9U SILVER WINS FIRST PLAYOFF GAME
On a sun splashed Sunday morning the young Falcons were amped up for their first ever playoff game against the Wheaton Rams.
Adhering to the mantra “First play, every play, all day,” it took just give plays for Will Jones to punch it in for a touchdown and a 6-0 lead. As Nate Morris orchestrated the offense, Luke Hanson got the lineman aligned as they continued to fire out and stay on blocks. Teddy Ouimette was able to add to his touchdown barrage by following Hanson, Jasper Maggio, AJ Siepker, Harrison Kuzniar, Keegan McCoskey, Alex Demetis, Grant Garber and Dario Rendina for 2 touchdowns and a 18-0 halftime lead.
The defense was not to be outdone. John Dunn, JP Rago, Rocco Majeta and Jake Stanton spent the morning in the Wheaton backfield harassing the Rams. They combined for nine tackles for loss. Cooper Milburn, Carter Pearson, Mas Buttitta, Max Breton and Morris tackled and covered all day. Zero passes were completed against them. Billy Jaqua put the exclamation point on the victory with an interception.
Expectations for these young men have already been exceeded. However, they crave more and yearn to get back to work. They will look for another victory in a semifinal match this Sunday.
9U GOLD WINS IN DOUBLE OT
9U Gold traveled to Elmhurst for its first round playoff game, a defensive battle as both teams struggled to find the end zone.
Elmhurst opened the game with a 15-play drive that was thwarted when Ben Murphy intercepted a pass in the end zone. The D held strong the rest of the game, with Luke Gray and Marco Oliverio applying outside pressure, while Joey Hillegas, Nico Will and Sebastian Christensen stuffed everything up the middle. Christian Kirchev occupied the backfield making tackles for losses, while Nate Thangamani and Carson Malinas shut down the passing attack.
The offense was able to move the ball behind Lukasz Gewont, Jacob Zager, Ivan Burt, Carter Cox and Miles Perucki, but just couldn’t find the end zone.
The first score wasn’t until the second overtime, when Elmhurst struck first with a TD, but failed on the extra point. The Falcons needed to score to keep their season alive. They did just that, led by key blocks from Soren Carlson and Marcello Salamone, Kellen Brown was able to punch one in. It all came down to the extra point. With a toss left, Topher Allanson was able to rush to the corner and dive in for the score.
The team faces the undefeated Lions in the next round.
10U SILVER SEASON COMES TO AN END
The 10U Silver Team (7-1) had quite a ride this season, plowing through the regular season led by their dominating defense.
Coach Scott Yanklowitz brought a punch to the defense with a dynamic attacking scheme. The defensive line was anchored by Benet Zeikus, Rayan Sheihk, August Seraphin, Max Hull and Luke Lieberenz. Faiz Mossani, Jaxon Uthe, Shane Behar, Lucas Herrick, Burke Brotchul and Ryan Pieczkowski brought constant pressure that kept offenses in check. The defense finished the season with six shutouts out of nine games
The Falcon offense continued the fireworks all season. Brady Madden led like a crafty veteran finding his playmakers — Uthe, Gavin Shuler, Jonathon Trombley and Leo Yanklowitz. These guys brought the crowd to their feet as they ran through, around and over the defenders. Brady also was dropping dimes to his receivers Lucas Spatera, JJ Natarelli, Giancarlo Turano III and Nicky Carbonara.
The offensive line set the tone for the season! As line coaches Greg Lieberenz and Scott Madden stated, “These boys are tougher than a $2 steak!” They showed that all year led by Ryan Swieten, Jackson Rediger and Alex Vivanco.
Unfortunately, the Falcons didn’t fulfill their Super Bowl dreams this year, falling to Arlington Heights 24-0.
10U GOLD WINS HARD-FOUGHT GAME
Football is the ultimate team game, but sometimes outstanding individual efforts make the difference, especially in the playoffs. The Falcons 10U Gold team earned their first playoff win over Lyons FC 12-6, with a physical brand of football while getting some timely playmaking from Michael Kipnis and Grant Wanless.
Toward the end of a scoreless first half, the Tigers were threatening to score when Wanless sniffed out a screen play, stepped in front of the receiver and intercepted a likely touchdown. The Falcons took the momentum into half and never looked back. Utilizing the Wildcat formation and stellar blocking, Kipnis got the Falcons on the board with a 42-yard touchdown run early in the third. The Hinsdale defense stonewalled LFC on multiple drives to set up the offense with a short field leading to another Kipnis touchdown, making the score 12-0 in the fourth. The Tigers found the endzone later in the fourth, but the Falcons defense stiffened once again and sealed the win.
Kipnis complimented his offensive output with an interception, 3 tackles and a 62-yard punt to help win the field position battle. The punishing Falcon defense was led by Torsten Wood (9 tackles), Charlie Lynch (4 tackles) and Sal Calandriello (2 tackle, 1 sack).
The Falcons continue their championship run next week against Tri-City.
11u Silver TEAM Defeats Tri Yellow
In a home rematch against the Tri Yellow Chargers, the top-seeded Falcons started hot. Just two defensive snaps in, Michael Garber made an outstanding play, jumping the screen pass for an early interception. Offensively, Luke Altemose, Noah Natarelli and Leo Rivera led the rushing attack headed by Garber and Jake Knapp. Coming out of Hinsdale territory, Clayton Tims and Will Smith produced some amazing downfield blocks, allowing Knapp to break one 55 yards for the touchdown. Benjamin Allanson’s pass to Tims was good for 2, giving Hinsdale an 8-0 lead.
All game, the defense held strong. Linemen Alex Schaeffer, Bryce Kinder, and Felix Michelini were destructive up front, allowing linebackers Gavin Carlevato, Knox Apple, Jake Wolowick and Patty “Lucky Charms” Loftus to clean up any runs slipping through.
With four minutes left in the fourth quarter, a 4th-and-7 conversion looked easy with Allanson’s creativity. Using his legs to make the coverage defender bite, the quarterback then pulled up and passed to Knapp who went 16 yards for his second score of the game.
The Falcons finished 14-0, advancing to the second round.
12V RED FALLS TO WHEATON
The mighty have fallen but battled hard. Elliot Pain has shown remarkable talent and ended the season with a 60-yard run, almost resulting in a touchdown, Cam “The Man” Konieczka executed an incredible interception, and Jack Omiecinski threw a successful pass to change up the offense and kept Wheaton on their feet. Prescott “Powerhouse” Nicholson continued to jump off the line to pound the opponent for a considerable loss of yards, and Jack Hamman hammered away at any potential strays with the pigskin. Ryan “Ankles” Rogero also showed grit and blasted the line to take out the quarterback for a loss.
Defensively, Nate Weichman and Marco Guisto signed Wheaton up for a subscription to loss of gains, while Drew Pabst held off the white jerseys for quarterback Asad Memon, who continued to work hard to push the team toward the end zone. On defense, William Stamer and Hunter “Hands” Velco executed several downfield blocks brilliantly, and the game tape showed a powerful blocking game against receivers by Nick Hadden, Alex Golon, William Cowie and Gavin Hoang. Ultimately the Falcons fell to a Wheaton run game that put too many points on the board to fight back against.
The parents and players left the field with full hearts and gratitude for the incredible leadership of coaches Ryan Stamer, Paul Hadden, Tom McInerney and Mark Konieczka.
JV Gold Playoff Run Falls Short
The Hinsdale Falcon JV Gold team faced off against Oak Park-River Forest in the first round of the playoffs at Dickinson Field.
The Falcons had first possession which was cut short by a fumble. The stout Falcon Defense held OP-RF following series to a four and out.
The Falcons had some momentum on their subsequent drive, which included a 25-yard pass from quarterback Caleb Brady to Johnny Phillips, but the Falcons had a turnover on downs after that big gain.
Flacons defense continued to show their fortitude, forcing OP-RF to punt. The very windy conditions caused OP-RF punt to go backward for a total of negative 1 yard, giving the Falcons tremendous field position. After a Mikey Menza run and Caleb Brady scramble, the Falcons had the ball on OP-RF 1-yard line. The Falcons scored on the following play with Brady connecting with Johnny Phillips for the touchdown. Falcons failed to convert the 2 point conversion.
During the second half, OP-RF took advantage of costly penalties and a short field to eventually reach the end zone on a 10-yard pass. The two-point conversion was good, giving OPRF an 8-6 lead.
Unfortunately, the Falcons offense could not reach the end zone in the second half.
On the defensive side, Owen Issa was credited with a forced fumble (recovered by Brady Hannigan), while Benny Maxwell, Matthew Lynch and Mickey Menza recorded sacks.
VARSITY RED MOVES ON
The Falcons Varsity Red won the first game of the post-season with a 12-0 victory over the Lemont Hornets Sunday afternoon at Hinsdale Central.
Hinsdale earned an early lead when quarterback Owen Sunderson ran off the right side on the third play of the game for an electrifying 65-yard touchdown run. He had great blocking from wide receivers Brian Willoughby, Luke McLaughlin and John Breton. The Falcons scored again when Sunderson bulldozed his way through the Lemont defensive line for a 54-yard touchdown late in the fourth quarter to put the game away.
The Falcons defense held the Lemont offense at bay the whole game. Tommy Riordan was a force once again piling up several tackles for loss as well as a blocked punt. Sunderson made a big interception in the second half and Henry Milburn sealed the win with an interception of his own on the last play of the game.
The Falcons host the Naperville Saints at Hinsdale Central Sunday at 10:30 a.m.. The winner goes to the BGYFL Super Bowl.
