Falcons 9U Gold Falls Just Short
The Hinsdale Falcons 9U Gold team finished up an amazing season with an overtime 14-6 loss in the Bill George Youth Football League semifinals to the Bartlett Raiders.
In what would prove to be an epic defensive battle, the two teams traded possessions throughout much of the first half. The Falcons eventually landed the first blow late in the second quarter when Connor Pauley connected on a slant pass to Bryce Lee, whose nifty moves evaded several defenders on his 64-yard route to the endzone. Unfortunately, the Falcons failed on their 2-point conversion attempt and went into the half up 6-0.
The defense, led by Keats “The Barbarian” Caruso, who was borderline unblockable throughout the afternoon, fought valiantly throughout the game, giving up Bartlett’s lone touchdown in the third quarter. Fortunately, the unit held tight on the 2-point conversion to keep the score tied at 6. Cade Phelan was seen flying around the field from his outside linebacker position, making several crucial tackles along with safety Parker Brey and cornerbacks Cole Sherwood and Brooks Jaqua. Meanwhile, Dan Campbell, Wyland Holmes, Michael Dombroski, Teddy O’Toole, Michael Cannizzaro, RT Kouba and Bennett Wilson were menaces up front, battling Bartlett’s lines on both sides of the ball.
With the score 6-6 at the end of regulation, the Falcons headed to overtime. After holding Bartlett on first and second down, the Bartlett quarterback took a bootleg into the end zone and Bartlett made the 2-point conversion for a 14-6 game. Cole Sherwood then took a handoff 9 yards on the Falcons’ first play from scrimmage to the 1-yard line, but Bartlett stood strong on three consecutive plays from the 1-yard line to end the game.
The Falcons’ coaches commented after the game how proud they were of the team for all the work they put in during the season.
11U Falcons Silver off to Superbowl
By eliminating the Tri City Chargers 13-0 on Sunday at Dickinson Field, the Falcons punched their ticket to the big game.
During the week the coaches asked the boys why this game was important to them. Danny McFarland answered by saying because last year his season was ended in the semifinals by this same Tri City team and that this was the most important game of his football career. Well, the sequel didn’t disappoint! McFarland and safety counterpart Killian Byrne provided menacing run support to limit the Charger rushing attack. Carter Cox, Blake Bazan, Pierson Eno and Grant Garver would not allow the Tri City offensive lineman to reach the second level and block the Falcon linebackers. Those linebackers — Marco Oliverio, Jack O’Malley, Jacob Zager, Noah Vargas and Jasper Maggio — seemed to be in on every tackle.
With Tri City suffocated on the ground, they tried the air. Corners Sawyer Myhra and Frankie Levato, who have played great pass defense this year, gave little space for any completions. The pass defense secured two interceptions, one each by safety, Killian Byrne and Levato. The healthy rotation of secondary of Miles Lindenmeyer, Will Rooney and Leo Solorio rounded out the defensive masterpiece.
When the Falcons had possession, the offensive line and tight end once again led a ball-hogging offense. Luke Hanson, Nico Will, Parker Otzen, Luke Gray, Hayden Soberaij and Joey Hillegas paved the way for Jacob Zager to punch in the only needed points of the day for a 6-0 lead at the half. Sawyer Mhyra added a long bootleg score to seal it.
Well, so much for the most important game of McFarland’s career. He’s got the real one this weekend.
The No. 1-ranked team faces Tri City Yellow (No. 2) in the Super Bowl at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Benedictine University.
JV Gold D1 on to Super Bowl
This Hinsdale Falcon team has experienced playoff failures and unmet expectations over the last two seasons with a combination of bad bounces and lack of crucial plays when needed. As with anything in life, you either learn from those experiences or let them define you. As a team, these Falcons collectively have chosen to learn and grow; so, it should be no surprise that an early deficit in the semifinal game against Glen Ellyn didn’t deter they boys and they pulled out a gritty 12-8 win to advance to the Super Bowl.
Big game nerves and tough weather conditions got the game off to a slow start for both offenses. For the Hinsdale defense, early success came through team tackling and swarming to the ball. Charlie Lynch, Grant Kirchheimer, Torsten Wood, Angel Roman and Dominic Cresap brought the lumber multiple times. The offense found its footing in the second quarter with a steady diet of Michael Kipnis runs behind Sullivan Camp, Sal Calandriello, Grant Wanless, Oliver Johnson and Ben Kurinsky. Kipnis found the endzone just before half to make the score 8-6 Glen Ellyn.
The grudge match continued in the third quarter, as the defense got pressure up front from Leo Crooks and Connor Gaylord with suffocating coverage by Kellen Goodwin, Logan Sullivan and Jaxon Uthe. As the third wound down, Brock Bradley made the play of the game, grabbing his second interception of the game and flipping the field position. Dillon Phelan, battling injury, led the Hinsdale offense into the endzone to make the score 12-8 with a quarter to go. The defense, knowing the stakes, played error-free and was able to stop multiple Glen Ellyn drives to secure the victory.
The Falcons take on archrival Lyons in the Super Bowl at 2:45 p.m. Sunday at Benedictine University. Hinsdale bested LFC 14-8 in the regular season.
