9U TEAM GIVES ALL despite adversity
It was a gorgeous Saturday afternoon for football with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line.
The Lyons Football Club came to Dickinson Field to avenge an earlier loss to the Falcons. The Falcons had a bit of bad luck before the game with a couple of players ill, but it was next “man” up. The Tigers struck first on a long touchdown run and the extra point for a 7-0 lead. More bad luck befell the Falcons, as a few players were injured. The Falcons’ offense was stymied, but the Tigers were turned away when Cooper Milburn made a jarring hit, causing a fumble and recovering it.
After halftime, the resilient Falcons came back out determined to fight to the end. The defense was back to its dominant self, turning away the Tigers. Finally in the fourth quarter Nate Morris hit Henry Appel for a 42-yard TD pass. Trailing 7-6 the Falcons lined up for the PAT. Unfortunately Morris’s pass fell incomplete. The Falcons had one last chance and got to the Tigers 12-yard line; however, the game ended on a near miss incomplete pass.
It was an unbelievable effort in the face of adversity. Players had to play positions they never played before. Many players could not come out of the game. Injured players came back in and sick players toughed it out.
Although this team did not reach their ultimate goal, there is much to be proud of. Congrats on a great season and good luck to the players in their Falcon careers.
Your Falcons: Max Breton, Dean Windfelder, AJ Siepker, Tate Pitts, JP Rago, Enzo Allegra, Jack Slavik, John Dunn, Nate Morris, Kanas Zitkevicius, Cooper Milburn, Billy Jaqua, Quinn Houser, Henry Appel, Julian Tabuena, Elijah Trombly, Brody Sobieraj, Luke Wanless, Owen Moon, Grant Garber, Mas Buttitta and Will Jones.
10U FACES FIRST LOSS OF SEASON
The Hinsdale Falcon Silver 10U season came to an end Saturday at the hands of the Tri City Chargers. The Falcons lost their semifinal game 18-0, ending their near perfect season with a 9-1-1 record.
The Falcon defense was a force all season. They only allowed 50 points the entire year. Marco Oliverio, Rohan Sheth, Miles Perucki, Grant Garver, Jack O’Malley, Luke Hanson, Blake Bazan, Theo Messeih and Rahil Thakkar all played a prominent role on this side of the ball.
The Falcons’ defense saw contributions in the secondary from Leo Solorio, Frankie Levato, Rohn Ramani and Danny McFarland, which helped make the defense a force to be reckoned with.
On this day, the typically stingy Falcon defense was solved as Tri City leaked into the end zone three times.
The offense, led by Sawyer Mhyra and Brennan Smith, was efficient and explosive, scoring 189 points in 11 games. Key contributors to this attack were Will Rooney, Parker Otzen, Nico Will, Joey Hillegass, Hayden Sobieraj and Carter Cox, who provided running lanes and offered solid pass protection. They generated key blocks at key times throughout each contest to help put points on the board. Jacob Zager and Luca Striltschuk led the team in scoring this year.
However, this week was not as efficient as the Tri City defense was up to the challenge and kept the high flying Falcon offense out of the endzone.
Special teams is the third phase of a football team and is critical to its success. Viren Singh was as a consistent kicker as there is and kept the opposing teams on their side of the 50-yard line week in and week out.
The Falcons 10U Silver team had a great year and will come back stronger than ever next season.
11U Gold D1 ends strong Season
With a perfect Fall Day as a backdrop, the Hinsdale Falcons 11U Gold D1 team fell short against the Lyons Tigers, 20-8. The loss ends a strong season for the Falcons, who finish 7-3 with their only losses to the two championship teams.
The game played out like two heavyweights in the ring, with the first quarter seeing both teams put together long, scoreless drives until Lyons found the endzone toward the end of the quarter, making the score 6-0. The Falcons struck back in the second with a sustained drive relying on the legs of quarterback Dillon Phelan, culminating in a short Michael Kipnis dive for paydirt. A converted 2-point try had the Falcons up 8-6. The Tigers took the ensuing drive down the field before the Hinsdale defense stood up in the red zone, with Charlie Lynch making a crucial fourth down stop from his linebacker position. However, after a stalled Falcon drive, Lyons was able to score just before the half, making it 14-8 Tigers. Hinsdale just wasn’t able to get any momentum in the second half, and a long Lyons reverse for a touchdown spelled the end for the Falcons.
All season the lines, consisting of Angel Roman, Torsten Wood, Ben Kurinsky, Connor Gaylord, Grant Wanless, Leo Crooks, Sal Calandriello, Oliver Johnson, Torsten Wood and Brock Bradley, set the tone with punishing blocks and even harder hits.
The defense was led by Lynch week to week, with great play from Grant Kirchheimer, Sullivan Camp, Shane Behar and Dominic Cresap. Fans were treated to weekly big plays from Phelan, Kipnis, Kellan Goodwin and Jaxon Uthe. While the ultimate goal is always a championship, Hinsdale showed flashes of greatness in all three phases of the game and will be a force to be reckoned with for years to come.
