By Michael Wojtychiw
It could have been really easy for Simeon to hang its head and trudge along after it lost to Crete-Monee on November 5th in the IHSA State Playoffs. Other than the 35-31 Week 2 win over Bolingbrook, the Wolverines hadn’t really been tested until the loss to the Warriors, so it wasn’t sure what was going to happen with the top-seeded Wolverines took the field against Taft in the Chicago Public League Football Championship Game at Gately Stadium.
“The best thing for us was that we had a week off,” Simeon football coach Dante Culbreath said. “It was needed so they could get past that loss, because they were really hurt.”
A year after losing to Kenwood in the CPL championship game, Simeon is going back to the Prep Bowl after taking down the upstart Eagles 38-34 on a day where it felt like it was eight degrees outside with flurries flying throughout the game.
“Sometimes it takes four quarters to win a football game,” the coach said. “It took all four quarters, all the way down to the last second, but they’re built for this. Taft played a good team, big shoutout to them and what they’re building over there.”
Taft, which started the season 0-5, came into the game having won six of its last seven, including wins over Lane and Phillips, two teams it had lost to during conference play.
It was easy to see the confidence Taft had coming into the game, as it went possession for possession with the top-seeded Wolverines. The Eagles’ rushing attac, led by quarterback Barah Abad and running back Jaiden Padilla, gashed the Simeon front time after time, finishing with 243 yards rushing. Padilla finished with 102 yards and a touchdown. Abad accounted for 120 yards rushing with two rushing touchdowns and a 55-yard touchdown pass to Jayden Harris.
“We knew what they were going to do, they’re consistent and they’re good at it,” Culbreath said. “We knew they were going to to run the ball, but we had to step up and stop it.”
The Eagles weren’t the only ones with a stout running attack, however.
The Wolverines feature one of the state’s top running backs in senior Andre Crews. Crews (wearing #38 vs. his usual #4) was a wrecking ball again Saturday afternoon. On the second and third Simeon touchdowns, he accounted for all but six of the 120 yards.
Crews would finish with 212 yards rushing on 24 carries and four touchdowns.
“It was really just my offensive line,” he said. “They really pushed it to the second level to allow me to be able to hit the holes and go for a lot of yards.”
One of Crews’ touchdowns runs was the game-winner with 2 minutes, 30 seconds remaining. That came after a little after the senior was down in pain on the Simeon sideline, suffering from a bad cramp.
He knew, however, that it wouldn’t let him not sit out the rest of the game.
“I feel like, me being a senior, I have to get back in the game with my brothers and make a mark,” he said. “I wanted to leave everything on the field. I didn’t want to leave the game knowing I could have done something better.”
After coming out of halftime with a 27-26 lead, the Eagles tried an onside kick to start the half and recovered it at the Simeon 46-yard line.
Four plays later, the Eagles were up 34-26 after Stephen Carrera scored on a three-yard scamper.
But that’s when the Wolverines’ defense showed up finally stopping the Taft offense on the Eagles’ next two possessions, forcing the upstart squad to turn the ball over on downs both times.
“You don’t want to deal with shootouts,” Culbreath said. “Sometimes it depends on who ends up with the ball last. You get the ball last, it always seems like that’s who wins.”
With the win, the Wolverines qualify for the Prep Bowl, the annual matchup between the Chicago Public League and the Chicago Catholic League.
Simeon last played in the game in 2019 when it fell to St. Laurence by a point, 35-34. It’s the fourth time since 2016 that the Wolverines will have played in the Prep Bowl.
This year’s game will pit Simeon and Fenwick and will be played at Fenwick’s home field at Triton College, November 25, at 11 a.m. Fenwick made the game by defeating St. Laurence Thursday and will be playing its second Public League opponent in a matter of weeks. The Friars fell to Morgan Park in the first round of the state playoffs this season.
“It is an amazing opportunity and we’re grateful,” Crews said. “My freshman year, we we won the city championship with a bunch of great seniors against Morgan Park, so just to have another opportunity, this time our senior year, to win the city championship again and go play in the Prep Bowl is a great opportunity.”
