Chicago-Area High School Football News and Scores | Season Pass

Hard as it may be to believe, when Zion-Benton takes the court Friday in the finals of the Class 4A Deerfield Regional, it will be the first time any current Zee-Bee has played in a regional championship game.

The last three years Zion has been ousted at this spot in the draw.

But Wednesday, the Bees made sure it didn’t happen again, beating host Deerfield 61-48 to earn its spot in the finals against either Palatine or Palatine Fremd.

Milik Yarbrough hit seven of his final eight shots and led the winners with 19 points, while Chris Moragne added 10 points, and Trenton Curry and Dorsey Cadette each scored nine. Cadette also had nine dimes.

Zion (24-5) led 25-13 at the half, 38-31 after three, 51-37 with two minutes to go, and pulled away later after Deerfield hit three-pointers on three straight possessions to close to within 52-46 with 1:23 to play.

“At this point in the season, Deerfield was a very good team so we’re happy with the win,” said Zion coach Don Kloth. “We had many concerns coming into this game, but we came out and we defended and rebounded well, especially early.”

Moragne, a 6-9 senior, was a big contributor on this night.

“We came out ready and focused today,” he said. “It’s a new season. We wanted to get the ball into the post, be aggressive inside, and open up our guys on the perimeter.”

Deerfield (11-17) got 11 points from Alexander Glantz and Michael Alfieri. Deerfield was 7-of-28 shooting from three-point range.