By Bobby Narang- Photos by Renee Kaspar
** Additional Photos are Available for Purchase at https://justallsports.zenfolio.com/p607774641 **
NEW LENOX— Victory in sports can come in many forms. Whether on the scoreboard, quality effort for the entirety of the game, good sportsmanship or a positive attitude.
On Sunday morning, the Algonquin Argos 8U football team experienced a frustrating game against the Illinois Jr. Celtics.
The home team played near stellar football, dominated the line of scrimmage, ate up quality clock time to wear down the Argos’ defense and produced several big plays on the defensive ends.
The Jr. Celtics closed out a glorious late-morning game with a 34-0 triumph over the Argos on the campus of Providence Catholic High School.
But the Argos showed good character, excellent leadership and every player kept their heads up in the postgame, displaying quality sportsmanship toward their opponent and their teammates.
The positive outlook wasn’t lost on Argos coach Cameron Cole.
“We have to clean it up on our offensive end,” Cole said. “They had a great defense and strong lines. We stepped it up at the end of the game, but we have to clean it up before that. We played good at the end. I was happy to see that. Everyone has been doing great. From where we started at the beginning of the season to now, the progress has been great. Everyone has gotten better this year. We should learn from this game and improve.”
The Argos (4-2) fell into an early hole by allowing a touchdown in the opening minutes of the game, and were never able to recover from the 7-0 deficit. On their first possession, the Argos showed some life by moving the ball on positive carries from quarterback Anthony Palermo and Jonathan Perez Jr. but then lost six yards on third down to force a fourth and long situation that ended with a one-yard run to hand the ball back to the Jr. Celtics.
The home team tacked on another touchdown to increase their lead to 14-0, but the Argos answered with another quality possession. A bad snap on fourth down spoiled the drive, giving the Jr. Celtics good field position to add another score for a 20-0 lead with 5:31 remaining in the second quarter.
The Argos’ defense had several good plays in the first half. Palermo had a big-time tackle on the Jr. Celtics’ fourth drive, pulling down a runner to stop a touchdown on a 24-yard gain on the first play of the possession.
Trailing 27-0 at halftime, the Argos battled strong for the final two quarters instead of wilting in the heat or by the huge disadvantage.
In the second half, bad snaps continued to spoil drives for the Argos, including on their first of the third quarter on the first play.
Late in the third quarter, the Argos had their best play of the game when Deandre Johnson Jr. had a outside run of five yards. On the next play, Johnson came back by taking a bad snap, running all over the field to manage to turn a negative into a positive with a 1-yard run to end the drive.
But the best moment for the Argos came in the final minutes of the blowout game. Despite trailing 34-0, the Argos’ defense stood tall on the Jr. Celtics final drive. The home team pushed the ball down the field, but the Argos’ front seven of Liam Hamilton, Mason Wilhelmi, Connor Bell, Tristan Fallico, Ryder Dearing and Braxton Emery stood tall. Santiago Gennell and Fallico combined for a memorable stop and Fallico was a constant menace for the home team.
“We had a lot of positives,” Cole said. “Braxton was moved to center a week ago. He did really well at center despite just picking up the job in a week’s notice. We have Sylas Cole doing great at the linebacker position, as well as running back and Tristan is doing well. All of the running backs have been doing well. Tristan and Braxton stepped it up, especially at the end. We just have to do it earlier in the game.”
Sylas Cole, who played running back and linebacker, said he was happy with his performance and how his team battled until the end.
“I ran strong today,” Sylas Cole said. “We tried to move the ball but their defense was very good. I like running the ball a lot today.”
Fallico said the defense had several good moments to build on, while also noticing his team got stronger in the final two quarters.
“I felt good especially on defense,” Fallico said. “We got better in the second half. We didn’t do so well in the first half, but we worked our way up in the second half and played stronger. We were happy with how we did on defense on their last drive.”
Palermo praised the Jr. Celtics for having a solid defense, but admitted the Argos have to be better prepared and more focused against a top-tier opponent.
“They had a very, very good defense,” Palermo said. “They were really big and strong and also very fast. We showed a lot of heart and were strong in our mind. We have to work harder and do more work in this week’s practice.”
Perez Jr., who played running back and linebacker, said the Jr. Celtics are an elite team.
“It was a tough game for all of us,” Perez said.
Emery said he was happy on his quick adaption to playing center, especially battling a tough defensive line like the Jr. Celtics.
“I liked center,” Emery said. “I’m getting better and think I did good the whole game. We just all have to work on blocking. We can do more and learn from this game.”
The Argos’ football roster also included Noah Bennett, Shawn Devles-Howerd, Santiago Hernandez, Azael Hernandez, Isaak Martinez, Julius Reyes and Leonardo Rivera.
