"Victorious!" Book About Legendary Leonard Football Family a Big Winner
Remembering Local Prep Writer Dwight Esau; Big Fall for Harper College Sports
The Leonard name is one that is synonymous with Illinois high school football success. Ken Leonard won six state titles at Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin and a state-record 418 games before retiring after last season as his son Derek is pursuing a ninth state title this season at Rochester.
Mike Chamness knew all about the family’s football legacy from his stint as sports editor at the Springfield State Journal-Register from 1987-91 and living in Rochester, which is about 15 minutes southeast of the State Capitol building. The member of the Murphysboro High School Sports Hall of Fame also worked at The Southern Illinoisan in Carbondale during his newspaper career and eventually went into state government communications work.
Chamness was watching his two grandsons play with Derek Leonard’s oldest son in a Rochester junior league football game in 2020.
“I had a nagging thought there was a good football story there,” Chamness said. “I approached them there and they said, ‘Let us think about it.’”
Ultimately they agreed and the result is Chamness’ first book, “Victorious! A story of Faith, Family and Football in the Heartland.” The 303-page book is an excellent look at the triumphs and tragedies the Leonards and their family have faced along the road to success and it’s available for $24.95 at victoriousleonards.com.
There is a local component to the Leonard story. Ken Leonard was the first starting quarterback for Harper College and legendary head coach John Eliasik in 1971 and 1972. In the book’s dedication, Leonard thanks Eliasik for setting a great example of being a head coach. Leonard was at Harper when he met his first wife Liz and they had been married for 40 years when she died of cancer in late 2017.
Chamness thought he could complete the book in 3 to 4 months and laughed that it wound up taking two years. He thought the timing was perfect with Ken’s coaching career coming to an end in 2022 and said the cooperation of the Leonards and so many others was instrumental in making the project a success.
“It was really a fun project for me,” Chamness said. “It took way more time than I thought it would. Part of it was my own fault because I dove down some rabbit holes but that added perspective to the book.
“It’s a great football story but I wanted to make sure it had appeal to people who aren’t necessarily football fans. I wanted to make sure it would be more of a people book.”
Chamness touches on a lot of good football stories that include an intense rivalry known as “The Leonard Bowl” between the two powerful programs from the Central State Eight Conference. But it was also important to Chamness, who called himself “a religious person,” to share the faith journey that changed Ken’s life in 1992 and his family’s life as a result.
Longtime Springfield prep writer and broadcaster Jim Ruppert helped with the editing. Chamness self-published the book, said the first 1,000 copies have been sold and have been followed by two more printings totaling 450 books. Some feedback from Bart Geiser, a standout SSHG quarterback from 1986-88 who played at Northern Illinois, left a big impression on Chamness.
“One of the best comments I got after writing the book was Bart saying, ‘I knew a couple of the stories, but most of them I didn’t know,’” Chamness said. “I could have easily written 600 pages but nobody would have read it. What do you leave out?”
It was a good problem to have for “Victorious!”
Remembering Local Sportswriter Dwight Esau
Condolences to the family and friends of Dwight Esau, who passed away on October 12 just 12 days shy of his 87th birthday. Dwight was a fixture on the local high school sports scene for years with the Des Plaines Journal & Topics and he also did some work for the Herald in the 1970s. Dwight was a real gentleman and class act and it was always good to see him when our paths crossed at games or events.
I did not know that Dwight’s reporting and writing was instrumental in the growth and success of “My Sun Day News” at Del Webb’s Sun City in Huntley. Dwight and his wife Karen were married for 59 years and they had 3 children and 6 grandchildren.
“We wish every stranger he encountered could tell the stories he shared,” his obituary said. “Dwight has a few unfinished stories, and it is upon us to remember those that he shared with each of us. Heaven just got a new sportswriter and piano player. We hope they are ready for his red plaid pants at Christmas.”
A memorial service for Dwight Esau was held on Monday, November 6 at 11 a.m. at the Friendship Park Conservatory in Des Plaines.
Big Fall for Harper Sports
Harper College has four teams competing for NJCAA Division III championships this week. Here’s a look:
Men’s soccer surprise: The Harper men’s soccer team started 0-3-1 under first-year head coach Vlad Gacanovic but recovered to win the Region IV and Midwest District championships in penalty kicks to advance to the NJCAA Division III Elite Eight in Gastonia, North Carolina. Eighth-seed Harper (4-4-3) will face five-time defending national champion and top-seed Dallas-Richland in Wednesday’s 10 a.m. quarterfinal with the loser playing in a consolation game.
Harper sophomore goalkeeper Ramon Orozco (Rolling Meadows), the Region IV Player of the Year, had both match-winning penalty kicks. Sophomore Arian Dizdarevic (Schaumburg), freshman Francisco Hernandez (Palatine and Barrington) and freshman Ricardo Orozco earned all-Region IV honors.
Harper’s other Elite Eight appearance came in the COVID 2021 spring season where it lost its opener and won a consolation game, according to NJCAA records.
Big Honor for Vilsoet and Women’s Volleyball: The Harper women’s volleyball program will now have a Hall of Famer on the sideline when it begins play in the 16-team NJCAA Division III national tournament on Thursday, November 9 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Head coach Bob Vilsoet, who took over the program in 2002, was recently named to the NJCAA Volleyball Coaches Association Hall of Fame Class of 2023.
Vilsoet is closing in on 600 career victories at Harper and this year’s team will be his eighth to make the NJCAA national tournament. Vilsoet’s teams have also won an NJCAA national title, eight Region IV and N4C conference championships and made five NJCAA Final Four appearances. His numerous coaching awards include the NJCAA Division III National Championship Coach of the Year.
Harper (24-17) is seeded eighth in this year’s double-elimination tourney, which runs through Sunday, and will open with Delta College (Michigan) at 1 p.m. Thursday. Delta won their meeting in four sets on Sept. 2. Harper also had three players selected to the NJCAA all-Region IV team - sophomore setter Eden Suh (Buffalo Grove), sophomore outside hitter Ava Belluomini (Mount Prospect - Resurrection HS) and sophomore middle hitter Taylor Knuth (Glenbrook South).
Mac Attack Looks to Continue Cross Country Success: The Harper men’s and women’s cross country teams are the favorite to add to their 12 combined NJCAA Division III national titles under Jim Macnider. Both teams are ranked No. 1 going into Saturday’s national championship meet in Huntsville, Alabama.
The men’s and women’s teams finished ahead of all D-III and D-II teams in the Region IV meet. Sophomore Lilly Alberts (Richmond-Burton) won the race and was Region IV runner of the year after finishing third in the nation last year to lead Harper to its fourth title and first since 2018. Freshman Claudia Wojciehowski (Buffalo Grove) and sophomore Kaili Decker (Fremd) earned all-region honors and finished third and fourth among D-III competitors.
All-region runners and Schaumburg products Owen Whalen and Marcos Jaimes finished fourth and sixth respectively for the men as its top seven runners were separated by just 59 seconds. The Harper men won eight consecutive titles from 2011-18. Macnider earned Region IV coach of the year honors for the men and women.
Tony Reibel Honored for 16-Inch Softball Contributions
The Chicago 16-Inch Softball Hall of Fame announced two honors for Tony Reibel, who passed away May 8 at 90. The organization’s lifetime achievement award will be named after Reibel and there will also be a bench in his name at the Hall of Fame museum in Forest Park.
Reibel, who lived in Park Ridge, was an instrumental figure in the success of 16-inch softball in Chicago. He co-founded the 16-inch Hall of Fame with Al Maag in 1996.
Michael Trautwein Continues Family Baseball Legacy
Cincinnati Reds catching prospect Michael Trautwein, the son of Barrington grad and ex-big league pitcher John Trautwein, played for the National League in Sunday night’s Arizona Fall League All-Star Game. Trautwein started and went 1-for-2 with a double off White Sox prospect Jake Eder, who was traded by the Marlins for Jake Burger, and has a slash line of .238/.347/.476 with 3 homers and 11 RBI in 42 at-bats in the AFL.
Trautwein, a Georgia native, played at Northwestern and was taken in the 13th round of the 2021 draft by the Reds. He split time this season between Class AA Chattanooga and High Class A Dayton and slashed .248/.360/.384 with 13 doubles, 6 homers and 29 RBI in 87 games.
John Trautwein played baseball, basketball and football at Barrington before graduating in 1980 and going to Northwestern. He was not drafted out of college but pitched in 9 games with the Boston Red Sox when they won the 1988 American League East title. Michael Trautwein’s uncle Dave, also a Barrington graduate, and his grandfather Jack played in the minor leagues.
Storming Into MSL Running History
Barrington senior Scout Storms became the third individual girls cross country champion from the Mid-Suburban League on Saturday at Peoria’s Detweiller Park. Storms won the three-mile Class 3A race in 16:38.46 to finish 4.01 seconds ahead of Naperville Central’s Liv Phillips.
Storms, who finished eighth last year, joins Wheeling four-time champion Dana Miroballi (1984-87) and Wheeling’s Amber Stack (2004 Class AA) as MSL girls state cross country champs.
Freshman Mia Sirois finished sixth as Barrington took third for its third top-three girls cross country trophy under head coach Deb Revolta (title in 2003, second in 2006). Barrington’s previous top 10 individual girls state finishers were Jocelyn Long (fifth in 2015, seventh in 2016), Christina Fiduccia (sixth in 2003), Wendy Kilton (seventh in 1992) and Becky Peterson (seventh in 1986).
Maine West’s Tuntland Part of Rangers History
Ex-Maine West and Oakton College baseball star Ryan Tuntland has been part of the Texas Rangers’ rise to its first World Series title. Tuntland just finished his third season in the organization as a hitting coach and worked at Class AA Frisco this season. He was at Hickory (High Class A) in 2022 and the Arizona Complex League (Rookie) in 2021.
Tuntland was a Daily Herald All-Area shortstop in 2009 who hit .537 with 3 homers and 30 RBI. After two strong seasons at Oakton, he played for a year at West Virginia and was drafted in the 29th round by the San Francisco Giants in 2013. Tuntland hit .227 in two seasons in the Giants’ organization and 13 games with the Schaumburg Boomers in 2015 before going into coaching.
Tuntland coached at West Virginia for two years and spent three years at Oakton, where he was part of head coach Bill Fratto’s staff when it won the NJCAA Division III national championship in 2018.
Former Maine West star Tyler Ladendorf, who had big-league playing stints with the Oakland A’s and Cubs, was also a hitting coach in the Cubs organization at Class AA Tennessee this season.
Hess, Walsh Rare Duo in MSL Boys Basketball
Boys basketball practice officially started Monday and it is the first season in charge on an interim basis for Hersey’s Dave Hess at his alma mater. The 1999 Daily Herald All-Area guard had been an assistant with the Huskies, was a head coach at Tuscola and Elgin and an assistant at Stevenson.
Conant’s Matt Walsh is starting his third year in charge of the program where he was a Daily Herald All-Area guard in 1993. Walsh was also head coach at Schaumburg for five years (2009-14).
The only other person to work as a head boys basketball coach at his alma mater is Hersey’s Steve Messer, who coached there for 11 years from 2007-18 and played on the school’s 1985 Class AA Elite Eight qualifier. Messer also coached nine years at Elk Grove (1998-2007).
Mariani’s First Season in Vegas a Success
Ex-Palatine and Harper College star Bubba Mariani had a successful first season as a head football coach at Boulder City (Nevada) as his team went 7-3 and made the second round of the Class 3A playoffs. Mariani’s team won its playoff opener 48-0 but was eliminated when it lost for the second time this season to Moapa Valley.
Mariani was the Daily Herald’s All-Area captain in 1996 when Palatine finished 12-1 and reached the 6A semifinals.