9U Falcons shut out Cowboys
Against the backdrop of angry skies, the 9U Falcons opened their season and tackle football careers. Taking on the Arlington Heights Cowboys, the Falcons started fast. Michael Kipnis recovered a fumble on the first play of the game. Soon after Spencer Marnell scampered around end for a 38-yard touchdown run. George Beatty sashayed in for the extra point and a 7-0 lead.
Swarming tackling by the Falcon defense led to a turnover on downs. After a slight mishap, Spencer Marnell turned lemons into lemonade and scored another 30-yard plus touchdown run, for a 13-0 halftime lead. The Falcons took the field fired up by a stirring halftime speech by coach Matt Camp. On the first drive, Kipnis dashed up field and broke, by this writer’s count, seven tackles on the way to 55-yard touchdown run. Beatty once again paraded in for the PAT and 20-0 lead.
The defense forced its will on the Cowboys all day. Team defense was the key, with Salvatore Calandrielo, Luke Lieberenz, Bennett Zeikus, Joey Hillegass, Gavin Schuler, Nick Carbonara, Keegan McCoskey and Jack Corry standing out.
The Falcons took the ball again for what would be their final drive. Sullivan Camp and Ben Murphy had runs that brought the Falcons to the brink. The drive was capped off by a breathtaking 2-yard touchdown run by Kellen Brown. Strong blocking all day by Nate Thangamani, Giancarlo Turano, Josh Castro, Seabass Christensen, Massimo Burdi and Ryan Pieczkowski paved the way.
Next up: Bloomingdale.
JV SILVER DROPS FIRST GAME
Falcons JV Silver lost a hard-fought game 6-14 to Elmhurst Sunday afternoon at Dickinson Field in Hinsdale.
An early turnover led to a first quarter Elmhurst touchdown. The defense held tough, holding Elmhurst scoreless for the rest of the first half. The offense struggled to get going in the first half but made progress in the second half as Owen Sunderson broke a 35-yard run up the right side, running over several would-be tacklers to tie the game 6-6.
Elmhurst managed to score a late fourth quarter touchdown and 2-point conversion to take the lead back for good. Hinsdale was unable to mount an end of the game drive and fell short by 8 points.
The Falcons’ defense was led by the menacing play of defensive end Matthew Tomfohrde with help from Henry Kohn, Sunderson and John Breton.
The team plays next at Palatine on Saturday.
SENIOR GOLD BEATS RIVAL GLEN ELLYN
It’s been a long wait for many football players to return to the gridiron. The Falcons Senior Gold team wasted little time in welcoming long time arch rival Glenbard back to the field.
Patrick Connors took the first handoff in two years, and ran it in from 70 yards for an opening bang. Riley Contreras added two on the ground, and Jack Lesniewicz caught Contreras’ other two in the air. Up 38-12 in the second half, only a stealth August storm could stop the Falcons, as the game was halted.
The final score: Falcons 38, Glenbard 12.
Local weatherman and fan Jay Novotney cursed the clouds above and could be heard saying, “Let the kids play!”
Novotney’s Wes had a key interception early on to set the stage for a Hinsdale touchdown. Swede Corcoran scored on a kickoff return for Glenbard.
This week Hinsdale plays Bloomingdale on Dickinson Field at 11:30 a.m. Sunday.
