10U Gold defeats Glen Ellyn
The Hinsdale 10U Gold Falcons enjoyed a dominant 20-6 victory against a great opponent, Glen Ellyn, on Saturday at Brook Park.
Charles Calhoun started the scoring four plays into the game on a 35-yard scamper to put the Falcons up 6-0. The defense shut Glen Ellyn down the next series and gave the ball back to the offense. Then on the next series, Orestas Bockus bobbed and weaved through traffic on several runs that set up another easy score by Calhoun. Charlie Heck threw a nice pass to Brian O’Malley for the two-point conversion to put the Falcons up 14-0. Later in the second half, O’Malley scored a touchdown to make it 20-0 after several nice runs by Heck and Jupiter Pohlenz.
The O-line — anchored by Donny Mershon, Colin Palm, Frankie Chemmachel, Miko Zecevic and Tommy Riordan — dominated the line of scrimmage all day. The defense was bolstered by fine play from Bockus, Calhoun, Oliver Clary, Connor Cousineau, Michael Sharples and Michael Panzica.
Next up: Oswego on Sunday night.
SHUTOUT FOR 11U GOLD falcons
An excited, motivated and well-prepared Hinsdale Falcons 11U Gold team opened its 2019 campaign Saturday on the road against the Carol Stream Panthers.
As the veterans on the squad remember losing their opener the previous two seasons, the team was determined to turn the tables. And it did, posting a 19-0 shutout win over the Panthers to get the new season off to a great start. Halfback Patrick Connors provided a quick scoring punch, taking a handoff 60 yards on Hinsdale’s opening possession to give the Falcons an early 6-0 lead. With the game still close, Connors took a fourth-quarter snap from under center at the Carol Stream 1-yard line and plunged into the end zone to extend the Hinsdale lead.
The Falcons offense didn’t need to put up a lot of points, as the defense dominated the Carol Stream offense all game. The Panthers struggled to move the ball and, when they seemed to get a little momentum, the Hinsdale defense would rise to the occasion, including big interior stops by linemen Gene Riordan, Grant Cook, Jeffrey Collier, Logan Schultz and Ethan Tamas and three interceptions — two in the first half by cornerback Wes Novatney and a pick six by Connors that sealed the game late in the fourth quarter.
The 2019 Falcons return a number of seasoned players in Novatney, Riordan, Cook, Collier, Schultz, Charlie Fox, Will Lynch, Nick Newmann, Sam Newmann and James Skokna, together with newcomers Connors, Tamas, Evan Bradford, Jameson Hellenga, Nicholas Mann and Connor McLaurin. Coaches Matt Riordan, Jeff Collier, Mike Fox, Jason Jones and Kevin Connors are looking forward to the challenge and opportunity to develop individual talent and team chemistry.
The Falcons look to stay hot as they host the always tough Bartlett Raiders this coming Sunday, Sept, 1.
11U SILVER SUFFERS TOUGH LOSS
The Hinsdale Falcons 11U Silver team suffered a tough loss on opening day, falling to the Palatine Panthers 20-6.
The Falcons started off strong on defense, sending the Panthers three and out on their first four possessions. Sacks by Owen Joyce, Alec Allegra and Michael McGown set the tone early.
On offense the Falcons mixed it up well, with a strong power running attack supported by timely passing. Ben Tiritilli broke for a 40-yard touchdown, dancing his way through the defense and showing great speed to pull away from the defenders to put the Falcons up 6-0. The offensive line — anchored by Charlie Hoyt, E.J. Dynis, Liam Joyce, Luke Melillo and Corbin Camp — showed their power to open the hole.
The Falcons let up a late first half touchdown with 10 seconds left on the clock as the Panthers quarterback turned a broken play — blown up by Will Heinskill — to scramble through the defense for 60 yards as the half closed.
The Falcons fought through the second half but fell short due to a few untimely penalties and turnovers. The young Falcons showed some true grit during their first game, featuring first-year players Dynis, Nick Keiner and Timas Marchertas.
The Falcons, undaunted and playing well, will look for their first win of the season at home this Sunday against Naperville, a new addition to the league.
Black shuts down elmhurst in win
The Varsity Black team came up big this weekend, with a score of 31-0 against the respectable Elmhurst Varsity Gold team.
Team coaches awarded the coveted Pancake Award to Carter Contreras and the Hammer Award to Magnus Kumskis for their outstanding performances on the field.
The entire defensive line worked together to shut down Elmhurst, not allowing the ball to get near the end zone. The scoring began with the defense pressing, causing a bad snap by Elmhurst that went into the end zone for a safety. This momentum pushed the boys to make three interceptions (Contreras, Jett Hilding and Scott Cherry), several pass breakups (Kellen Tran, Luke Jurack and Henry Joyce), forced fumbles (Mason Brady and Kumskis) — one for a turnover (Kumskis) — and two quarterback hurries forced by Brady.
For the offense, the Black Team was led by quarterback Jett Hilding, who passed for three touchdowns to Contreras, Kumskis and Jurack. Kumskis also rushed into the end zone for another touchdown. Extra points were secured with tosses into the end zone to the hands of Freddy Horton and Kumskis, while another one was scored by Tran, who ran to the right with a dive across the goal line.
The next game is at 10 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 1, at Brook Park against Carol Stream Varsity Gold.
Red Dominates Bloomingdale
The Varsity Red team proved it is a force to be reckoned with in Game 1 of the BGYFL football league by defeating Bloomingdale Varsity Silver 31-0.
Team coaches awarded the prestigious Pancake Award to Edward Kentra and the Hammer Award to Andrew Lyne. Both performed beautifully on the field to lead their team to victory.
It was a team effort of aggressive play on defense and execution on offense. Lyne and Kevin Coan traded off at the quarterback spot, running into the end zone for a total of three touchdowns for their team.
Anthony Tiritilli and Adam Ortiz had huge blocks on the outside to finish two of the scoring runs. The offensive line worked seamlessly together to give their team several scoring opportunities.
On the other side of the ball, Sammy Davino and Kentra both took turns pushing through the line to sack the quarterback, which ignited the defense to hold Bloomingdale from scoring all day.
Misha Antipov used his quick senses to read a play and make an interception that was almost returned for a touchdown. Peter Skokna also came up big with an interception to shut down the Bloomingdale offense.
The next game is at 1 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 1, at Brook Park against Arlington Heights Varsity Silver.
Photos appear online at https://www.facebook.com/thehinsdalean.
