Mather beat Senn 28-0 on Thursday at Winnemac Stadium, but the score was not on anyone’s mind as officials signaled that the game was over and both teams waited for an ambulance to arrive and care for a seriously injured Senn player. The game was called with 4:28 remaining.
The Senn player was hit hard after catching a pass. Chicago Public Schools has trainers at football games but no ambulances. Suburban school districts almost always have an ambulance waiting outside the field during football games.
“It angers me that we don’t have the same thing here,” Mather senior John Lopez said. “It’s so tragic. An injury can happen to any one of us. It’s a very common thing. [CPS] isn’t taking care of the players and they should be.”
The ambulance arrived at Winnemac 14 minutes after it was called by stadium security, which was nearly half an hour after the injury occurred. Senn coach Herbert Manney had his team head into the locker room before the injured player was lifted and put into the ambulance.
Lopez scored two touchdowns for the Rangers (2-1, 1-0 Public North). He had 16 carries for 84 yards.
“It was the men up front,” Lopez said. “We work as a unit. We trained hard all week for this game, and we were passionate. Hard work does pay off.”
Mather’s aggressive defense completely shut down Senn’s running game. The Bulldogs had 17 carries for 18 yards. Senn had some success passing the ball. Quarterback Nicholas Maldonado was 7-for-14 for 82 yards.
Mather scores right before the half, Roy Beard to Seri Charles for a 10-yard TD.
Rangers lead Senn 20-0. pic.twitter.com/Gng9AvN7qB
— Michael O’Brien (@michaelsobrien) September 11, 2025
“We preach tackling and getting after the ball,” Rangers coach Archer Winberg said. “Fly to the football.”
Temiloluwa Adegbola and Bankole Omobobola had sacks for Mather. Junior Kevin Awuzie had two interceptions, and senior Faruq Akerele snagged one interception.
“Every practice we are locked in to get better,” Awuzie said. “We are working hard, and it is showing up.”
Mather quarterback Roy Beard opened the scoring with a one-yard TD run late in the first quarter. He connected with Seri Charles for a 10-yard TD just before halftime. Beard was 2-for-6 for 17 yards with one interception and had seven carries for 48 yards.
The Rangers stopped Marshall at the goal line to pull off a 21-18 win last week and opened the season with a 42-0 loss to Lincoln Park.
“Lincoln Park is a good team,” Winberg said. “It was an opportunity for our kids to see what upper-level talent and execution looks like. When we come back and play our conference, the hope is we can take some of those lessons and apply it.”
Senn (2-1, 0-1) and Mather both qualified for the Class 6A playoffs last season and took heavy losses in the first round. The Rangers’ goal this season is to win the Public North.
“Last year we lost 12-0 to Sullivan in the last [conference] game,” Winberg said. “That’s been on our minds all off season.”