UPDATE: Sandburg's Chris Pajak is Patch MVP

Sandburg wrestling standout Chris Pajak outpolled seven others in voting for Southland Patch MVP, Feb. 18-24. He is now eligible for Patch Athlete of the Month honors.

Your Patch is a place to celebrate local high school athletes. Show your support for these prep sports MVPs—each of whom is Athlete of the Week in his or her local Patch—by cheering them on in the comments thread, sharing your own photos with the Patch community and voting in the poll. Do you think we're missing someone? Tell us in the comments and share his or her photo to the gallery above. (It's easy. Just click the Upload Photos and Videos link — learn more here.) Read more about this week's MVPs in the photo gallery, and show your support for them by: There is one more way for you to become a more interactive fan: Sign up to become a Patch sports blogger. (Learn more about blogging on Patch here).

• Photos (10)

Boys Basketball: Bloom Takes Lessons to Heart After Win Over Rich Central

Despite a 52-39 win, Bloom coach Jasper Williams was not pleased with his team's effort.

Based solely on the amount of time Bloom coach Jasper Williams held the team in the locker room after Friday night’s game against Rich Central, you would’ve thought the Blazing Trojans had lost their first game of the season. The players exited more than 20 minutes later without the typical enthusiasm of a high school athlete ready for the weekend. “(Coach Williams) definitely let us know that we weren’t playing like he wants us to,” Lejavius Johnson said. “We’re not playing the way we should be playing right now.” Bloom escaped with a 52-39 victory over Rich Central on Friday night to stay undefeated at 7-0, but the Blazing Trojans didn’t play with the same crispness of their previous six victories. They committed silly fouls, allowing …

• Photos (3)

Bloom Stands at No. 1 as Defense Never Rests

Blazing Trojans maintain their grip on the Patch Power Rankings top spot, but H-F, Marist and Brother Rice are also riding high with recent victories.

1. Bloom Township (6-0): The Blazing Trojans put their defensive prowess on full display in Tuesday’s 49-38 win at Thornwood. Henry Hicks, a 6-foot-2 junior, is among Bloom’s defensive standouts, and he’s not too shabby on the offensive end, either. Point guard Donald Moore is a driving force. 2. Homewood-Flossmoor (5-1): The Vikings have bounced back after losing to Bloom on Thanksgiving weekend, earning victories over Joliet West and Morgan Park and Rich Central. 3. Marist (4-0): The RedHawks have two of the top underclassmen in the area in Lexus Williams and Nic Weishar. Williams scored 26 points and Weishar netted 23 in the RedHawks’ 74-71 victory over St. Rita on Tuesday night. 4. Andrew (4-0): The Thunderbolts end a week-long layoff …

• Photos (1)

Boys Basketball: Bloom Uses Second Effort to Thwart Thornwood

Blazing Trojans improve to 6-0 with a strong second half, rolling to a 49-38 road win.

Editor's Notebook

Give a Shout Out to Bloom for a Championship Win Over H-F! Let's Talk

A Patch reader made a good point when she said the boys basketball victory was something to brag about.

The Chicago Heights Classic championship game at Marian Catholic High School was a memorable one, as the Blazing Trojans and the H-F Vikings battled their way through two overtimes. Ultimately, the Bloom boys took the crown Friday night. It was a 70-65 victory with big contributions from Donald Moore, Dejahown Freeman and L.J. Johnson, according to Sun-Times Media. “Everybody stepped up,” Freeman told the Southtown Star. “I just want to thank my team. We wanted to come out in our first tournament and set an example. Let people know Bloom is coming.” One of our readers, a huge Bloom fan, suggested we give a little nudge to our friends in Homewood-Flossmoor Patch and brag about the big victory. So let's talk! How do you feel about the Bloom …

•  3 Comments
• Photos (1)

Ron Kremer

12:51 pm on Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Did you notice Donald Moore is a candidate for our Patch Athlete of the Week award? His leadership has the Blazing Trojans off to a terrific start. He needs your support to win the award. Please vote. Voting runs through 9 p.m. Thursday.   more ›

Weekly Sportscast: McLegends Basketball, Baseball and Softball Unbeatens, L-Way North Signings & More

An all-star team of high school boys showed up their professional counterparts in the annual McDonald's McLegends basketball game.

Thornton's Jeremy Parker scored a team-high 21 points and Homewood-Flossmoor's Julian Lewis chipped in 17 as the high school boys downed their professional counterparts 123-122 in overtime at the annual McDonald's McLegends game. The Legends team featured household NFL names like Antwaan Randle El and Rodney Harrison testing their skills in a game of basketball. For more on the story, click here. Brandon Magallones fired a two-hitter and struck out 12 in Providence's 9-1 baseball victory over Marian Catholic. For more on the story, click here. Providence remains unbeaten and rates No. 1 in our Patch Baseball Power Rankings. To view the rankings, click here. Stagg is 15-0 and rates No. 1 in our Patch Softball Power Rankings. To view the …

• Videos (1)

PatchCast: A Daily Video Report

Daily PatchCast: Ice Lawsuit, Facebook Fake and Baby Surprise

A daily video recap of the Southland's top stories

Tinley Ice and Teehan Family Named in Anti-Trust Suit Oh, Baby! Local Woman Didn't Know She Was Pregnant Village Administrators: Facebook Page 'Not Authorized' Boys Basketball: Homewood-Flossmoor Falls Short against Crete-Monee

• Videos (1)

Extra Points: Bloom Exceeds All Expectations

Blazing Trojans just couldn't solve Crete-Monee, dropping three games to the Warriors, including Friday night's regional final.

The Bloom boys basketball team entered the season being picked to finish near the bottom of the Southland Athletic Conference. After falling just short of a regional championship, dropping a 52-49 decision to Crete-Monee, and also finishing second in their conference behind the Warriors, you could consider their season a success. “I think we succeeded past our expectations,” Blazing Trojans coach Jasper Williams said.  “I think we had a very good season.” The Blazing Trojans started out with an upset win over then highly rated Mount Carmel in the Chicago Heights Classic. “We were picked to finish next-to-last in our conference, and we did very well early in the season," Williams said. "We beat a ranked team." But the overall season could …

• Photos (7)

Hoops: These Boys are Flying High

Sports Editor Ron Kremer ranks the region's top boys basketball teams from 1-5, plus the five knocking on the door.

1. Homewood-Flossmoor (22-5): Tim Williams, a 6-7 junior forward, looks more and more like his old self every time out. He returned from an ankle injury recently to give the Vikings a bigger presence in the lane. When opponents collapse on him, H-F has more room to operate on the perimeter. The Vikings hit 9-of-16 three-pointers through the first three quarters in a 66-34 victory over Marian Catholic. Next: Tonight vs. Plainfield Central in Class 4A Plainfield Central Regional title game. 2. Bloom (16-10): The Blazing Trojans’ season has played out like a roller-coaster ride. One day, they’re up. The next day, they’re down. Junior guard Donald Moore led the latest uptick. He scored 12 points, had three assists and three steals in a 41-34 …

• Photos (1)

Boys Basketball: H-F Has No Trouble Getting Past Marian Catholic

Homewood-Flossmoor 66, Marian Catholic 34. Vikings shoot lights-out, advance to Class 4A Plainfield Central Regional final.

The Hot Read: Homewood-Flossmoor demonstrated why it is one of the top teams in the state in its 66-34 boys basketball victory over Marian Catholic in a semifinal game at the Class 4A Plainfield Central Regional on Wednesday. The Vikings scored the final nine points of the first quarter and then outscored Marian 14-3 in the second quarter to grab a 29-9 halftime lead. H-F stretched its advantage to 46-19 after three quarters and rested its starters for most of the fourth quarter. H-F avenged a sectional loss to Marian Catholic two seasons ago in which three of its current players were on the team. Patch’s MVP: H-F junior Tim Williams scored seven of his game-high 16 points in the first quarter to help set the tone. The 6-foot-7 forward …

• Photos (3)