By Dominic Scianna and Michael Wojtychiw

The Chicago Public League (CPL) and Chicago Catholic League (CCL) have had a longstanding rivalry of mutual respect when it comes to high school football still playing against one another in the annual Prep Bowl that dates back to the 1920’s. But this year, both entities joined forces to create the new CPL/CCL Basketball Challenge.

The Challenge format promises to be an annual event designed to generate marquee matchups between the leagues. On January 3, the Challenge debuted at two venues on the same day in hosting five games, three at Lane Tech and two at St. Rita. The combatants from the Public League were: Dunbar, Michelle Clark, Lane, Carver, and Jones. Catholic League representatives were: Montini, St. Laurence, Brother Rice, Leo, and St. Rita.

“We had an incredible day of basketball highlighting some of the best athletes in the city,” said David Rosengard, Executive Director of Sports Administration at Chicago Public Schools. “It has been a great effort to once again team with the Catholic League for this new initiative.”

The CCL got the best of their CPL counterparts in winning the head to head competitions 4-1 and most teams agreed that it was a very competitive atmosphere in Year One.

“This event brings together two of the premier conferences in the state and we’re thrilled to be a part of the Basketball Challenge,” said St. Laurence Athletics Director, Tim Chandler.

Leo captured the opening game of the day at St. Rita with a 58-50 win over Carver Military Academy. The Challengers played with heavy hearts in their first game without head coach Johnnail Evans, who tragically passed away during the holiday break. 

“It’s been an emotional roller coaster for all of us, the coaches and the kids (dealing with the death of Coach Evans). It’s really tough playing without our leader, and it’s tough for me to step in and try to push us forward but we’ll do our best to get through this,” said interim head coach Antonio Wiltz.

Carver was led by senior guard Brian Recendez who tallied 12 points in the loss to Leo. 

In the nightcap, Jones picked up the lone Public League win by holding off St. Rita on the Mustangs’ home floor 55-50 in a thrilling back-and-forth battle with several lead changes throughout the game.

Eagles coach Rich Kavalauskas is a product of the Catholic League as an alumnus of De La Salle High School, who played for the Meteors basketball team and served as an assistant coach, so he knows full well what about the intensity of the leagues and how this series can help his program grow as the season progresses.

“It means a lot to me personally, and I think a format like this is great for both leagues. I told our guys that anytime you get a chance to play any team from  the Catholic League you have to put your best foot forward,” said Kavalauskas. “We knew it was going to be a war regardless of the records of both teams, and it was.

Senior forward Trey Lay (23 points) and Henry Close (14 points) were the catalysts in the victory for Jones, outscoring St. Rita 13-4 in the second quarter to gain momentum en route to the five-point win.

Close, who caught an elbow to the right eye during the physical battle, believes this will be a building block for future success for he and his Eagles and teammate Lay agreed with his assessment.

“It’s a great opportunity to play against good talented teams and play against different styles,” said Lay. “This win is big and will definitely get us ready to play in our own conference.”

At Lane Tech

Much like the event at St. Rita, the teams playing at Lane were all excited to be part of the inaugural event. While the Catholic League swept the Public League in all three games, it was a learning experience for all the teams involved.

A number of the Public League teams wouldn’t have played the week after holiday tournaments, so to get the experience of another game, as well as playing teams that might not be ones they’d normally see.

For Clark, a Class 2A school, the opportunity to play St. Laurence, a Class 3A school, was one that coach Terry Head thought was beneficial for his young squad.

“It’s a good chance for us to play teams, not in our conference because you get ready for state tournament,” he said. “You’ll see guys play hard nosed man to man, they switch screens, they just do a good job of running their. 

“So you get to see teams like that, then we’ll get a chance to watch that film. So I can teach my guys and show them you know how to defend that. I think these kids will get better because they keep coming every day.”

Head, who helped build Foreman into a city power in his 10-plus years at the North Side school, actually started his coaching career at the now-closed Weber High School, so he has the experience of being on both sides of the Catholic and Public League sides. 

“This is amazing,” he said about the event. “And I’m gonna make sure we keep coming up for it. 

“I was one of the first black coaches in the Chicago Catholic League. I coached at Weber High School. Back in the days I was a head JV coach there. So that’s why I get a lot of my stuff from you know. I think CPS is the best basketball in the state.”

Dunbar, which played Montini in the CCL/CPL Challenge, was coming off of a third-place finish in the Large School Division of the Kankakee Holiday Tournament. 

The Mightymen gave the Broncos a challenge before falling 43-34.

The team learned a lot about itself over the break, especially getting experience in an event like this one.

“Usually after the break, we have too much down time and that’s hurt us over the years,” Dunbar coach Dex Pierce said. “This is great because now we can watch ourselves on film and learn a lot from this.”

Dunbar, which as of Jan. 10, sits in second place in the White Central Division, is looking to continue its solid play as it gets into the heart of conference season and prepares itself for the 

The Dunbar coach knows that his squad is to be successful, it’s going to need to learn from all the experiences it had over the holiday break.

“I love playing games like these because they show our guys different styles,” the coach said. “They show us something we’re not used to. They’re very patient, very poised, we needed to see something like that.”

Lane and Brother Rice played in the marquee matchup at Lane. Both teams, which have been ranked by various media outlets at some point in the season, were coming off of appearances in the Hinsdale Central Holiday Classic. The Crusaders finished third in the tournament, while the Champions went 2-2.

For someone like Lane coach nick LoGalbo, who has both played and coached in the Public League, being a part of an event like this is something that the schools hsve been wanting.

“It’s an incredible honor to coach in these types of games and there’s such a history in inner city Chicago of such high level basketball,” LoGalbo said. “I played and coached in the Chicago Public League as a Lane alum – so I know the traditions that both leagues have, plus to be in the same room with these coaches, even if it’s just in passing before and after games is something I appreciate.”

The longtime coach at his alma mater even had an idea for how the event can expand in the future.

“The CPL/CCL Challenge is great for basketball in our city and I look forward to seeing it grow,” he said. “I think the idea of having it all in one weekend and on a neutral court setting is enticing (in future years) – plus seeing teams you wouldn’t normally see in competition can really be a lot of fun.

“The week after New Year’s is normally a time that we don’t schedule games and get back in the gym for practice, so it’s a good time to have something like this happen. This week fits for a lot of teams and we’re open to see what this could really be (in the future).”