By Bobby Narang- Photos by Paul Connolly
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GILBERTS – The Algonquin Argonauts 12U football team found an ideal spot to soak their wounds late Saturday afternoon – underneath a tree filled with shade. The Argos played a crisp football game on both ends of the ball, but just made a few key errors that turned out to be their downfall.
Meanwhile, Hampshire struggled finding any semblance of an offense against the Argos’ physical and aggressive defense relying on an early first-quarter touchdown to carry them to a 6-0 road victory. The Whip-Purs had their own issues but managed to play strong on offense in the first quarter to notch the win. The Argos were missing several key players, including their starting center and quarterback but managed to stay in the game despite committing four turnovers in their second game of the season.
“It was more back to our basics, but we gave the ball away four times and no one can win like that,” Argos coach Scott Cox said. “I think it took us a while to get us in a groove, but then we started hitting on all cylinders. I wish we had one more quarter. We need to be better, be more explosive on our ends and hold the lines on our tackles and our linebackers need to fill a little quicker. Our team saw some adversity, fought hard and nearly won the game.”
Offensively, the Argos had their struggles in managing just over 70 yards rushing and 45 yards passing, but their defense held firm, especially in the final three-plus quarters.
Cayden Barnes flashed his immense skills with a highlight-reel NFL catch similar to many hauled in by NFL star wide receiver Odell Beckham when he played for the New York Giants. In the second quarter, Barnes darted toward the opposing sideline on a pass pattern but the ball was thrown to his far shoulder, causing him to reach out with one hand. As he rose high up in the air, while falling back, Barnes snared the ball with one hand for a inspiring 12-yard reception that caught the eyes of both fans and coaches.
“Basically, when I was running, I saw the defender and the ball was little outside of me, so I had to get my right hand out and bobbled it a bit but I brought it in,” Barnes said of his catch. “I didn’t think I would catch it.” Cox said big plays are part of the Barnes’ experience. “He’s an all-around player,” Cox said. “He’s developed so fast, just I think in his third year. He’s one of the elusive kids in the league. His dedication is also focused on defense, but I would say he’s unbelievable on offense.”
The Argos defense never stopped churning and fighting, with David Salazar making several key plays, including an ankle tackle to stop a big play in the third quarter. Owen Delk had a pivotal stop later in the quarter with a wrap-up tackle.
In the fourth quarter, as the Argos’ offense was straining to move the ball, the Argos defense helped out with numerous key plays. Tyler Covarrubias made a great tackle with eight minutes left in the game. Salazar was back at it, with a key tackle at the 5-yard line deep in Argo territory with seven minutes left. Aiden Bluhm and Ayden Garcia added a combo sack to put the Whip-Purs back to the 10-yard line before Garcia busted into the line of scrimmage for a nine-yard loss for the visiting team to end the drive and stop the potential scoring threat.
The defensive stand midway through the fourth quarter kept the Argos within range of taking the lead or grabbing an advantage with a successful PAT. Perhaps motivated by the defensive stand, the Argos’ offense suddenly started moving the ball down the field.
Starting the drive with 5:49 left deep in their own territory, the Argos churned out a nine-play drive that drove to Hampshire’s 9-yard line. Delk kicked off the drive with a stellar 11-yard run and added a nine-yard carry on the third play. Cayden Barnes was thrust back in the limelight with a 24-yard run. Three plays later, the Argos’ offense fell victim to a lost fumble at the 9-yard line to end the game with 1:17 remaining in the game.
“It was unfortunate with the fumble, but the offense played big for us,” Cox said. “I thought the boys really executed well on that last drive. I think we learned a lot today, to keep our head up and to not complain too much and need to focus. Hampshire is a great team. You can’t give them four turnovers. I was proud of our boys for the defense after allowing the touchdown in the first quarter.”
“Our offensive line did great. We had some injuries. We found out our center was out on Friday. I was so proud of Lucas Gillette for hanging in there. We have to be better, more disciplined and execute.”
Tyler Covarrubias, a right tackle and defensive tackle, said the defensive stand late in the game was special. “I was really excited about that because then we had six minutes left in the game to win it,” he said. “We marched down the field on a great drive. The O-line played great. Aiden Bluhm and I played good. I saw five guys firing off the ball and everybody was on the same page. We just had a lot of mental mistakes.”
Barnes, who played linebacker, running back and wide receiver, said the team was stung by their four turnovers and a host of other mistakes. Barnes led the offense with 48 yards rushing and caught two passes for 33 yards.
Quarterback Brady Roehm completed four passes for 43 yards, and Delk ran for 33 yards. “I got a lot of yards,” Barnes said. “My team blocked well and played (well). On offense, our team did well. On defense, we did good, too. We tackled really good but made some mental mistakes on the field. Overall, our offense and defense played good besides the mental mistakes.”
The Argos coaching staff managed to keep the team motivated and focused throughout the tense, defensive-filled battle. The team of Brixton Mercado, Quinton Babjak, Kylen Carrington, Cayden Barnes, Aiden Bluhm, Landen Colley, Jude Cox, Tyler Covarrubias, Maddox Schroeder, Aiden Cupal, Brady Roehm, Ayden Garcia, Shane Murphy, Dylan Genchi, Owen Delk, Adam Burczynski, Danny Heller, Aiden Eckart, David Salazar, Colin Buhrow, Lucas Gillette and Bill Hardy all contributed in the game to help the Argos battle tough.
The Sidleline Cheerleading team played a big part in keeping the Argos inspired and fighting during the hot afternoon game. The cheerleading team consisted of Audrey Aguilar, Brooklyn Aguilar, Olivia Anfeldt, Evelyn Benitez, Elowyn Bilyard, Grace Botta, Cataleya Brito, Penelope Cole, Avriella Diebold, Ariana Eckart, Jasmine Esparza, Lilliana Fuentes, Leylani, Gutierrez, Ariana Jerzyk, Brooklyn Johnson, Adriana Lewis, Jade Liang, Sophia Maurelli, Alycia Perez, Georgia Rivas, Shawn Rivas, Avery Rodriguez, Sophia Salas, Genesis Sanchez, Joslyn Schackelford, Hannah Schackleford, Julia Sliwinski and Isabella Vega.
