Leo Catholic High School Ushers in The Coach Theo Hopkins Era with 46-2 Complete Victory Over Dunbar

Leo Catholic High School ushered in the Theo Hopkins era Saturday afternoon at Eckersall Stadium with an impressive 46-2 victory over Dunbar, a non-conference opponent from the Chicago Public League.

The 2025 version of Leo Lions football showcased a complete game from the opening kickoff to the post-game “Gatorade Bath” the new Leo coach endured under a bucket of ice and sports drink.

“We’ve got chemistry on this year’s team and that’s all because of Coach Hopkins,” said senior halfback Chase Jordan, who opened up the season’s scoring with his touchdown run. Jordan’s score followed Leo stuffing the Mighty Men’s first possession to force a fourth-down punt. Leo went 46 yards in five plays to go up 7-0 midway in the opening quarter.

“It’s all on them - the players,” said Hopkins, returning the praise to his young team. “They came out locked in and played hard.”

Jordan, a senior track star with speed to burn struggled through injuries during much of the last two seasons, but claims he’s healthy now and ready to compete, especially as he embraces Coach Hopkins vision of unleashing him in open space, ‘where he can utilize his speed and make people miss.”

The senior back finished with 107 yards on seven carries and three touchdowns.

From the football Leo class of 2014, Hopkins is familiar with “locking in” for success. Hopkins was a two-way standout on Leo’s last IHSA state playoff team, in 2013.

Before returning last year to Leo to stake claim to the head coaching position, Hopkins was coaching at the collegiate level, following his playing career at Quincy University in 2018. A clear emphasis on “conditioning and sound fundamentals” took precedent when he blew the first whistle for the first practice.

The result showed immediately as pursuit to the ball on defense and a sustained hustle on offense returning to the huddle seemed to exhaust the Mighty Men of Dunbar and establish a tempo to make it a Lions’ game. Team hustle on and off the field between plays seemed to match the sideline coaching intensity.

Sophomore starting quarterback Trent Watson looked confident from the outset, most notably on a quarterback draw in which a three-step drop and patience “sold the play” before he bolted for the end zone for a 22-yard TD and a 33-0 lead, capped by Jahad Smith’s third extra point kick of the half.

Leo, the receiving team to open the second half, turned a deflection off a front line player into a 95-yard sprint to pay dirt. Heady junior Antonio Clark retreated to the five-yard line, scooped up the loose pigskin, sized up oncoming Mighty Men traffic and took the right highway shoulder the length of the field virtually untouched.

With a running clock and substantial subbing in the fourth quarter, sophomore Michael Redmond stopped Dunbar’s only real scoring threat with an interception in the red zone. One of Leo’s few unforced errors led to a late safety.

Sophomore running back Ellison Cox (53 yards on six carries) showed his speed in the open field and strength on a one-year TD blast into the line for a 20-0 lead. A bad snap cost Smith an additional extra-point kick and prompted Hopkins to call an ad hoc huddle.

“This is stuff we’ve worked on,” said Hopkins, who stopped his special team players in their tracks.

“As coaches we have to make sure our players have seen everything a number of times so there are no surprises,” said Hopkins after the game.

Further evidence of the Leo turnabout: 13 first down; 15 total yards in penalties.

The Leo freshman football squad was victorious beating host Hinsdale South 34-10.

Leo will host another non-conference opponent, Amundsen High School, Saturday, September 6th with a 4:30 p.m. kickoff at St. Xavier.

All home games will be at St. Xavier University - 3700 W. 103rd Street, Chicago, Ill.