9U SILVER CRUISES TO WIN
Sunday morning’s downpour was the worst weather for a Falcons game in 14 years, according to the game scribe. A heavy steady downpour and two lightening delays greeted both teams at HCHS. The inclement weather forced Coach Tom Ouimette to cover his good luck salmon pink sweatshirt. However, with all the distractions the Falcons stayed focused on the task at hand and cruised to 20-0 victory over the Park Ridge Falcons.
The Falcons got on the board on the second play of the game as Teddy Ouimette dashed 50 yards thanks to great blocks by Alex Demetis, Harrison Kuzniar and Grant Garber for the first score. After a Billy Jaqua fumble recovery, Ouimette jetted around end, aided by lethal blocks from Keegan McCoskey, Dario Rendina and AJ Siepker for another touchdown. Quarterback Nate Morris sprinted around end and dove for the pylon for PAT and a 13-0 halftime lead.
The Falcon D was as relentless as the rain. Led by Carter Pearson, Cooper Milburn, Jake Stanton, Jasper Maggio, John Dunn, JP Rago, Max Breton and Rocco Mateja, the defense gave the Falcons a short field to start the second half. Morris snuck in behind center Luke Hanson for a touchdown, Will Jones added the PAT for the final points of the game.
The coaches could not have been prouder of the effort of the whole team considering all the obstacles they faced. They look forward to getting better next week.
9U GOLD TEAM RELIES ON ‘D’
The 9U Gold took its undefeated record on the road for the first time this season to face Arlington Heights. The Falcons knew they would have to rely on a strong run game given the forecast called for rain all day. However, the coaching staff didn’t expect it to be a complete monsoon. The rain didn’t let up and neither did the rushing attack of Kellen Brown, Topher Allanson and Nate Thangamani. Brown led off the game with a 50-yard touchdown run, which was quickly followed by a 40-yard touchdown run by Allanson and a 45-yard touchdown run by Thangamani to close out the half. The O-line meanwhile was getting sloppy in the trenches, led by Nico Will, Ivan Burt, Carter Cox, Lukasz Gewont and Miles Perucki. Soren Carlson threw his first pass for a 2-point conversion to Brown to close out the half 20-0.
It wasn’t all offense, as the defense was able to pitch a shutout in the first half. Coach Murphy was quoted as saying “This D has a lot of similarities to the ’85 Bears!” The dominant defense continued into the second half, with strong play up front by Sebastian Christensen, Joey Hillegass, Jacob Zager and Luke Gray. Marcello Salamone was also seen laying some lumber, while the defensive backs, led by Reid Jacobsen, Carson Malinas, Lucas Zayed and Ben Murphy, prevented any last-ditch effort by Arlington Heights. The D capped off the shutout with a safety by Marco Oliverio and Christian Kirchev to win 22-0.
10U SILVER shuts OUT LEMONT
In a steady downpour Sunday morning, the Hinsdale Falcons continued to show they are a team to be reckoned with.
It started with the opening kickoff when Jackson Rediger sprinted the length of the field to strip and pounce on the loose ball at the Lemont 15. Four plays later, Jaxon Uthe danced around Lemont defenders while breaking a couple defenders’ ankles on his way to the touchdown. Gavin Shuler and Faiz Moosani had critical blocks on the play.
The Falcon offense committed to the run and racked up over 225 yards rushing on the day led by Uthe, Shuler, Leo Yanlowitz, Jonthon Trombley, JJ Natarelli and Brady Madden.
Uthe scored again in the second quarter, breaking away for a 65-yard touchdown powered by huge blocks by Shane Behar, Jackson Rediger, Bennet Zeiku, Alex Vivanco and Rayan Sheihk.
The Falcon defense would not be outdone, pitching their second shutout in as many games. Augie Seraphin, Lucas Herrick, Shane Behar, Nick Carbonara and Ryan Pieczkowski wouldn’t give the offense any chance to advance the ball and held them to only two first downs in the entire contest.
The game was capped off by a beautifully executed sweep reverse run by Lucas Spatera when he took the reverse handoff from Leo Yanklowitz and sprinted 75 yards to the endzone untouched.
The defense finished up the game by sacking the quarterback three times in a row to finish out the game 18-0.
The Falcons next travel to Bloomingdale to face the at 11:30 a.m. Sunday.
11U Silver Defeats Tri City
Sunday’s rain brought some early challenges, but the Falcons were fired up after a rousing pregame speech given by Coach Preston Tims concluding with the excellent line, “Embrace the rain, and LOVE IT!” The players took the field barking, literally.
Tri City opened the first possession with a strong rushing attack, but defensive linemen Will Smith and Luke Altemose set the tone, limiting the Chargers to minimal gains. The Falcons started slow offensively, but were able to rally an impressive drive resulting in a 25-yard touchdown rush by quarterback Benjamin Allanson halfway through the second quarter.
Both teams continued to battle defensively, until early in the third quarter, when Michael “Birthday Boy” Garber took an outside run 8 yards for his first score of the season, further advancing the Falcons’ lead. His teammates promptly met him in the endzone to celebrate the touchdown — and his birthday.
Linebackers Alec Meltzer and Jake Knapp led the defense, combining for 15+ tackles. Garber and Allanson each rushed for over 40 yards and a score. Despite the rain, Allanson also tacked on 100+ yards passing thanks to the help of some shifty receivers adding yards after the catch.
The Falcons had a blast taking on the Chargers and the elements.
After the game, Coach Steve Smith, who recently returned from a trip to Nashville, had a big smile on his face when he was overheard saying, “Where I come from, rain is a good thing.” Just like in that Luke Bryan song.
JV RED remains UNDEFEATED
Led by coaches Ryan Stamer, Paul Hadden, Tom McInerney and Mark Konieczka, the Hinsdale Falcons 11U JV Red Team continued its undefeated season with a 20-0 win against Oswego, leaving the opponents from the southwest with a goose egg on the scoreboard. The team shut out Arlington Heights at home Aug. 28 and beat Bartlett 30-20 on Sept. 4.
The winning streak continued Sunday. An hour-plus rain delay was not enough to stop the Falcons from playing a hard-hitting football game in an unrelenting downpour. Two rookies to watch — Jack Hamman and Prescott Nicholson — played incredible defense, stoping Oswego dead in its tracks and holding the opponent to a 0-0 score going into the half. Notable stand-out plays made the difference needed in the second half. Gavin Hoang scored off of a punt return in the third quarter, followed by the one-two punch of quarterback Asad Memon to wide receiver Jack Omiecinski to land the Falcons in the end zone one more time.
In the fourth quarter, the Falcons continued to impress with running back Jack Judge breaking ankles and scoring on a 20-yard run and Alex Golon catching several tough passes in heavy traffic. Ryan Rogero picked off the ball to continue the momentum created by the incredible block and wrap iron wall created by Nick Hadden, Finn McInerney, Drew Pabst and Elliot Pain.
The team is excited to see the return of injured players Grayson Elder and Luke Stone.
Next game: 2 p.m. Sunday at Tri City
JV BLACK PLAYS STRONG DEFENSE
The Falcons JV Black Team set the tone the first play of the game when running back Mikey Menza took a handoff to the side of the field for a 65-yard touchdown.
The Falcons’ defense pitched a shutout that started with a quick three and out as Glen Ellyn could not find an answer against the stout defense.
On the first play of the next series, Mikey Menza ran the ball 56 yards, but the touchdown was called back on a holding penalty. During the same series, the Falcons’ offense drove the field with the help of wide out Charlie Foster on a jet sweep for a 35-yard gain on third and long. A few plays later Foster’s 5-yard running touchdown was called back on a holding penalty, which eventually led to turnover on downs.
The following series was another three and out from Glen Ellyn.
Hinsdale found the end zone again after 37-yard drive was capped off with an option play when quarterback Caleb Brady pitched to running back Mikey Menza for his second touchdown of the game.
The Falcon defense was in the zone at the start of the second half, when defensive lineman Owen Issa scooped up a Glen Ellyn fumble and rumbled 35 yards for the first defensive touchdown of the season.
Caleb Brady, Hudson Lyons and Brady Hannigan all recorded sacks.
Final Score: Hinsdale 18, Glen Ellyn 0.
The Falcon 12U Black next matchup is at Bloomingdale Saturday.
Tough loss for Varsity SILVER
The Hinsdale Falcons 13U Silver lost another tough game on Sunday against Downers Grove 22-0.
Despite the pouring rain, the Falcons started strong on their opening drive with a quick first down by quarterback Alex Sclabassi, posting consecutive 4- and 6-yard runs. The Falcons’ offensive line of Liam Allen, Lias Katz, Max Penaloza, James Frankel, Jack Groszek, Liam Gillmore, Alex Mattson and Auden Bunnow continued to show improvement with its rushing and blocking. Isaiah Shin had a breakout game with four tackles, Alex Tafoya continued his streak with six tackles and Michael Dunford carried the ball for 12 yards.
The Falcons defensive line of Penaloza, Shin, Frankel, Mattson, Evan Zydek, Auden Bunnow, Francesco Rendina and Jack Sefton kept the Falcons in the game by shutting down the Downers Grove run.
The Falcons travel to Lombard Sunday for a 2 p.m. game.
VARSITY RED EARNS REVENGE
On a rainy Sunday afternoon the Varsity Red squad was determined to avenge last season’s losses to the Elmhurst Eagles. And that they did.
Cam Linn would lead the Hinsdale offense running for 40 yards on the opening series and capping off the drive with a 7-yard touchdown. Quarterback Owen Sunderson would roll right and hit John Breton in the endzone for the 2-point try.
Linn and Sunderson would share duties carrying the ball on the team’s second possession, with Sunderson scampering 28 yards off the right side for the team’s second score of the day. Luke McLaughlin would reel in a pass from a scrambling Sunderson for the 2-point conversion. The Falcons would score again on their third possession with Linn scoring his second touchdown of the day, this one from 10 yards out. A successful PAT would take the score to 23-0.
The second half would be a similar story with a different cast. Henry Milburn and Beau Knapp would run the ball hard behind the blocking of Mutaz Alsharour, Zaher Akbar, Michael Sharples, Luke Zajicek and Tommy Riordan. With Sunderson now relaxing on the bench, Luke McLaughlin would take the snaps and pick up where Sunderson left off. On a 3rd and 1 situation he would sprint up the right side untouched for 40 yards and the final TD of the afternoon. The game would finish 30-8. The Falcons travel to Elk Grove at 7 p.m. Saturday as they look to remain undefeated.
VARSITY GOLD TAKES THE WIN
After a full day of rain, the skies finally parted and it turned out to be perfect football weather at Moosehead stadium for a rematch of last year’s semifinals between The Gold Division 1 Falcons and the Tri-City Chargers.
On the second play from scrimmage, some fantastic O-line blocking lead to a beautiful zigzagging 25-yard touchdown scamper by Charles Calhoun. The Falcons’ defense contained the well-balanced rushing and passing attack of the Chargers throughout the first half to keep the Chargers scoreless. Colin Palm shadowed and tackled TriCity’s best offensive player on the field all day long. Matthew Tomfohrde, Max Judge and Oliver Clary made key plays in the backfield on the Chargers’ elusive quarterback. Toward the end of the second half, after some beautiful runs by James Skokna, the Falcons ran a well executed fake to Skokna where Charles Calhoun kept the ball and ran untouched into the end zone for a score of 14-0 at the half.
The Chargers came out unfazed by the 14-point deficit and put together a great drive that led to a first and goal at the Falcons’ 9-yard line. The Falcons defense once again stiffened and turned them away at the 1 yard line.
Skokna ripped off a 63-yard touchdown run around the left side following more great downfield blocking by Andrews Zeis, Orestas Bockus and Charlie Miller. Late in the fourth quarter, Calhoun added another 65-yard touchdown run making the final score 28-10 Falcons.
