Keller steps up, bails out sick Fenwick
It has been a wild few months for Fenwick’s Jacob Keller. He found himself in the middle of a national news story at the end of the football season. He was the quarterback who threw the controversial pass that eventually led to Fenwick suing the IHSA over the playoff loss to Plainfield North.
“He came out of football as the guy that made the pass,” Fenwick coach Rick Malnati said. “The guy that supposedly didn’t know what he was doing. That’s a lot of pressure on a kid. It was a crazy end of the football season, and he was the focal point.”
Keller jumped right into basketball, where he is also the leader of the team. Saturday in Oak Park, with his sick teammates having bad games, the fate of the Friars fell on his shoulders. Keller delivered.
An uncommitted senior, he had 26 points and eight rebounds to help No. 17 Fenwick hold on to beat Proviso East 69- 62.
“Most games aren’t like that; usually everyone is filling up the stat sheet,” Keller said. “Tonight we were just kinda off. Normally everybody steps up. Jamal [ Nixon] is pretty sick, so he’s battling that, and he got in foul trouble early. DJ [ Steward] has been playing really well; he’s been picking it up.”
Nixon was held to five points and three rebounds. He was one of several players battling the flu. The outbreak is so severe that St. Charles North and St. Charles East canceled their scheduled game.
“[ Nixon] was sicker than a dog, but he played through it,” Malnati said.
Fenwick ( 12- 3) led by 15 in the third quarter and by nine at the start of the fourth quarter, but the wheels came off in the last few minutes. Proviso East ( 4- 8) had several chances to tie the game in the last three minutes but couldn’t quite manage it.
“Our guys didn’t do their jobs today,” Malnati said. “Whatever their roles are, they didn’t do it.”
The Friars were without 6- 5 junior Mike O’Laughlin, which hurt on the boards. He’s also a football player and was out of town at a football event.
The Friars went 5- for- 6 from the free- throw line in the last 41 seconds to seal the victory.
Steward, who might be the area’s best freshman, scored 13 points. He has been a consistent offensive contributor for Fenwick all season.
“He’s the most poised kid on the team,” Malnati said. “Keller and Nixon have been through the wars, but DJ is really composed. He struggles a little on the defensive end. But he rebounds well, he has long arms.”
The Pirates clearly are still figuring things out, but they can take some encouragement from the fourth quarter. They forced Fenwick into multiple turnovers and dominated the boards to get back in the game against one of the area’s best teams.
Senior Tyler Chisom led Proviso East with 21 points and six rebounds. Quinlan Bennett added 15 points and five boards.
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