Lane Falls to Libertyville 2-1 in 4A Super-sectional.

[Preview of this week’s article in Inside—Booster.]

By Jack Lydon

Lane’s historic season comes to an end. The Champions fell to the Libertyville Wildcats 2-1 in the class 4A Super-sectional game on Tuesday in Schaumburg. The Champions finished the season 33-7; 14-0 in the Chicago Public League.

The super was as close as it gets. The difference was the hitting of Liberyville senior first baseman Bradon Tolzien who drove in both Wildcats’ runs on two doubles to the wall in right.  

In the bottom of the first, Tolzien came up with two outs and leadoff hitter Trevor Wallace on first, Tolzien fought off pitch after pitch, including seven foul balls.

“I knew [Lane starter Ronan Owens] was gonna have to come slider at some point. I was just kept fouling off the fastball. So I was looking for him to hang one. He finally did and I was able to put in the gap,” Tolzien said.

Wallace from first for the first run of the game.

“He had great at bats. We knew he was one of their bigger bats, but we challenged him early. He fouled off like seven or eight pitches. He finally got to one he could handle,” said Lane head coach Sean Freeman of Tolzien’s first inning run-batted-in.

Again, in the bottom of the fifth, Libertyville’s Trevor Wallace singled to lead off the inning. Tolzien come up again but this time facing Champions left-handed pitcher Cruz Warren. After Wallace had advanced to third and two out, Tolzien crushes another double, this time to the right field corner to score Wallace from third.  2-0 Wildcats.

“I knew at 3-1 he had it comes to give me something to hit. So I was sitting on fastball. I got it. I was able to put it [out there,] Tolzien continued.

After Tolzien’s two RBIs, the game was by no means over. Champions’ hurlers Ronan Owens, Cruz Warren and Hunter Smith combined to shut down Libertyville. The Champions rallied with a run in the top of the sixth to make it 2-1. Isaiah Martin scored from third on Zolan Wyatt’s single with one out.

Things looked up for Champions in top of the seventh when Miles Mazonowski crushed a ball to deep left field that looked like it might be a game tying home run but it stayed in the park for a long single.

Libertyville pitcher senior Chase Lockwood recovered. A pinch runner for Mazonowski was caught stealing, and Lockwood retired the side for a complete game with seven hits, one run, one walk and seven strike outs.

“Obviously, Lockwood on the mound did a great job. We had our chances late. Just couldn’t quite get it done. They are a great team and a great program. To be the champs, you gotta beat the champs. They were just a touch better than us tonight,” said Freeman.

“It's the most wins we have had and the farthest we've gone in the state tournament since I've been the head coach. So overall it's been an incredible year. These guys are taking us to new heights and raised the bar yet again. We're getting close and excited that get after it in the next year with the returning kids,” Freeman added.

Lane Tech Tops Maine South 5-0 →

Lane Tech is on a roll. The Champions (16-4, 8-0) defeated the Maine South Hawks (11-9, 4-2) 5-0 at Kerry Wood Cubs Field Saturday afternoon. Fifteen straight wins for the Champions after a rocky 1-4 start to the 2026 campaign.

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DePaul Prep Scrimmages Libertyville

By Jack Lydon

A soft opening for the 2025 high school football season with the pre-season scrimmage against Libertyville High School for the 4A reigning state champion DePaul Prep Rams. They don’t keep score nor use the clock in these pre-season scrimmages so there wasn’t a winner. It was mostly just a chance to see how the new starters work together.

At times, it took on the look of a hockey game with the entire first team being substituted for the entire second team, like a line change. The game opened with the starters against the starters. Libertyville opened the game with the ball on their 40-yard line and moved right down the field aided by some sloppy tackling by the Rams. Libertyville senior running back Gavin Dickson capped off the drive with a four-yard run off the left tackle.

“We spent all week prepping for Fenwick and they gave us some looks that we know weren't prepared for. I said let’s just line up play football. Our guys responded by doing that. There were some mistakes, but mistakes that I expected and what I know are correctible if we game plan and scheme,” DePaul Prep head coach Mike Passarella. He wasn’t worried about the opening drive. The Rams throttled Libertyville for the rest of the scrimmage.

The Rams answered on the next series with a 56-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Jackson Grabinski to senior wide receiver Connor Barefield. It kind of took me back to the Coal City state semi-final playoff game. The Coal City Coalers drove the field for a touchdown which took most of the third quarter. Bing, bing, bing—the Rams and Juju Rodriguez answered with a touchdown of their own in three plays. The Rams went on to win 21-14 and advance to the 4A State Championship game.

The Rams topped Mt. Zion 40-6 to win 4A state championship. The Chicago Catholic/East Suburban Catholic Super Conference went on to win four of the eight state championships. The Rams victory was not without complaints by detractors who argued that DePaul Prep was actually a school that should have been in 6A based on its enrollment. Some truth in that but the Rams didn’t make the rules and played and won the games on the schedule.

It’s a whole new world now. The IHSA changed the rules and school enrollments and classification will change every year now, not every two years as it was. Based on the enrollment and the multiplier DePaul Prep’s enrollment for classification purposes is 2214. That probably puts them in the 7A classification—a move up three spots.

Adding to this change, is the significantly harder schedule. Gone are Deerfield and Amundsen. The Rams will face Fenwick and St. Ignatius, two more Chicago Catholic League teams, for an entirely CCL/ESCC Super-conference schedule. Getting to six wins and making the playoffs will be a challenge. Doubt the Rams at your peril. They tend the wins the games on the schedule whomever might appear thereon.

The Rams will be fine, 7A or not. There are a ton of kids in the program and the notoriety of a championship is drawing talent. The offensive line is big and skilled. New quarterback Jackson Grabinski looks the part and has a big, accurate arm. This might be a reach but there seems to be a culture of athletic success at DePaul Prep. Basketball, cross country, volleyball, baseball. The soccer teams are winning. Don’t be surprised if DePaul Prep makes some noise in 7A football.