Schaumburg's Kittner Headed to Fighting Illini Hall of Fame
Star QB Still Ranks Atop School's Passing Lists
Throwing for 449 yards in a high school football game and then going to play quarterback as a true freshman at a power conference university isn’t that shocking anymore.
It was a different and much bigger story when Kurt Kittner did these things in the late 1990s. A memorable mid-September Saturday afternoon at Schaumburg in 1997 was a glimpse at what was ahead when Kittner arrived in Champaign to try and lift a struggling Illinois program.
The 1998 Schaumburg graduate did precisely that in a prolific four-year career where he led the Illini to two bowl games and a Big Ten title and got an opportunity to play in the NFL. It was announced June 24 that Kittner is part of the 11-person Class of 2025 of inductees into the Illinois Athletics Hall of Fame.
“I'm incredibly humbled to share that I've been selected for induction into the University of Illinois Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2025,” Kittner shared on social media. “My years as an Illini shaped me in ways that continue to influence my life today. I learned the value of hard work, mental toughness, transparency and being a great teammate and their importance on building a winning culture.
“And most importantly, I'm filled with gratitude for my coaches, teammates and support staff who made my experience at Illinois so memorable. Without them, none of this is possible. I'm also grateful to the Illinois community who supported my athletic career and continue to support me today.”
Kittner was coming off a Daily Herald All-Area junior season where he threw for 1,891 yards and 20 touchdowns when he verbally committed to new Illinois coach Ron Turner in July. That was as good as a written guarantee because Schaumburg head coach Tom Cerasani, who passed away in 2018, was adamant his players stay true to their word once they made their college choice.
The Illini were coming off a 2-9 season under Lou Tepper and would finish 0-11 in Turner’s first year, but his pro-style offense was a perfect fit since Kittner wanted to throw the ball. He was throwing it as well as anybody at the high school level in the early weeks of his senior year.
He threw for 251 yards and 2 touchdowns in a season-opening win at Leyden, where Cerasani played and where his son Tom Sr. is entering his 22nd season as head coach. A week later he threw for 262 yards and a TD and ran for 81 yards and 2 TDs in a win over Buffalo Grove. Kittner said, “I thought I played like crap,” but Cerasani Sr. and BG coach Rich Roberts disagreed.
“He played outstanding,” Cerasani said.
“I’ve seen a lot of good quarterbacks and had some pretty good ones myself,” Roberts said. “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a guy take over a game like that.”
But we hadn’t seen anything yet. That would occur in a Saturday afternoon Mid-Suburban League crossover showdown of 2-0 teams with Barrington at Gary Scholz Stadium.
It turned out to be quite a matinee as Kittner totaled 449 yards on 31-for-51 passing and had a hand in all of Schaumburg’s points with 4 touchdown passes, a rushing touchdown and a pair of 2-point conversions.
Unfortunately for Kittner and the Saxons, it wasn’t enough as a rally in the final six minutes from a 19-point deficit fell short in a 42-39 loss. Barrington sophomore Dan Pohlman, who would become a fixture in the sports pages, rushed for 126 yards and 4 touchdowns even though he didn’t play the fourth quarter with a calf injury.
“I was guessing 300 something … I’d rather be 3-0,” Kittner said of his yardage total and the result.
“I didn’t think it was ever going to end,” said Barrington coach Al Kamradt, who played in the Big Ten at Indiana. “It wasn’t fun for the last three hours, but it’s fun now.”
Kittner’s 449 yards ranked fifth in state history for a single game at the time, broke the MSL record of 407 by Buffalo Grove’s Brendan Doyle in 1994 and easily surpassed his personal-best 366 as a junior. The state record was 529 yards by Jason Stanicek of Rich East in 1990.
Stanicek now ranks 17th on the current IHSA list. The record is 675 yards by Willowbrook’s Brian Johnson in 2013 and you need to hit 513 yards to make the top 20.
Speedy Kevin Gleeson caught all 4 of Kittner’s TDs and 15 passes for 299 yards - both No. 2 on the IHSA lists then. It now takes 17 catches to make the top 20 and Gleeson’s yardage, which isn’t listed on the IHSA website records, would rank 18th.
Kittner continued his area aerial assault a week later with 232 yards by halftime and 1,197 for the season against Palatine. But a torn tendon in his right thumb ended his season at quarterback and left the open the question of what his numbers might have been.
What was unquestioned was Kittner’s toughness to handle what was next at Illinois. He came back to finish the final third of his senior season at Schaumburg playing outside linebacker and on special teams.
Kittner took his share of shots while playing 9 games in his true freshman season as Illinois finished 3-8, but his sophomore year he would lead the way to a bowl-game win over Virginia. As a senior, he was second-team all-Big Ten as the Illini went 10-2, won the Big Ten title and were ranked as high as No. 7 in the Associated Press poll before losing to LSU in the Sugar Bowl.
Kittner’s 8,722 career passing yards are just 3 shy of the Illini record by Jack Trudeau. Kittner is first in career touchdown passes (70) and pass attempts (1,254) and has the top two seasons for TD passes with 27 and 24. He was drafted in 2002 by the Falcons and is one of five MSL products to play quarterback in a NFL game with Paul Justin (Schaumburg), Jeff Francis (Prospect), Jimmy Garoppolo (Rolling Meadows) and Scott Tolzien (Fremd).
Kittner also spent seven years as a radio analyst for the Illini and has had a successful post-football career in real estate.
Other inductees in the Class of 2025 include five-time All-American middle distance runner Mike Durkin, who finished second in the state in the mile in 1970 and 1971 for now-shuttered Holy Cross, women’s basketball coach Theresa Grentz, basketball star Kiwane Garris and future Major League baseball veteran Scott Spiezio.
The Illinois HOF started in 2017 and the inductees include former Barrington multi-sport star Ashley Berggren (2019), who was an All-America and three-time all-Big Ten basketball player.
Hersey’s Woike Makes Smooth Transition
We mentioned recently that Dan Woike, a 1999 Hersey grad, announced his departure from covering the Lakers for the Los Angeles Times. Woike made a transition as smooth as those of the Magic Johnson-led teams in the 1980s by moving to The Athletic to continue covering the iconic NBA franchise.
“It’s an incredible honor to work with so many journalists that I’ve long admired,” Woike said on Twitter/X on June 23. “Can’t wait to get started.”
Central Illinois Football Star Mack Sutter Picks Alabama
Tight end Mack Sutter of Dunlap, located just northwest of Peoria, is one of the country’s top high school football players. Sutter announced his decision this week to play at Alabama and among those at the announcement was Hoffman Estates grad Kurt Pegler, the long-time sports director for Peoria’s WMBD-TV (click below).
Sutter’s dad Ed was an All-American linebacker at Peoria Richwoods who starred at Northwestern and had a five-year NFL career (1993-97) with Cleveland, Baltimore and Atlanta.
Evolution of the MSL
With the upcoming MSL “success factor” divisional realignment, we put together the timeline of how the league has evolved in terms of membership and divisional setup since it started in 1963.
In case you missed it you can check it out by clicking below.