I would like to personally apologize to St. Charles East freshman Meghan Niski (if she cares) for leaving her off the Honorable Mention list when the All-Area Volleyball team was published last week. That was purely a inadvertent omission -- probably one of a few -- on my part.

She definitely deserved recognition. In all honesty, she was among the final cuts for the 2nd Team and I just forgot to add her back to the Honorable Mention list.

For some reason that has really been bugging me and I felt I needed to say something.

Niski played a big part in the Saints' success this season, racking up 293 kills and 277 digs during the regular season. She continued to play a major role for the title-winning Saints all the way through the state tournament.

The Honorable Mention list should have read like this:

Check out the Courier's 2008-09 boys basketball preview, complete with previews of all of our area teams.

I've been getting a lot of flack lately for my calls for the Blackhawks to ship Nikolai Khabibulin off somewhere. When trade rumors have failed to materialize, I've even tried to invent other ways to get rid of him.

Then Khabby turns around and plays well to start the season, thus making me look like an idiot.

To be clear, it's nothing personal. Nor do I think Khabibulin is a terrible player. It's just that the Hawks invested big dollars in a guy who they think is better in Cristobal Huet.

In the Courier's weekly You Pick 'Em comments I compared the 2008 Bears to their 1995 predecessors, and I'd like to elaborate on that a little more.

It turns out by comparing this year's edition to the 1995 group, I was being too generous to the current crop of Bears.

Every team starts the season with the goal of winning a state championship, but few have the will to follow through on that goal.

For 13 weeks, Bartlett managed to keep that objective squarely in sight.

On Saturday night, months of hard work, dedication and preparation weren't enough as Bartlett saw its best season in school history come to an end in a 23-6 loss to state powerhouse Maine South.

In this week's Courier Prep Football Weekly, Andy Rohr and Erik Jacobsen break down the Class 8A Semifinal between Bartlett and Maine South. Featuring analysis, interviews and Jacobsen's prediction. Here's the link.

Check out highlights from Bartlett's wild 38-35 win against Schaumburg here.

To read about Bartlett's accomplishment, read Bartlett's run one for U46 record books.

SCHAUMBURG -- Bartlett's perfect season is still alive, but barely.

A four-possession lead late in the third quarter almost wasn't enough for the top-seeded Hawks as No. 13 Schaumburg mounted a furious 28-point rally to tie the score with 1:26 remaining Saturday night.

With momentum squarely on the side of the Saxons, Bartlett found a way to avoid a monumental collapse in the game's final minute.

The Hawks answered Schaumburg's tying touchdown with a critical 45-yard pass from quarterback Josh Hasenberg to receiver Alex VanNess on a stop-and-go route, setting up a 25-yard field-goal attempt for kicker Dan Karys.

Karys delivered, sending the ball through the uprights with 7.4 seconds left to lift Bartlett to a thrilling 38-35 victory in Class 8A state quarterfinal action.

Central vs. JCA -- Minutes away from the Class 3A state title match between Burlington Central and Joliet Catholic.

Joliet Catholic, ranked No. 9 in the nation (prepvolleyball.com) comes in as the heavy favorite, backed by a steep history and arguably the toughest schedule in the state .The Angels (38-3) have appeared Downstate seven times, four under current coach Christine Scheibe. Scheibe guided the Angels to their only title in 2003.

This is Central's first Downstate appearance. The undersized Rockets are used to the underdog role and this one will be no different.

JCA defeated Central (35-6) during the regular season in three games. Although both coaches admitted yesterday that was a long time ago.

(1) BARTLETT vs. (13) SCHAUMBURG in Class 8A football quarterfinal game...Winner gets (2) Maine South or (6) Barrington

It's the start of the third quarter in Schaumburg and Bartlett has a 35-7 lead and is well on its way to the Class 8A football semifinals. Bartlett had 284 yards of total offense at the half, compared to the Saxons' 80.

8:05 first quarter-- Quarterback Josh Hasenberg caps off an eight-play 65-yard drive with a one-yard touchdown run.
Bartlett then put together a 14-play 82-yard drive to go up 14-0. Hasenberg ended that drive with another one-yard TD run.
11:53 second quarter--After a Saxons interception, Hasenberg found wide receiver Alex VanNess on the second play of the drive for a 29-yard touchdown pass to go up 21-0.
0:47 second quarter--- Hasenberg keeps in on an end-around for a 25-yard TD run, making it 28-0.
---Schaumburg returns opening kickoff of the second half 85 yards for a touchdown, 35-7

Hold it...Schaumburg now making an amazing comeback. The score is now 35-28 and the Saxons just recovered an onside kick with 6 minutes left in the game.

1:26 left...Schaumburg tied it at 35-35....

0:07---After a 45-yard pass from Hasenberg to Van Ness, Bartlett's Dan Karys hits a 25-yard field goal to put the Hawks up 38-35.

GAME OVER, BARTLETT WINS 38-35

St. Edward finishes on top -- St. Edward concluded its season with a 25-22, 26-24 victory over Princeton for third-place in the Class 2A State Finals on Saturday at Redbird Arena.

By Tim Masmar

Staff Writer

NORMAL -- The St. Edward girls volleyball team was denied a chance to play for its first state championship on Friday at Redbird Arena after losing to Freeburg 25-23, 25-22 in the Class 2A semifinals.

By Tim Masmar

Staff Writer

NORMAL -- Bring on Benet.

St. Charles East rolled to the title match of the Class 4A State Finals on Friday with a 26-24, 25-20 victory over Evanston at Redbird Arena.

With the victory, the Saints (37-4) will meet the vaunted Redwings (40-1) at 7:45 p.m. Saturday here for the title.

By Tim Masmar

Staff Writer

NORMAL -- One word pretty much sums up Burlington Central's performance against Chicago Payton in the first Class 3A semifinal match at Redbird Arena on Friday.

Domination.

Saints ready to rumble -- St. Charles East is on the court warming up. The Saints are set to take on Evanston in the first of two Class 4A semifinal matches that will conclude a full -- and long -- day of volleyball.

The winner will advance to Saturday's title match to play either Benet or Mother McAuley.

Rockets prepare for Grizzlies -- Burlington Central is minutes away from its Class 3A semifinal matchup with 37-1 Chicago Payton.

It's a "white out" for the Central supporters, who are all wearning white shirts and waving towels. Central's fan base clearly outnumbers the Grizzlies fan base.

In the 24 hours since White Sox GM Kenny Williams decided to pull the trigger on a trade that sent Nick Swisher to the Yankees, we're still trying to figure out why he did it.

Long day ahead -- Well, it's 1 p.m. and we are already behind here in Normal at the girls volleyball State Finals.

St. Edward, scheduled to begin at 12:30, has yet to take the court.

When it does, I will update this blog entry periodically throughout the match (we'll see how things go).

Check back throughout the day for more updates and notes.

I will also be blogging for Burlington Central and St. Charles East. Despite falling behind time-wise, we should be able to catch back up after Class 2A concludes its semifinal matches. There was already a scheduled break until 4:30, when play resumes with Class 3A and 4A semifinal matches.

Preview capsules for Burlington Central, St. Edward and St. Charles East.

Changes are in store for Westminster Christian's softball program.

The school announced Thursday that coach Jim Mueller resigned for personal reasons. The Warriors finished 3-11 in their first-ever varsity season in 2008.

A look inside Bartlett's quarterfinal meeting with Schaumburg this Saturday.

Here's this week's Courier Prep Football Weekly, which previews the Class 8A quarterfinal matchup between Bartlett and Schaumburg. Here's the link

Kimberly Pierce (pictured) will take her softball talents to Indiana State University this fall to play for the Division I Sycamores.

Pierce, The Courier News Player of the Year last season, batted .495 with area-highs of nine home runs, 14 doubles and 47 RBIs for South Elgin. A transfer from Florida, Pierce amassed 27 extra-base hits for the Storm in 2007.

St. Charles East senior Paul De Bord will sign a letter of intent to play lacrosse for notable Division I program Towson University in Maryland, East's athletics department announced Wednesday.

De Bord, who just completed a successful season at tight end for the Saints' football team, is an attackman for the St. Charles Lacrosse Club, which includes students from East and St. Charles North. He's played for the squad since his freshman year and played a leading role in guiding the club to back-to-back trips to the Illinois State Lacrosse Final Four.

It's a busy Saturday in Courier country, with a number of schools competing in various postseason events.

We'll update you with the results as they come in...

We're under way at Millennium Field as Bartlett takes on Fremd in the second round of the Class 8A playoffs. Follow along as I provide some real-time analysis.

As tonight's Class 8A playoff showdown between Bartlett and Fremd unfolds, I'll try to keep you posted with a running play by play.

Class 7A No. 7 St. Charles East (8-2) at No. 2 Cary-Grove (10-0)

When: 6 p.m. on Saturday
Winner gets: No. 3 Rockford Boylan or No. 6 Crystal Lake South
Playoff appearances: East (4th consecutive); Cary-Grove (5th consecutive)

Players to watch: East -- RB Wes Allen (287 att., 1,893 yards, 28 TDs); QB Tim Russell (78-593, 5 TDs); WR Tyler Nutting (24 rec., 332 yards, 0 TDs)
Cary-Grove -- FB Eric Chandler (169 att., 1,052 yards, 15 TDs); QB Tyler Krebs (100 att., 537 yards, 7 TDs); RB Alex Hembrey (71 att., 530 yards, 6 TDs)

Class 8A No. 8 Fremd (8-2) at No. 1 Bartlett (10-0)

When: 7 Friday
Winner gets: No. 5 Warren or No. 13 Schaumburg
Playoff appearances: Fremd (13th consecutive); Bartlett (9th consecutive)

Players to watch: Fremd -- QB/DB Michael Tauchmann; LB/TE Ben Perna; RB Mike Gyetvay
Bartlett -- QB Josh Hasenberg (121-203, 1,732 yards, 18 TDs); WR Cory Brown (44 rec., 782 yards, 7 TDs); RB Fabian Libreri (151 att., 744 yards, 8 TDs)

Class 6A No. 5 Huntley (9-1) at No. 13 Grant (7-3)

Class 4A No. 6 Genoa-Kingston (8-2) at No. 14 Richmond-Burton (6-4)

St. Charles East senior Wes Allen and Bartlett senior Kyle Zelinsky have impressed throughout their three-year varsity careers, and on Monday the duo was honored by the Upstate Eight Conference's coaches for their outstanding play during the 2008 season.

Allen, who leads the area in rushing yards and scoring, was tabbed UEC offensive MVP. Zelinsky earned UEC defensive MVP honors for his efforts in leading the Hawks to a perfect regular season as Bartlett's inside linebacker.

The awards were announced in conjunction with the league's 2008 All-Conference team. Bartlett led the UEC with 10 All-Conference honorees. St. Charles East and Neuqua Valley both had six players named to the team.

Here is the 2008 All-Upstate Eight Conference football team, as voted by the league's coaches.

Six teams still in mix for State Finals -- Local volleyball powers St. Charles East, Hampshire, Burlington Central and Huntley all cruised to regional titles over the weekend. All four teams, with the exception of Burlington Central, entered regional play as the top seed.

The game times are set for the four area teams still alive in the high school football state playoffs. The official announcement will come from ihsa.org on Monday, but barring any major oversight, the games will take place on the following times and dates...

FRIDAY
Class 8A: No. 8 Fremd (8-2) at No. 1 Bartlett (10-0), 7 p.m.
Class 6A: No. 5 Huntley (9-1) at No. 13 Grant (7-3), 7 p.m.

SATURDAY
Class 4A: No. 6 Genoa-Kingston (8-2) at No. 14 Richmond-Burton (6-4), 1 p.m.
Class 7A: No. 7 St. Charles East (8-2) at No. 2 Cary-Grove (10-0), 6 p.m.

I thought I was watching a shootout out in Genoa on Friday when Hampshire and Genoa-Kingston traded touchdowns on six straight possessions in the first half of their Class 4A state playoff game.

Little did I know that to the north and east Huntley and Batavia were engaged in a wild affair unlike any ever seen in state playoff history.