of the end zone.

"To be honest, I was scared and nervous," said Quiroga, who rushed 16 times for a team-high 62 yards. "Coach called for a playmaker, and I was it on that two-point conversion."

St. Francis (2-5, 1-4) used three plays to score in its half of the overtime, but couldn't force a second extra frame when Ryan O'Donnell was stopped short of the goal line by barely more than a foot.

"It's just amazing that we pulled that off," Ardiente said. "I didn't think we were going to pull it off, but my brothers picked me up and we achieved it. We got the 'W.' "

Many in the homecoming crowd might have doubted the Green Wave could pull it off after falling behind 14-0 by the midpoint of the second quarter. O'Donnell broke a 33-yard scoring run in the first and a St. Edward fumble helped set up a scoring toss from Spartans QB Jeff Reckards to Bob Vondehaar.

Vondehaar had his way going against St. Edward cornerback Josh Scholly with the scoring toss and another long pass play in the second quarter, but Scholly would get his revenge on the other side of the ball.

Gilbert capped a 38-yard, second-quarter Wave scoring drive with a 1-yard run. A blocked kick left St. Edward trailing 14-6 at halftime.

The Green Wave quarterback engineered a 15-play, 69-yard drive, finished off by a 13-yard scoring toss to Cory Diaz with 28 seconds left in the third quarter.

For the night, Gilbert connected on 11 of 19 passes for 111 yards.

"Ryan Gilbert played an incredible second half," Rolando said. "He was there in the spotlight, feeling the pressure and making plays."

St. Francis went back ahead when O'Donnell returned the ensuing kickoff 82 yards for a score.

However, St. Edward mounted another long drive -- this time 11 plays and 75 yards.

Quiroga broke a 25 yard run to put the Wave on the Spartan 20-yard line. From there, Gilbert threw a pass to Scholly for the final scoring play of regulation.

Jordan Torres' missed PAT kick made the extra period a necessity, but once in overtime the Wave never wavered.

"It was heart and dedication," said Quiroga, echoing the sentiment shared by his teammates. "We just wanted it. They wanted it too, but in the end only one team can win and we pulled it out."

St. Edward 28, St. Francis 26 (OT)
October 6, 2007

St. Edward's Mat Ardiente, right, breaks a tackle and looks for more Friday night during the Green Wave's VICTORY over St. Francis at Greg True Field in Elgin.

George LeClaire | Staff Photographer

 

St. Edward 28, St. Francis 26 (OT)

By Jerry Fitzpatrick | Daily Herald Staff

Contact writer

 

One play stood between St. Edward and its first victory since Oct. 8, 2004.

St. Francis running back Stan Bobowski had just scored on a 2-yard run in overtime to pull visiting St. Francis within 28-26.

Forced to attempt the 2-point conversion to forge a tie, the Spartans pitched the ball left to running back Mark Kachmer. But the junior was met at the 2-yard line by four Green Wave defenders, led by Moises Quiroga and Nevin Bens, and stopped short of the goal line.

With that tackle three years of frustration evaporated into the muggy autumn night. The entire student section huddled around Greg True Field -- extra large on St. Edward's homecoming night -- stormed the field to celebrate the end of the school's record 26-game losing streak.

Grown men wept. Players were lifted onto fans' shoulders. Everyone got hugged.

The streak was finally dead.

"I will never forget this day my whole life, especially on homecoming" said Green Wave quarterback Ryan Gilbert. "This is just amazing. It's the best feeling. We waited too long for this."

Gilbert was a big reason St. Edward (1-6, 1-4 Suburban Catholic) was able to overcome its 14-6 halftime deficit. He completed a pass to Josh Scholly on fourth down to keep a third-quarter drive alive. Seven plays later he launched a perfect pass to Cory Diaz in the corner of the end zone to pull the Wave within 14-12 with 28 seconds left in the third period.

Gilbert then tied the game with a 2-point bootleg keeper.

But the Spartans (2-5, 1-4) roared back on the next play when junior Ryan O'Donnell returned the ensuing kickoff 82 yards for a touchdown.

"We were putting in all the effort we could," O'Donnell said. "It was just great to be in one of these great high school games. It was a fun game, but it's a very, very tough loss. We were all