10U GOLD ONE GAME FROM SUPER BOWL
The Hinsdale Falcons 10 U Gold team continued its march toward the Super Bowl with an impressive victory Sunday against the LFC Tigers.
Charles Calhoun started the scoring with a nifty 22-yard, sideline touchdown run to make it 6-0 in the first quarter. Owen Sunderson took a shot gun snap and scampered around the Tigers’ defense en route to a 30-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter to make it 12-0. Brian O’Malley made a beautiful fake to Calhoun and broke out of the middle of the field after breaking two tackles en route to a 65-yard touchdown run, for a score of 18-0 at the half.
The second half was more of the same dominating defense by Colin Palm, Donny Mershon, Frankie Chemmachel and Meko Zecevic. Samantha Mershon had a key fumble recovery to stop an early drive by the Tigers. O’Malley added another 50-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter and threw a pass to John Breton for the two-point conversion to make it 26-0. Charlie Heck and Connor Cousineau had brilliant games on defense, making several key tackles on the outside.
The winner of the next game against Downers Grove goes to the Super Bowl.
11U GOLD FALLS IN FIRST ROUND
The 2019 season came to an abrupt end for the Hinsdale Falcons 11U Gold with a first round playoff loss to the Oswego Panthers Saturday by a final score of 20-0.
Unlike their regular season match-up last month, in which Hinsdale took a lead on Oswego late into the fourth quarter, the No. 7 seed Falcons struggled to put any offensive pressure on the No. 2 seed Panthers. On the other side of the ball, Hinsdale’s defense played a strong all-around game, but let Oswego off the hook on three fourth down conversions that resulted in Panther touchdowns.
Despite the disappointing finale, the team can look back with pride on its improvement, teamwork, chemistry, sportsmanship, discipline, heart and determination throughout the 2019 season. The top Gold division at the 11U level is a grind week in and week out, but the team’s 16 warriors showed their resolve in competing with toughness and grit each and every game. Despite finishing with a 3-6 record, they were always a tough out.
Coaches Matt Riordan, Jason Jones, Kevin Connors, Jeff Collier and Mike Fox have established a foundation on which to build as the team looks forward to the 2020 season with the goal of advancing deep in the league playoffs.
Congratulations on a great and fun season to the 2019 Hinsdale Falcons 11U Gold: Evan Bradford, Jeffrey Collier, Patrick Connors, Grant Cook, Charlie Fox, Jameson Hellenga, Will Lynch, Nicholas Mann, Nick Newmann, Sam Newmann, Wes Novatney, Gene Riordan, Tommy Riordan, Logan Schultz, James Skokna and Ethan Tamas.
JV GOLD LOSES PLAYOFF THRILLER
JV Gold knew its move to the Gold 1 division this year would be a challenge.
The season ended with two 2018 Super Bowl Champs squaring off in a first-round playoff contest.
The first series for Hinsdale started with a bang, as Andrew Bjorson took a Riley Contreras pass 55 yards to the house. A Johnny Horton PAT later, Hinsdale had a quick 8-0 lead. Hinsdale’s second score came after Contreras hit Kelan Mcinenary on 50-yard strike to the 2-yard line. Rygus Corcoran — behind his big O line and a key Brody Robinson block — punched it in. Halftime score: Palatine 20, Hinsdale 14.
Palatine used the third quarter clock by grinding a run game behind their offensive line.
“They have four 6-foot seventh-graders on their line, and all weigh more than our coaching staff,” coach Joseph Corcoran observed.
With that line, Palatine took a 28-14 lead.
The Falcons came back with a slant to Mcinenary to close it to 28-20.
In the fourth, the Falcons went to Corcoran, who took a screen and a great block by Jack Lesniewicz to set him free for a 60-yard catch and run. Even with the extra point, they trailed 28-27. On the next possession, Lesniewicz knocked a fumble out but the refs ruled the runner down. Palatine was able to run the clock down and win the game, 28-27.
The Falcons’ defense was led by Joe Pisani, Finn Boggs, Owen Stamer and Eissa Saleem.
The Falcons’ season didn’t end the way they wanted, but the group is going to be fun to watch in the future. Special thanks goes to “Team Mom” Kelly Contreras, who had the boys organized and hydrated every game.
VARSITY BLACK SHUTS OUT ARLINGTON
With the sun and Coach Koschik shining down on the Falcons Varsity Black team in Arlington Heights, Falcons secured a first-round playoff victory.
The kickoff team, Raza Rashid, Luke Jurack, Liam Lott and Henry Joyce, put an end to any thoughts the Cowboys had of opening the game with a score. The line, anchored by Marko Ivanisevic, Brady Koschick, Mark Ortiz, Alex Rivera, and Max Deering, drew a line in the sand which ended with a sack by Ivanisevic aided by linebacker Magnus Kumskis.
With the score 0-0, the Cowboys were forced to punt. Kellen Tran received it and was sprung by Scott Cherry, resulting in a 15-yard return. Quarterback Jett Hilding threw a couple strikes to Carter Contreras. With under a minute in the first, a run up the middle behind linemen Max Deering and Ryan Schulz resulted in a touchdown by Hilding and a successful kick by Tran. Falcons up 8-0.
The Falcons opened the second half with their ground game. With 4:20 left in the third quarter, Hilding and Co. lined up on a first and 10 that had Kumskis bowling over defenders. Hilding set up in the pocket and launched a 45-yard missile to Freddy Horton, who snatched the ball from the air between two defenders and fell backward into the end zone. Falcons up 14-0.
The Falcons defense ended the Cowboys’ final possession with a forced fumble by Kumskis and fumble recovery by Mason Brady. Throughout the game, lineman Talha Kahn and linebacker Michael Linn helped the defense limit Arlington Heights to -25 rushing yards.
On Oct. 27, the Falcons seek to revenge their earlier loss to Oswego.
VARSITY RED DOMINATES BEARS
The Falcons Varsity Red Team held the Bears scoreless until the fourth quarter to secure a 38-6 victory and continue post-season play.
The Falcons started the game with a kick return by Noah McCurry. Misha Antipov continued with a run to first and goal. Peter Skokna capped it off with a touchdown run. Anthony Tiritilli’s kick was good. Falcons 8-0.
Sammy Davino intercepted a pass on the drive and ran back for a touchdown. The kick was good. Falcons 16-0.
Zach Kruse made a crucial tackle for a loss on the Bears’ drive.
At the start of the second quarter, Adam Ortiz sacked the quarterback for a loss. Andrew Lyne had a big run to the Bears’ 20-yard line. Antipov continued pounding the ball to the 12-yard line. The offensive line of Michael Plunkett, Jack Costello, Edward Kentra, Chris Mellilo and James Claus created massive room to run the ball. Lyne capped the drive with a 12-yard touchdown run. The kick was good. Falcons 24-0.
Will Rediger had a great open field tackle. Kentra ended a Bears’ drive with a tackle for loss on fourth down. Kevin Coan busted a 30-yard touchdown run. Falcons 30-0.
In the third quarter, Mustafa Rashid sacked the Bears’ quarterback. Matthew Elliott darted through defenders to gain yardage. Then, Coan struck with a long 45-yard touchdown run off right tackle. Tiritilli’s kick was good. Falcons 38-0.
In the fourth quarter, the Bears put together a good drive for a touchdown to make it 38-6. Will Rediger was awarded the Hammer for play on defense, and Michael Plunkett won the pancake for outstanding ball snapping and blocking.
A second round game is Oct. 27 at home.
ROTARY RUN CHARITY CLASSIC WINNERS
More than 700 runners competed in the Rotary Run Charity Classic Oct. 6.
The winners of the 3K men’s and women’s races were Aris Brunovskis and Claire Caliento, respectively. The 5K winners were Alex Zasso and Kristine Richards, and Jacek Kepa and Elizabeth Golden ran the fastest times in the 10K. For more information on participation awards and fundraising, turn to good news on Page 16.
The top five finishers in each race are listed below.
3K race
Aris Brunovskis, 1st, 13:13
Davis Stermer, 2nd, 13:25
Nathan Pierzchalski, 3rd, 13:30
Anand Lyall, 4th, 14:12
Jack Gerrard, 5th, 14:16
5K race
Alex Zasso, 1st, 18:50
Winston Stangle, 2nd, 18:57
Chris Duffy, 3rd, 18:57
Finn Richards, 4th, 19:17
Aden Bandukwala, 5th, 20:02
10K race
Jacek Kepa, 1st, 38:02
Daniel Orozco, 2nd, 38:30
E.D. Scheer, 3rd, 40:32
Joaquin Camara, 4th, 41:21
Jeff Martinath, 5th, 41:48
BLAKE LIFTS LAWRENCE SOCCER
Hinsdale’s Jackie Blake, a first-year forward for the Lawrence University women’s soccer team, was chosen as the Midwest Conference Offensive Player of the Week following her first career hat trick on Oct. 2.
Blake scored a natural hat trick in the Vikings’ 6-1 victory over Mount Mary University. With the match tied 1-1 late in the first half, Blake scored two goals in a 21-second span with a free kick at the 41:26 mark from 22 yards out and then at 41:47 off a teammate’s pass to the middle of the penalty box. She completed the hat trick with a goal off a pass at the 56:48 mark to give Lawrence a 4-1 lead.
Blake has a team-best 12 goals this season — the most for a Lawrence player since 2011 — to go with three assists for a total of 27 points.
