Mooseheart: Sudanese Students Are 'Going to Live The American Dream'

Monday was an emotional day for the school, the Sudan-born students and their supporters as the IHSA declared the students eligible for athletics. School officials said their education was never in jeopardy.

While the overwhelming sentiment among some, regarding four South Sudanese students at Mooseheart and their ruling of ineligibility by the Illinois High School Association was “let them play” — to the young men themselves, there was another issue more central: “Can we stay?” And to that, Mooseheart Executive Director Scott Hart had a simple and emphatic response; the same response he would have given any of the other 210 boys and girls currently on-campus: Yes. Hart reiterated that statement late Monday evening when discussing the early-evening decision by the IHSA Board of Directors to reverse the ineligibility decree from IHSA Executive Director Marty Hickman — and to allow Mangisto Deng, Wal Khat, Akim Nyang and Makur Puou to be …

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UPDATE: Judge Lets Mooseheart Basketball Players Compete—Until IHSA Hearing Monday

Mooseheart Child City gets a temporary restraining order following the IHSA ruling that makes four Sudanese students ineligible.

A Kane County judge has granted a temporary restraining order that will allow four South Sudanese students to play basketball for Mooseheart until an IHSA hearing on Dec. 10. Judge David Akemann said three students could play basketball for the Red Ramblers in games on Tuesday and Wednesday, according to a news release from Mooseheart. The Sudanese players helped secure a 53-21 Mooseheart victory Tuesday against Westminster Christian. “I am definitely pleased with Judge Akemann’s ruling (Tuesday) with the restraining order,” Mooseheart Executive Director Scott Hart said. “It’s a small victory and we appreciate the ability to let the boys continue to play until we have a full hearing before the IHSA Board of Directors.” The Illinois High …

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Geneva's Matt Rodewald Joins Broadcast Crew for State Football Championships

Geneva's very own Matt Rodewald joins the Comcast crew Nov. 23-24 for the 2012 IHSA Football State Championships in HD.

Geneva might not be in the state championship game this year, but a Geneva alum will be in Champaign to broadcast for the Comcast team. Matt Rodewald will be the host and sideline reporter for the coverage on Friday, Nov. 23, and Saturday, Nov. 24. Rodewald is an Emmy Award-winning reporter and a sports radio mainstay for the last decade in Chicago. He's the creator of the successful High School GameNight post-game show while at ESPN 1000 and the founder of NBC 5's Prep Destination of the Week, a segment that saw unprecedented success with social media interaction. Rodewald serves as an anchor/host at 670 The Score, while contributing to CN100, High School Cube, and PlayON! Sports during high school game broadcasts. The Geneva High School …

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Illinois Playoff Football Scores: Find Second-Round Matchups

Chat live with Patch editors and get updates on this week's first-round playoff games.

  Join Patch every Friday night to chat about high school football and get the latest scores from your favorite teams and their rivals. We’ll be updating the Illinois high school football scores throughout the evening. You can help us by posting scores in the comments and sharing photos from the games.  Want to blog about high school football? Contact sports editor Ron Kremer to share your team’s latest news and scores.  If you have scores throughout the game, comment below or tweet us @patchpreps.  WATCH GAMES LIVE ON PATCH Click on the following games to watch live video or a replay: Bolingbrook at Sandburg / Bradley-Bourbonnais at Providence Catholic / Naperville North at Nequa Valley / Andrew at Benet / Lyons at Marist / Bloom at …

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Who Won Over the Weekend in High School Football?

Chat live with Patch editors and get updates on this week's games as teams look to position themselves for the state playoffs.

Illinois High School Football Playoffs: Find Your Team's First-Round Matchup

IHSA announced the first-round playoff pairings for the state football playoffs Saturday night.

After nine weeks of surprises, comebacks and powerhouses getting the job done, it's time to start the season that matters: the playoffs.  The 256 high school football teams that qualified for the Illinois state playoffs learned their fate Saturday night when the first-round playoff pairings were announced. Teams are split into eight classes of 32 schools each based on enrollment. Class 1A is the schools with the lowest enrollment, and Class 8A has the highest. There's no other way to look at it: Class 8A is stacked with talented teams and lots of rematches. The top half of the bracket features the top two ranked teams in state in Maine South and Loyola Academy. The bottom half includes defending state champion Bolingbrook, which could be …

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St. Charles East Bowls Over Larkin

If you're a fan of the Fighting Saints, this is the place to talk about your team and get the latest schedule and results for St. Charles East High School football.