45 years ago Lyndon B. Johnson was the President of the United States, “Bonnie and Clyde” was the highest grossing movie, and I’m a Believer by the Monkees was at the top of the billboard charts. 1967 was a big year and St. Rita High School was no exception. That was the inaugural season for the St. Rita Soccer team. Times were different back then, the team only played 3 games that year and they all came against the same opponent; Loyola Academy. Unfortunately for the Mustangs, the first season ended with 3 losses but the groundwork for success and excellence was laid.

“That team is the original heart and soul of this program,” current head Soccer Coach Tim McCarthy stated. “Without that team we may not have the opportunities we do to play a game we love for a school we love.” The soccer program has soared to levels it has never seen before over the past decade winning multiple championships and having numerous athletes recognized for their great play on the field.

The program invited members from the 1967 team back to Doyle Stadium on Thursday night to get the recognition and honor they deserve. Three members of the team, defender David Fedro, defender Joe Freeman, and the record setting goalie, Werner Koos were all in attendance. While the coach of the 1967 team could not make the ceremony, he is no stranger to Doyle Stadium being the Head Soccer Coach at neighborhood rival Brother Rice High School for the past 30 years. At halftime all three members were brought onto the field to a great ovation and the members of the 2012 St. Rita Soccer team got to shake hands and take pictures with members of the 1967 team. It was truly a great night for the St. Rita community.

   Unfortunately, the team would lose to Kennedy High School 2-0 with both scores coming in the first half. The Mustangs controlled the play and pace of the game in the second half putting 8 shots on net with two almost converting. With the loss the team moves to 1-4 on the young season and will travel to St. Patrick on Saturday with a game scheduled to kickoff at 2:00pm

U.S. Senator Mark Kirk (R-IL) and U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced the members of their six person screening committee that will aid them in the search for the next U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois.

The committee will be co-chaired by the Honorable David Coar, Former U.S. District Court Judge for the Northern District of Illinois and the Honorable Mark Filip, former Deputy Attorney General in the United States Department of Justice. The other members of the Committee are Zaldwaynaka (“Z”) Scott, an attorney and former criminal prosecutor in the US Attorney’s Office for the Northern District; Christina Egan, also an attorney and former prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District; Terence MacCarthy, the former Executive Director of the Federal Defender Program for the Northern District of Illinois; and Lawrence Oliver II, Chief Counsel at the Boeing Company and a former prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois. Biographies of each member of the screening committee can be found below.

Kirk and Durbin each selected three members of the committee, including one co-chair.

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CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. – Former NCAA Division II assistant wrestling coach Obie Simpson has been named the new men’s wrestling assistant at Campbellsville University, Tiger wrestling head coach Franky James announced Tuesday.

“Obviously, I’m excited about having Obie joins us. He brings a lot to the table, and I think he will have an impact on our program right away,” James said. “He has ties to the Illinois and Ohio areas and will help us in recruiting those states. He was a very good wrestler at Kent State and helped coach Newberry to a Top 5 finish last year.

Simpson, a native of Chicago, wrestled at North Carolina State University and Kent State University before beginning his coaching career as a full-time assistant coach at Tiffin University in Ohio and Newbery College in South Carolina.

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With only two weeks before NFL players will report to training camp, most are probably spending time with their families, playing golf, or relaxing by a beach side pool. However, two NFL players decided to spend their last remaining days of their summer break on the St. Rita high school campus this week to help teach kids the game of football.

St. Rita graduates Mike Kafka (’05) and Ryan Donahue (’06) threw themselves directly into the mix of 75 grade school boys on Monday morning in an effort to teach the young men about their experiences in the NFL but also the experiences they had while at St. Rita. Both Kafka and Donahue found great success on the field and in the classroom and that was one of the messages they wanted to get across.

“Make sure you guys are working hard not only on the football field, but also in the classroom,” Mike Kafka spoke to the kids before the camp started. “Coming from a University like Northwestern, it’s really important to excel in school and get your grades in line first and foremost. Other things will come but take care of stuff in the classroom first.” Kafka, a two sport athlete at St. Rita (he also played baseball) and team captain for both sports knows the importance of school and found great success at both St. Rita and Northwestern. Kafka was also not too shabby on the football field being named to the All-Area and All-State team as a senior and then 4 years later was named to the All-Big Ten team at Northwestern. In 2010 Kafka was a 4^th round selection by the Philadelphia Eagles and is currently the backup quarterback to Michael Vick.

Kafka’s partner at the camp and high school teammate for two years, Ryan Donahue, is currently the punter for the Detroit Lions. Donahue had a different path to the NFL than Kafka but saw much of the same successes his former teammate did. After Donahue’s senior year he was honored by being invited to play in the US Army All-American football game, a distinction that is only given to a select number of players from around the entire country. Donahue would then go on to play football at the University of Iowa where he was an All-Big Ten Selection and a finalist for the Ray Guy award which is given to the nation’s top punter. In 2011 Donahue signed a free agent contract with the Detroit Lions and is currently the back up to Jason Hanson.

With all the success that Donahue has had, he has never forgotten his roots. “When it comes to St. Rita, this is a school rich in tradition and pride,” Donahue stated to a group of young kids. “Playing football for St. Rita was great and something I will never forget. Football is fun, you are supposed to have fun while you play, but remember it’s not just football, it’s everything else like school, family, and friends.”

The two St. Rita alums and current NFL players spent the day teaching the kids about football and life. They took time out to sign autographs and play catch with the kids. All in all, the kids had a great time, the players had a great time, and Mike Kafka and Ryan Donahue showed that pride and tradition is not something that leaves when you graduate but something that will continue on throughout a lifetime.

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The St. Rita High School Family is proud of the recent success of Drew McGowan, a 2008 alumnus, and soon-to-be graduate of Cornell University.  Drew is an Evergreen Park native.

Drew is a wonderful example of a true “Ritaman,” someone who works hard to excel in all areas of life, be it the classrooms, athletic fields, or the community around him.

While at St. Rita, Drew was involved in many areas of the school, and was an All-Catholic League football selection in his senior year.  While playing for the Mustangs as a junior, Drew helped guide St. Rita to a Class 7A state championship.  But his accomplishments in the classrooms were even greater, and the hard work and dedication to his studies led Drew to enroll at Cornell University of the Ivy League.

Drew played football all four years, lettering two years as an offensive tackle and guard for the Big Red.  He started six games as a junior before starting every game his senior year.  Drew’s senior leadership enabled the Big Red to improve to a 5-5 record, after posting just four wins combined in the team’s two previous campaigns.

The skills that Drew learned at St. Rita High School allowed for him to have success at Cornell and easily adapt to the rigors of life as a student-athlete at an Ivy League School.

“Time management was one of the things I needed while at Cornell, and I definitely feel I was prepared from my teachers at St. Rita,” McGowan said.

The college life differs greatly from life as a high school student, but the “open-door” policy instituted by St. Rita teachers gave McGowan the confidence to seek out his professors at Cornell and continue to ask questions and seek help, if needed.

“Having that open-door policy at Rita made me feel at ease when I first stepped on campus at Cornell,” McGowan recently remarked.  “I had a great experience with so many teachers in high school, and what I learned from their classes really helped me succeed in the Ivy League.”

After McGowan successfully completes his graduation this May from the Ithaca, New York, campus, he’ll accept a job as a Sales and Trading Analyst with Performance Trust Capital Partners in Chicago.  We are proud of Drew for being able to land a great job so soon after graduation.

About St. Rita High School, Drew stressed the importance of getting involved.

“You need to get involved as much as you can at St. Rita.  It prepares you for college because you learn great time-management skills, among other things.”

Drew comes from a long line of McGowan family members, all with deep roots in the St. Rita Family.

His grandfather, Jack, is an honorary alumnus, while his father, John, is a graduate from the class of 1978.  Drew’s uncles, Steve (1981), and Mark (1984), are joined by Drew’s brother, Ryan, a 2011 alumnus.  Drew has had numerous cousins walk the halls of St. Rita as well, including Steve (2007) and Jake (2013).  The St. Rita connection goes so deep that even Drew’s aunt, Denise McGowan-Rudolph, was a St. Rita cheerleader back in the day.

The family established the Dolores McGowan Scholarship Fund to help aid current Ritamen and their families—a scholarship named in honor of Drew’s grandmother, Dolores.  Like many other families in the St. Rita community, the McGowan’s are an amazing collection of people.

Good luck, Drew, on the next challenging chapters of your life, and congratulations so far on all your accomplishments.  The St. Rita High School Family is very proud of you!

 Edward Leiser ‘04

 Director of Alumni Relations

St. Rita of Cascia High School is pleased to announce that Food 4 Less, the Greater Chicago Area’s leading price-impact supermarket chain, has been named its newest corporate partner.

A significant component of the partnership is a $20,000 donation by Food 4 Less to support St. Rita’s tuition assistance program.

“Food 4 Less and St. Rita have worked together for a couple of years now, and St. Rita owes Food 4 Less a great deal of gratitude for its financial support,” said St. Rita President Fr. Thomas McCarthy, O.S.A. ’83.

“Food 4 Less has enabled the school to increase its tuition assistance program to needy families during these difficult economic times.  It is an honor to establish this partnership, and an honor to call them a corporate sponsor.”

In recognition of Food 4 Less’s generosity, the supermarket chain will be acknowledged at key events on and off the St. Rita campus.

“At Food 4 Less we care about the community we live and work in.  The partnership with St. Rita is an excellent fit as a majority of our locations are on the South Side of Chicago and the South Suburbs are in close proximity to where a significant number of current students, alumni, and friends of St. Rita reside,” said Nick Benavidez, Director of Operations.

The Office of Institutional Advancement launched the St. Rita Corporate Partnership Program in May, 2011.  The goal of the program is to work with local businesses to support the Tuition Assistance Program at St. Rita through an annual financial pledge to the school.  In return, St. Rita recognizes the respective business at key events held on campus.  The generous financial donations from Food 4 Less will go directly toward helping current St. Rita High School students and their families afford tuition.  For more information on the Corporate Partnership Program please contact Tom Ramsden, Director of Institutional Advancement at 773-925-5029.

Food 4 Less operates 145 supermarkets in California, Nevada, and the greater Chicago area.  Food 4 Less is a subsidiary of The Kroger Co., the nation’s largest traditional grocery retailer.  Last year alone, Food 4 Less contributed over $4 million to support education, hunger relief, women’s health and local nonprofit organizations in communities served by their company’s stores.  For more information about Food 4 Less, visit their website at www.food4less.com.