Simeon Beats No. 1 Morgan Park At Hotly Contested 'Battle of Vincennes'
By Evan F. Moore | January 28, 2016 10:43pm
Published: January 29, 2016
Morgan Park and Simeon played in front of a packed gym Thursday night.
MORGAN PARK — The hotly anticipated game between two top-ranked high school hoops teams finally tipped off Thursday night, and thanks to lobbying from Morgan Park parents, it was played at the Far South Side school's packed home gym.
Though Simeon High School edged No. 1 Morgan Park 60-57 in the game dubbed "The Battle of Vincennes," Morgan Park hoops parents said they were glad it was played on home turf, 1744 W. Pryor Ave.
Parents initially threatened to not let their sons play in the game scheduled for Jan. 16 after Chicago Public Schools officials moved the game to a neutral site in order to accommodate more spectators. CPS relented and postponed the game, eventually agreeing to move it back to Morgan Park High School.
Parent spokeswoman Tiffany Burrell said that the parents got what they wanted while continuing to fight for a bigger gym.
"No matter the outcome, we wanted to play here at home," Burrell said. "We did get our short-term goal. You see the atmosphere here and that is what it is all about. You can't beat it and this is what we wanted for our kids."
Ald. Matt O'Shea (19th) attended the game wearing a Morgan Park sweatshirt. Though parents had lobbied city officials to build a new gym at the school, in a previous email to Burrell, O'Shea pointed out that $30 million of capital improvements were recently made at Morgan Park.
Burrell told DNAinfo that the parents are in talks to hold a fundraiser for the new gym: "We were raising the money so CPS can take us seriously in order to get a new facility."
Darlene Randall's son Jarrin plays for Morgan Park. She echoed Burrell's sentiments.
"This was a great game. Change can happen if you speak up and use your voice," Randall said. "Let's continue this great rivalry game at Morgan Park. It would have been even better if we got the win."
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