St. Francis' Purnell gets Bears honor

The Western Suburbs have an early monopoly on Bears Coach of the Week honors this year as Greg Purnell of St. Francis in Wheaton got it this week. Week 1 was Montini's Chris Andriano and Week 2 was former Waubonsie Valley coach and current Danville coach B.J. Luke. Last week St. Francis pulled a 27-7 stunner of Driscoll, which has won seven straight state titles, to improve to 3-0 as it has outscored its foes 129-20.
Purnell's first St. Francis team was 3-6 but it's clear what he accomplished in Iowa (3 state titles, 2 runner-up finishes, 144 wins and induction into Iowa Coaches Association Hall of Fame) has started to play well in Illinois. Interestingly enough, this week will be a battle of Bears honorees and a huge Suburban Catholic Conference matchup with unbeaten Montini.