Gators Put The Bite On Rams, 32-14

Both teams were 7-1 and vying for a home playoff game, but the high-powered Gators came home with the victory over the visiting Rams.

It was a tale of two halves. The first half ended in a 7-7 stalemate, but started off with a bang. Crystal Lake South took the opening kickoff and began possession on their own 21-yard line. On the first play from scrimmage, Brad Walovitch ran for 20 yards. Then Karl Mikulec took the second handoff 59 yards for a Gator score with barely a minute gone in the opening quarter. The Rams were a bit slower in scoring. Joey Valdivia (14 rushes for 50 yards) was taken down for 10-yard loss on the first play. Devon Osburn caught a pass from quarterback Ray Beckman (7 of 15 for 115 yards, 2 INTs and 1 TD) for 18 yards. Valdivia took a pass 33 yards down to the 4-yard line where he took it home on the next play. Two touchdowns and the game was only …

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NBC's Rob Elgas Recalls Playing Days at Crystal Lake Central

Now a co-anchor in Chicago, Elgas admires football in Crystal Lake

No, this Crystal Lake Central graduate won’t be coming home to watch the Crystal Lake South-Crystal Lake Central football game Friday night. He’ll be stuck in Chicago at the NBC studios on Michigan Avenue. But he’s the first one to congratulate the fans of these two rivals. By virtue of 16,000 votes on Facebook, the game is the station’s prep destination of the week. “We will have a crew doing a live remote for our 6 a.m. show,’’ Rob Elgas said. This game hits home for Elgas. After all, he is a 1992 graduate of Crystal Lake Central. The Tigers made the playoffs last year, ending a long drought. Elgas recalled a team that he played on during his senior season. He was a tight end on offense and a corner back on defense for a team that had …

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Girls Golden Eagles Beat the Crystal Lake South Gators

The Golden Eagles won 45-41 at their Jan. 4 game.

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Lemke's Buzzer-Beater Tops Barrington

Gators rally from five down with 35 seconds remaining.

"The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat" truly applied Saturday morning in the opening game of the Jacobs Holiday Classic between Crystal Lake South and Barrington. With the Broncos leading by five with just 35 seconds remaining, the Gators' Kevin Rogers made a three-pointer to pull South within two. After a 10-second call gave the ball back to South, Robbie Lemke hit a fade away three-pointer after a wild scramble to give the Gators a 48-47 win. Lemke said the play wasn't designed to put the ball in his hands. "The play was for Kevin (Rogers) to go to the basket," Lemke said. "He went to the basket and got hit a little bit and I saw the ball bouncing along the baseline so I went after it. I was just trying to get up any shot I …

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Patch Hardwood Tour

Area Boys Basketball Teams Finding Places in Pecking Order

Some teams are still finding their basketball legs, while others have already experienced wide-ranging degrees of success this young season.

From the heady 5-1 start of the Grayslake North Knights to the rugged 1-4 beginnings of a Prairie Ridge Wolves team still finding it's basketball legs, Patch.com-area teams have already experienced wide-ranging degrees of success this young season. But all the clubs and their coaches have the same overall goal in mind, even this early in the campaign. They all want to put the game experiences into proper perspective, learn something from each outing  and, most importantly, improve in the process. Here's a few examples of  highs and lows witnessed in Week 2. LOSING WITH GRACE It can oft-times be uncomfortable to interview a head coach following a bad loss. As I had never met the man, I didn't know what to expect Wednesday night while …

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