McClure 7th Grade Boys Basketball Takes Regional Championship

The McClure 7^th grade boys’ basketball team (Red) finished their terrific 19-1 basketball season by winning the regional Hodgkins Park District Tournament, capping it off with a dramatic come-from-behind 30-28 victory over Park Junior High (La Grange.)

Playing the championship game on the varsity court at , the Bulldogs trailed by seven going into the fourth quarter, but stiffened their defense and started hitting shots in a 12-1 run that gave them the first-place trophy.

“They just started playing their game,” said second-year coach Dan Leddy. “We stepped up our defense and we started making our baskets… We knew we had a really good team, we set our goals and we just went out there trying to achieve them.”

The championship closed out a near-perfect season for the young Bulldogs, with the only blemish being an early loss to Gurrie Junior High. The team erased that loss in the tournament after entering as the number-one seed and downing Washington (Lyons), Heritage (Berwyn) and St. John of the Cross (Western Springs) before facing Park.at LT.

“It was a great experience for the kids,” Leddy said of the championship game. “It was nice because they announced the entire team, non-starters and starters, and the managers, and myself; they had programs with all the kids’ names on it… A lot of hard work paid off, and we achieved our goals.”

The victorious team consisted of players Vince Zona, Charlie Kidder, Dan Wennerstrum, Matt Ureel, Sam Frieze, Joey Rohaly, Connor Niego, Junior Christian, Jack Walton, Philip Metcalf, John Prescott and Evan Kupec, and managers Griffin Wasz and Nik Krull.