St. Ignatius pulls away in second half to defeat Morgan Park in Prep Bowl

By Noah Poser

The 2025 Prep Bowl was not only the 95th edition of the storied post-Thanksgiving football game between Chicago Public League and Chicago Catholic League foes. It also marked the 20th anniversary of Morgan Park’s last victory in the event.

For two quarters Friday at Hanson Stadium, it looked as if the Mustangs might finally deliver the storybook ending they had been chasing after a two-decade long journey that saw the bottom fall out from under the program before a recent return to perennial contender status.

A late touchdown before halftime cut the deficit to 13-12, and they trailed just 19-12 heading into the fourth quarter.

But St. Ignatius (5-7) pulled away late, scoring 27 unanswered points for a 40-12 win, its second straight Prep Bowl title after defeating Young last season.

“In the first half, we played with great intensity and executed and did the things we needed to do,” Mustangs coach Chris James said. “In the second half, we just didn’t execute the details and we weren’t doing the little stuff that has gotten us to this point.”

The Wolfpack closed the season on a three-game winning streak after a 2-7 regular season. Senior running back Robbie Connor carried 23 times for 90 yards and three touchdowns to earn Prep Bowl MVP honors. St. Ignatius improved to 2-1 all-time in Prep Bowl appearances.

Morgan Park (9-5) finished with nine or more wins for the fourth consecutive season. Despite losing numerous key players to graduation, the Mustangs nearly matched last year’s win total. They fell to 1-4 all-time in Prep Bowl appearances.

“We’ve got a young group,” James said. “We have 20 new starters. They know (what they did wrong), but to see their energy after the game, after battling, they were still proud of themselves and that’s the best thing I could ask for. I’m proud of my kids.”

One of those new starters was sophomore quarterback Ronald Smith Jr., who had big shoes to fill stepping into the role previously held by Marcus Thaxton. Smith accounted for 22 total touchdowns this season, including two in the first half Friday.

He connected with junior receiver Travess Jones on a 28-yard strike to cut the deficit to 7-6 in the second quarter after Connor scored on a 3-yard run for St. Ignatius in the first. Later in the second quarter, Smith scrambled away from pressure and found senior running back Reggie Gray Jr. for a 19-yard touchdown. Gray hauled in the pass with one hand to narrow the gap to 13-12 after Connor’s second rushing score just a minute earlier.

Smith struggled in the second half, tossing a pair of interceptions in the fourth quarter, but finished 16-of-26 for 165 yards with two touchdowns. Gray, named Morgan Park’s Player of the Game, also carried 14 times for 59 yards in his final high school game.

“It’s my last time putting on pads for Morgan Park,” Gray said. “I hope to play in college, so this won’t be my last time putting on pads, but it’s still an emotional roller coaster. These last four years, all I knew is Morgan Park football. And now this is it. It’s very emotional.”

Despite the bittersweet ending, Gray expressed confidence in the Mustangs’ future. Smith echoed that belief, saying the experience will only make the team stronger.

“We came a long way since the beginning of the season,” Smith said. “Everybody has gotten better and more comfortable. We’ve started bonding more as a team and we’ve started playing together. Today, we came out and we just wanted to execute, but we just came up short.

“Moving forward, I’m looking forward to dominating our conference again. We have one goal: we want to win the state championship. Obviously, this year we came up short. I want to thank all the seniors that helped us get to this point, but next year, we’ve got to take it to the next level. I’m going to be more experienced, I’m going to take this offseason very seriously, and I’m going to go into next season ready to play.”

James, who quarterbacked the 2005 Prep Bowl-winning Mustangs, remains steadfast in his belief in his young signal caller and the program’s future despite a 35-28 loss to St. Francis to open the state playoffs and the ensuing defeat to St. Ignatius.

“We’re Morgan Park football,” James said. “We’ve just got to stay with that and keep doing the things that we need to do and keep improving. Again, I love my boys and I’m proud of them. We’ve got goals as a program, and the kids have upheld that standard.”

Photos by Hannah Henderson/OSA (IG: henderson.visuals)