9U SILVER ON TO PLAYOFFS
The Falcons closed out the regular season with a tough 12-0 victory over Lyons. The win gave them a regular season record of 7-1 and a tie for first.
The scoring was handled by Teddy Ouimette, who busted out a 45-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. Following a trend, great blocking was provided by Luke Hanson, AJ Siepker, Keegan McCoskey, Jasper Maggio, Harrison Kuzniar and Grant Garber. Billy Jaqua pounced on the quarterback for a fourth-down sack. This gave the ball back to the Falcons just before half. Nate Morris was able to get the ball off right as the half time clock expired, and Ouimette took it home for the 12-0 halftime lead.
The Falcons defense took it from there as JP Rago, John Dunn, Rocco Majeta, Jake Stanton, Will Jones, Mas Buttitta, Max Breton, Carter Pearson and Cooper Milburn with a touchdown-saving tackle secured the shutout. The hard work the team has put in has produced fantastic results. But these young gridiron guys are hungry for greatness. More work awaits, which is fine by them.
Shorthanded 9U Gold falls short
Between missing players and in-game injures, 9U Gold was out-manned Sunday, ultimately falling 22-0 to the undefeated Lyons.
The offense moved the ball very well, racking up yards behind Lukasz Gewont, Jacob Zager, Joey Hillegas, Ivan Burt and Miles Perucki. Running backs Kellen Brown, Nathan Thangamani and Marcello Salamone pushed the attack, and quarterback Ben Murphy delivered some unforgettable hits at the end of his runs. Soren Carlson caught everything thrown his way to lead a strong passing attack, but the Falcons were held out of the end zone.
On defense, Marco Oliverio, Luke Gray and Carter Cox fought hard up front against much bigger opponents. Reid Jacobsen and Lucas Zayed shut down the Lyons passing attacks, and Nico Will and Sebastian Christensen stepped up to play almost every position on the field. A few long rushing touchdowns up the middle were unfortunately the difference.
10U SILVER SHUTS OUT TIGERS
The mighty Falcons traveled down the road to match up with the Lyons Township Tigers Sunday. They were focused on finishing the regular season strong with an eye toward the playoffs!
The Falcons defense was simply too much for the Tigers. The ferocious pass rush was led by Jaxon Uthe, who accounted for four sacks on the day, and Faiz Mossani, who had two sacks. They also were dominant against the run, bottling up the Tigers running attack all game. Shane Behar, Lucas Herrick, Ryan Pieczkowski and Burke Broschul were flying all over the field.
The offense was dynamic with Brady Madden tossing the ball to all of his receivers, including Gavin Shuler, Lucas Spatara, Faiz Moosani, Leo Yanklowitz and JJ Natarelli. The offense put together a cohesive drive after the half led by powerful running from Jaxon Uthe and Gavin Shuler delivering the ball to the 1-yard line where Madden smashed through the line led by Alex Vivanco’s punishing block to open the hole.
The Falcons win 8-0 in a game that seemed much more one sided.
The Falcons roll into the playoffs this weekend at Home against Arlington Heights.
10U GOLD team TIES IN OT
With an epic fall day as the backdrop, the Falcons 10U Gold (3-3-1) played an epic game against Lyons Football Club, ending in a 26-26 tie.
The offense got on the board early with a 38-yard strike from Dillon Phelan to Spencer Marnell, but Hinsdale trailed 20-6 at the break. Inspired halftime adjustments led to a dominant second half.
The defense set the tone behind monster efforts from Charlie Lynch (7 tackles, 1 fumble recovery), Torsten Wood (5 tackles), Logan Sullivan (2 tackles) and George Beatty (2 tackles). After a 45-yard kick return by Ryder McLaurin, Sullivan Camp got the second half scoring going with a 2-yard plunge, making it 20-12. That remained the score until the middle of the fourth and an LFC punt, which led to some serious fireworks. Michael Kipnis fielded the punt at the Falcon 45-yard line, cut left to find the entire LFC squad waiting for him, spun, juked and came out the right side to the open field leading to paydirt 55 yards away. A bullet from Phelan to Lynch tied it up 20-20.
The Falcons scored first in overtime with yet another Phelan dime to McLaurin, but the Falcons failed to convert the extra point. LFC was able to score in their possession, but the Falcon D held strong to force the 26-26 final.
The Falcons head to the playoffs next week.
11U SILVER TEAM UNDEFEATED
The Falcons’ final matchup vs the Chargers was Hinsdale’s biggest challenge this season.
The Falcon defense dominated once again, forcing multiple stops. Defensive linemen Bryce Kinder, Leo Rivera, Teddy Hunley and Felix Michelini controlled the front. Hinsdale’s offense was held in check, however. The Charger defense, led by defensive end No. 17 Jimbo Bosa-Slyce, disrupted Hinsdale’s attack. The defensive bout would go for four quarters, with both teams unable to reach the endzone.
In overtime, Hinsdale played defense first. Through three downs, Willy Smith, Alex Schaeffer and Knox Apple produced clutch tackles and pass break-ups. On 4th-and-goal, Gavin Carlevato and Benjamin Allanson recognized the Charger trick play, covering it perfectly, and forcing the incompletion. With the Falcons fired up in position to win, offense took the field. On second down, Bosa-Slyce was baited as Hinsdale lined up trips right. A quick pre-snap shift into unbalanced left threw the Charger coaches and defenders into disarray. Following perfect blocks from legitimately every offensive player, Allanson took the quarterback sweep 10 yards for the walk-off touchdown, finalizing a Falcon victory and undefeated season.
JV Gold tackles Naperville Saints
The JV 12U Gold team ended the regular season on a high Sunday with a tough 30-8 win against Naperville. Strong defense was a consistent theme as both teams traded turnovers throughout a hard-fought encounter.
The Falcons opened up an early lead when Mikey Menza completed an acrobatic 18-yard touchdown catch from quarterback Caleb Brady. The Saints struggled to advance the ball early, with defensive ends Sean Stirlen and Benny Maxwell bringing pressure and intent. Maxwell ensured the Falcons entered half-time with a healthy lead by blocking a punt deep in Saints territory, then recovering the loose ball in the endzone himself for the score.
The Saints started the second half strong and a rushing touchdown narrowed the score to 14-8. The game remained in the balance until Falcons defensive back John Phillips snagged an interception from mid-field and outpaced the cover defenders to the endzone. This defensive touchdown and the subsequent PAT reception from Joey Deftos proved to be the back breaker for the Saints. Menza then put the game beyond doubt by rushing for his second touchdown from short range.
PLAYOFFS NEXT FOR VARSITY RED
The Falcons Varsity Red squad finished the regular season undefeated at 8-0 after an impressive 28-0 victory over Carol Stream Sunday at Hinsdale Central.
The Falcons scored on each of their four offensive possessions. Quarterback Owen Sunderson put in quite a performance, rushing for 154 yards and three touchdowns on nine carries. He went 5 for 6 throwing the ball and added a 30-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Beau Knapp. John Breton and Brian Willoughby added two catches a piece. The Falcons offensive line of Tommy Riordan, Luke Zajicek, Michael Sharples, Zaher Akbar and Mutaz Alshahrour made all of the above possible blocking to the whistle every play.
The Falcons defense snagged two interceptions, recovered a fumble and tallied several tackles for loss in what was a solid day. Luke McLaughlin grabbed the first interception and Amaan Moosani would snatch the other. Tommy Riordan terrorized the Carol Stream Offensive front on his way to four tackles for loss.
The Falcons will host their first round playoff game this weekend at Hinsdale Central.
Varsity Silver Closes Season
Despite a challenging season for these boys, they showed steadfast perseverance with marked improvement on fundamentals week over week.
The defense got off to slow start but closing in to halftime, Isiah Shin blocked a pass by the Wheaton quarterback, which flipped momentum. The Falcons dominated the second half on both sides of the ball and kept Wheaton off the board. Evan
had a breakout game, sacking the quarterback for a 4-yard loss plus landing two great tackles. The Falcons put together a 47-yard drive led by quarterback Alex Sclabassi rushing for 30 yards and linebacker Alex Tafoya rushing for 17 but unfortunately unable to find the end zone. Wheaton turned the ball over on fourth down three times as the defense led by Lias Katz, Hendrix Katsoulis and Max Penaloza held their ground. In the final minutes with Wheaton on their 3-yard line, Andrew Nield spun through the defense, knocked the ball out of the quarterback’s hands for a safety.
Coaches and parents look forward to seeing these boys continue to play in high school.
