Nobody's laughing anymore

February 26, 2009 By RON KREMER RKREMER@SCN1.COM

Minutes after Mitch Brozovich put the finishing touches on Minooka's 25-24 high school wrestling victory over Providence, coach Bernie Ruettiger touched on the magnitude of the Indians' accomplishment.

No Joliet-area wrestling team had defeated Providence in a dual meet in 14 years.

When Romeoville last turned the trick in 1995, the IHSA cancelled the dual-team state tournament in a dispute over Mount Carmel's schedule and the eligibility of a couple of Caravan wrestlers. The Spartans' bid for a trip downstate and a Class AA trophy likewise went kaput.

"It means a lot for our program," Ruettiger said after Minooka rallied from a 24-19 deficit in the final two bouts to beat Providence on Tuesday night at the West Aurora Sectional. "We've put a lot of hard work in for this thing. It's been more than 10 years. (Paige) Schoolman, (Jeff) Charlebois, (Jim) Butterbach, (Stan) Tischer -- these guys put a lot of hard work in, and when I came here I said, 'We're going to win a state championship.'

"People laughed at me. It ain't there yet. But we're getting close to it."

Ruettiger -- his trusted assistants -- and the Indians need to win three more times in the 3A state finals to turn their coach's dream into reality.

As Ruettiger said, "At least we have a chance now."

Minooka (21-2) will face Fox Lake Grant at 9 a.m. in a quarterfinal dual Saturday at U.S. Cellular Coliseum in Bloomington. The Indians entered the final week of the season ranked No. 2 in the Illinois Best Weekly poll and sit on the top of the bracket -- opposite of No. 1-rated Oak Park-River Forest.

Oak Park was crowned champion in "unofficial scoring" at the individual state tournament in Champaign last weekend and is a team that boasts plenty of firepower. The Huskies bring the heat in the lower weights with Chris Dardanes (125, fourth), Nick Dardanes (130, first) and Ellis Coleman (135, third).

Coleman went into the individual tournament undefeated and ranked No. 1 in the state and No. 5 in the nation. He suffered a shocking quarterfinal loss to Lane freshman Max Schneider on a fall in 5:55.

Minooka is a team in every sense of the word.

The Indians sent five to the individual state tournament and came away with two medal winners -- Brian Bokoski (125, fifth) and Ryan Warczynski (152, sixth). Their real strength lies in their ability to match fire with fire at every position in the lineup from 1-14. Bokoski, Warczynski, Joeie Ruettiger (119) and Marcus Rangel (135) serve as the senior leaders for a kiddie corps that has blossomed ahead of schedule.

A freshman and a sophomore capped Minooka's win over Providence.

Kalvin Hill beat Brett Phillips 7-4 at 145 to pull the Indians within 24-22. Then, Brozovich twice turned Dan Zelazik to his back in the third period of a 12-6 victory at 152 that sent an orange-clad, towel-waving Minooka crowd into a frenzy.

"The senior leadership that we have with this team -- we don't have a ton of seniors," Charlebois said. "But the seniors that we have really have set a good example for the underclassmen. It's unfortunate to lose the senior studs that we do have after the season is over, but they've really laid the groundwork hopefully for some pretty good teams to come with the freshmen and sophomores and juniors we have now.

"And hopefully the Little Indians, Channahon Junior High kids and Minooka Junior High kids see that if they get in our room and do some hard work we can do some nice things as a team."

Minooka is making its fourth dual-team state wresting quarterfinal appearance in the last six years and bidding to win its first match and first trophy.

"We want to win it all," junior 215-pounder Brandon Haase said. "That's been our goal from the beginning. I can't wait to see what happens. I'd rather win as a team than place at all for individual state. My goal is team first and individual second. I think that's what we've all been working on the whole year. I think that's why we've been doing better this year than before."

Grant qualified with a 39-24 victory over New Trier at the Libertyville Sectional. The Bulldogs' Lee Muster won the 171-pound title at the individual state tournament. Four of his teammates also qualified for the two-day meet but fell short of winning medals -- Chaz Alex (125), Roque Bustos (130), Jason Montemayor (135) and Carl Williams (285).