LANSING, Ill. (October 12, 2023) – There will be plenty to celebrate when TF South football hosts Oak Forest in a South Suburban Blue game on Friday.
It’ll be the twice-delayed home opener for the Red Wolves on their newly renovated field, which includes an artificial playing surface and lighting upgrades among other improvements.
South was originally scheduled to host Bremen on September 21 and Hillcrest last week, but those games were moved to Bremen and TF North respectively because of construction delays.
That means Friday’s game will feature homecoming, senior night, and the TF South Athletic Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
There is rain in the forecast along with possible storms. If the game has to be postponed or suspended, it likely would be played on Saturday morning. But TF South officials are hoping the weather cooperates and doesn’t force a change.
There will be a meet-and-greet for the new Hall of Famers at 5:30 p.m. in front of the school.
Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m., with the induction ceremony to take place at halftime.
2023 Hall of Fame class
Members of this year’s Hall of Fame class are Doug Elkins, Mike Manno, Michael Holba, Tom Holba, Joe Lorenz, Dr. Bruce Montella, and Angie (Porche) Rundh.
Elkins served as booster-club president in the 1980s, and was followed by Manno in the ’90s and into the 2000s.
Michael Holba (class of 1999) was an all-stater in baseball who also starred in football basketball. He went on to play baseball at Notre Dame. Tom Holba (’84) also played football, baseball, and basketball, and was named all-state in football.
Lorenz (’74) was yet another three-sport star (baseball, football, basketball) who went on to play minor-league baseball. He’s also in the Lewis University Sports Hall of Fame.
Montella (’80) was a football All-American and Academic All-American at the University of Chicago.
Rundh (’06) was Valparaiso University’s first volleyball All-American and is the program’s career leader in kills and attacks. She also was a Third-Team Academic All-American.
Two of the inductees, Tom Holba and Joe Lorenz, have other commitments and will be honored at a basketball game this winter, according to TF South athletic director Marc Brewe.
Field finished, track not
Friday’s football game actually will be the third on the new field. The annual powder-puff game held during homecoming week was played on Wednesday and the Red Wolves hosted a freshman game on Thursday.
While the field is essentially finished except for some cleanup, work remains to be done on the stadium’s new track. Workers had to wait 30 days for the underlayer to cure before applying the final top layer.
Brewe said the hope is that the track work can be finished this fall, weather permitting, so the facility will be ready for next spring’s season.
Related
- TF South Football wins on homecoming; Athletic royalty returns for hall of fame induction (October 1, 2022)
