I returned to my birthplace...

...on Saturday, Oak Park (it was Homecoming, after all), to watch the No. 2 Hilltoppers of Glenbard West deliver a 41-6 thrashing to the Huskies of Oak Park and River Forest.

(Loyola, meanwhile, topped Gordon Tech, 33-7. The Ramblers must have rested their first string for much of the game in anticipation of Mt. Carmel next week. Gordon's program has fallen off dramatically in recent years; I had predicted a 63-0 Loyola victory. The Rams would have covered anyone's spread.)

Anyway, I arrived in beautiful Oak Park just as the rain was letting up and the sun was coming out. OPRF, as the locals call it, dates back to 1873 and the stadium to 1924. And it is a stadium, not just a pair of bleachers facing each other like most high schools. In fact, it's more like what you'd expect to find at a small college: an old brick structure in which you climb broad concrete stairs, pass a vending counter and restrooms (not Porta Potties), and take your seat under an ancient press box. The field is state-of-the-art, though -- one of those new-fangled artificial turfs. And the view is quite nice: charming old homes on tree-lined Linden Avenue to the west, practice fields to the north and the actual school to the east (or should I say schools, as it looks like it's been added on to several times). Oh, and there's a parking garage to the east as well, something I'd never seen at a high school before.

(And, yes, for the last time, Ernest Hemingway attended OPRF.)

I sat at about the 40-yard line, between the press box and the student section, which is called the "Dog Pound," and was about as well-attended as it was in the picture above. Lame. (It was only fitting that I sat near the student section; the woman who sold me a ticket asked me if I was a senior. I couldn't believe it! Do I really look like a high school student?)

The game was a blowout, as expected. Glenbard West is one of the best teams in the state and OPRF has seen better days. The Huskies remind me a lot of Evanston -- underachievers.

While the Hilltoppers' star running back Avery Balogh seemed to sit out much of the game, quarterback Justice Odom, running back Kendall Johnson and wide receiver Nathan Marcus combined for seven touchdowns. And the defense, led by lineman Tommy Schutt, allowed fewer than ten points for the fourth time this year.

Next week, the Hitters host Proviso West for another sure victory; OPRF travels to Lyons for another sure loss.

Note: If it seems like I go to a lot of Glenbard West games, it's because I do. Not only are they one of the top teams in the state, but Duchon Field is one of the few stadiums without lights; the Hilltoppers play a lot of their games on Saturday.