EP Mustangs Score A Miracle 10-9 Win Over Marist, Thanks To Divine Dust Storm Intervention

EVERGREEN PARK, IL — Maybe it was because the new pope is a Southsider and a Sox fan. Or a helping hand from above by the late Evergreen Park Community High School superfan, Tony Knight, in whose memory the game was being played.

Whatever it was, the Evergreen Park Mustangs were facing an 8-0 deficit in last Friday’s game against the Marist RedHawks, when a divine dust storm intervened.

It was the first dust storm to hit Chicago since the dirty thirties. A black blizzard of soil from the newly tilled fields of southern Illinois sent aloft into the sky and pushed across the prairie by 60mph and 70mph gusts of wind.

The EP Mustangs were on the brink of having the slaughter rule called against them in the annual Tony Knight School Spirit Scholarship game. Tony loved the Chicago White Sox, the Bears and the Bulls, but most of all he loved the Evergreen Park High School Mustangs. Whether Tony was playing varsity football or baseball for the Mustangs – as he did in the early 2000s – he could not wait to put on his uniform and run out to the field with a big smile on his face. He was also the most enthusiastic prom king in the history of the school.

A dust storm comes barreling toward Evergreen Park on May 16, 2025

“It didn’t matter what sport you were on, what classes you were taking, or what social group you were part of, Tony was your friend,” his former baseball coach, Mark Smyth, said in 2015. “He would make guest appearances in our dugout during games; and even if we were playing poorly, our day was automatically better because Tony stopped by to see how we were doing – exactly what a good friend does. We can all learn by Tony’s example.”

When Tony died tragically, and unexpectedly, at age 29, in 2014, dozens of people whose lives were touched by his effervescent smile left online condolences. Tony’s parents, Mary Ellen and Jim Knight, established the Tony Knight School Spirit Scholarship in 2015 to the baseball or football player that best emulates school spirit, for which Tony will also be remembered.

The annual Tony Knight game opened Friday afternoon under a brilliant blue sky, a late-season home game traditionally played against one of the area’s Catholic high schools. Members of the Knight family were sitting in the stands. Tony’s longtime close friend, Sam Rizzo, threw out the first pitch to catcher Rowan Smyth, the winner of this year’s spirit award and the son of Tony’s former coach.

The Mustangs were getting battered by the Marist hitters, who had surged ahead to an 8-0 lead. It looked like it was all over for Evergreen Park when the haboob struck in the fourth inning. For the next two innings, the Mustangs’ bats exploded with a 10-run rally in a cloud of swirling dust. Robbie Welcome hit a go ahead 3-run homer in the bottom of the fifth.

Cadyn Kummer made a leaping over-the-fence catch in the top of the sixth, robbing Marist of a home run and preserving the Mustangs lead.

Marist scored a ninth run in the top of 7th.

Evergreen Park held on for the 10-9 win, with Evan Snyder-Murphy pitching with his eyes closed against the swirling dust and picking up the save in relief.

“It was one of the most incredible sporting events I’ve ever witnessed,” said Tim Moran, EPCHS director of public relations.

On the final play, an Evergreen Park infielder was blown down by the wind, but still made the catch to clinch the victory, leaving the Marist players and fans on the visitor’s side of the field in stunned silence.

“I'm very proud of the way that our guys fought back,” EPCHS head coach Andrew Massey said. “It was a good day to hit, and with our lineup I knew we could get back in the game. It was a great win for our guys and the program heading into the IHSA playoffs.”

Somewhere, Tony Knight is smiling. Once a Mustang, always a Mustang.