Suburban Life football notes: Versatile linebacker Domenic Beres a leader of stout St. Francis defense with two playoff shutouts

St. Francis junior linebacker Domenic Beres doesn’t mind changing positions.

Beres is often tasked with switching linebacker spots on a weekly basis due to his versatility and flexibility. Beres is a headline performer for the Spartans’ defense this season. The Spartans (10-1) have not allowed a point in their two playoff wins over Marengo and Evergreen Park.

But the road to Champaign takes a difficult turn this weekend, making Beres a player to watch heading into Saturday’s 2 p.m. Class 4A quarterfinal playoff game at Rochelle.

“I’ve had experience at all three linebacker positions this year,” Beres said. “I’ve really enjoyed playing strongside linebacker. In my opinion, the linebacker position is the heartbeat of the defense. Everything flows through us. I enjoy being versatile enough to play each position week to week depending on our opponent.”

The 5-foot-10, 195-pound Beres was named the Metro Suburban Red Conference Defensive Player of the Year after registering 87 tackles, 10 tackles for a loss, two sacks, five quarterback hurries, two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery, three pass-breakups and an interception return for a touchdown.

Beres said he prepared for the season by working on all aspects of his game – physical and mental.

“The entire offseason I focused on strength, speed and footwork,” Beres said. “I also made it a priority to become a student of the game. I watched and studied a ton of film to further my knowledge of the game.”

St. Francis coach Bob McMillen said Beres is a consummate team player willing to do anything to help get a victory.

“Domenic Beres is playing lights out for us,” McMillen said. “He should have multiple Division I offers. He’s tough as nails and instinctive and knows how to play football. He’s a great player. He’s doing a great job for us, playing a different role and different linebacker positions. He’s all over the place. He never complains.”

McMillen said Rochelle (9-2) present several challenges for the Spartans’ defense. The Hubs’ lone two losses came against undefeated Sycamore (34-0) and Richmond-Burton (41-20).

“They’re a well-oiled machine, and do everything really well,” McMillen said. “They are solid on defense, have a good special teams and on offense, they go right at you and take up as much clock as possible and wear you down and try and break you. We’re expecting a very good team.”

McMillen said the Spartans played solid throughout their second-round rout over Evergreen Park.

“We played well considering the conditions and the rain came before the game,” he said. “Our kids came out and looked at adversity and punched it right in mouth. We were efficient on offense, moved the ball well on offense, still able to throw it and ran it well. The defense made plays.”

Beres said the Spartans are highly motivated to finish their season with a state championship.

“We’ve put in a ton of hard work in the offseason,” Beres said. “We’re dedicated to going all the way. We’ve worked hard and executed and celebrated our strong results. If we continue to stay disciplined, we can make a run in this year’s state playoffs.”

York ready for another big test

York football coach Mike Fitzgerald wondered how his team would handle adversity on Saturday.

The Dukes, a relative newcomer to big-time football, were playing at state powerhouse Marist, but also had to overcome unusually heavy winds that hampered their passing game.

The Dukes showed their moxie with an impressive 27-21 double overtime victory over Marist in a Class 8A second-round playoff game. York (11-0) advanced to the quarterfinals to host Palatine (10-1) on Saturday at 1 p.m. The quarterfinal appearance marks the another new standard for the program – the first time since 2006.

“It was incredible, just how the game went and with the weather,” Fitzgerald said. “So many things happened in that game, things you never have seen before, including the win. We couldn’t done a better job, especially on our first drive, a 14-play drive into the wind that killed the clock. We were able to shrink the field and led 14-0.”

Fitzgerald said he was amazed by the support by the students and fans at Marist, noting the York student section forced the host team to adjust due to the noise in overtime.

“Marist stole the momentum right before halftime, but our kids believed in overtime,” Fitzgerald said. “They have battled adversity and stayed in the moment. It’s a credit to our leadership. It’s remarkable how we won that game. It was definitely special, just seeing it from years ago, when any kind of adversity would happen, we would just crumble. It took a lot of time, but we changed our culture. It’s a great reflection of our culture and leadership.”

Fitzgerald said the Dukes have a tough chore battling the Pirates, who have quality wins over St. Charles North, Conant and Barrington. Palatine’s lone defeat came against Glenbrook South 43-42 in Week 4.

“(Palatine’s) a very good football team, and put it to some different teams,” Fitzgerald said. “They got some really good skill players and size and excellent speed. They are a lot like us, in that they fly to the football on defense. Their offense is very balanced and they have a dynamic running back, a skilled wide receiver and a quarterback who can get them the ball.”

Fitzgerald said several players, including quarterback Max Vezza, are playing at a high level. Vezza, a senior, passed for 108 yards and a touchdown and ran for 142 yards and two scores against Marist.

“Matt’s playing really well,” Fitzgerald said. “He’s a warrior. He’s so poised and he doesn’t get rattled. Reece Richardson is playing well for us at defensive back. He had a tall task on Saturday covering a Division I receiver for the whole game. He did a great job. He was in man-to-man for the majority of the game. He’s a guy who doesn’t get noticed because teams go away from him. He was able to take away a portion of the field for us.”

Nazareth moves a step closer to Champaign

After a sluggish start due to a tough schedule, Nazareth is relishing its return to prominence in the Class 5A playoffs. The No. 11 seeded-Roadrunners (7-4) have cruised to victories in their first two playoff games, beating Glenbard South and Rockford Boylan by wide margins to set up a quarterfinal home game No. 2-seeded Morgan Park at 1 pm.

Nazareth coach Tim Racki said the Mustangs (10-1) present a unique challenge due to their wealth of athletic players. Morgan Park sophomore quarterback Marcus Thaxton and junior wide receiver Chris Durr Jr. headline a diverse and explosive offense.

“They have a lot of speed, at nearly every position and are athletic across the board,” Racki said. “Morgan Park is the fastest team we’ve seen probably since our first game at Kankakee. They have a lot of talent at the skill positions. It’s hard to lock in on one player offensively. They’re very talented. Defensively, we will have our hands full. They have explosive players.”

Racki said he’s noticed a change in his players over the past five-plus weeks. His players are playing more freely and brimming with confidence. The Roadrunners lost three games in a row – Lemont, Marist and Notre Dame – amid a stretch of four out of five defeats before rebounding to win their last five games. Racki said freshman linebacker Lesroy Tittle and sophomore defensive end Gabe Kaminski have been players who have stepped up for the Roadrunners, along with seniors Justin Taylor and Zach Hayes.

“I think increased confidence has been big for them,” Racki said. “They’re seeing why we had such a rough first six weeks, which is not easy for high school football players. Now, they’re seeing the why it was hard every week. During that losing streak, I focused more on the things they were doing well. If you beat down a team or kids, they will lose confidence. Now they’re seeing success and that resiliency paid off.

“We have so many young guys stepping up and really growing and getting better and better every week. Lesroy is an emerging young star. Gabe has been a rock all season, and been doing really well. Justin Taylor and Zach Hayes have shown great leadership and kept the team together, just encouraging the younger kids and taking them under their wings and educating them.”