As a member of the Bill George Youth Football League, the Elk Grove Eagles will face stiff competition week in and week out. The high-quality league features some of the best programs in Northern Illinois.
For Jeff Smith, the President of the Elk Grove Eagles, a second stint in leadership has brought new hopes for the Eagles Football Program.
Smith has an extensive history within the Elk Grove Organization. He was previously the President from 1990 to 2000 and then his second stint began in 2017, however, he was always involved in coaching within the program for many years.
Elk Grove Youth Football President Jeff Smith was on the sidelines during the Varsity Eagles game on September 4 in Elk Grove. He was very pleased with the large crowd in attendance to root on the Elk Grove Players.
“I saw that football has been taking a hit and saw it going down and down, so my hopes were to try and help make football really cool again for everyone to participate in.”
The Eagles feature four tackle teams and one in flag with 140 boys involved. They also have a cheer program for the girls which include four squads for all levels.
For youth programs to be successful, parent volunteer participation is a must.
“We have had some parents helping out, whether its coaching or helping with concessions and other things that help, but we could use more but it’s improving and I’m hopeful it will continue to get better. We do have great parents. We are trying to install a family type atmosphere, camaraderie and supporting each other with structure and discipline throughout the program for the kids and this sport does that.”
It was unusual to see the sidelines packed with fans when the Eagles hosted the Wheaton Rams this past Saturday eve, mainly because as boys continue playing year after year, by Varsity level (13-14 year-old), fan participation wanes but that was not the case at the Eagles home opener.
Coach Joe Acino addresses his Varsity Eagles during halftime of their game against Wheaton on September 4 in Elk Grove.
“I was quite happy to see that big crowd cheering on our boys,” said Smith. “What a highly entertaining game the huge crowd saw, and it sure seemed like everyone enjoy it, just great.”
The Varsity game was the Showcase game of the weekend and for good reason, the Rams and Eagles combined to score 72 points, featured break-aways, long touchdown runs along with long touchdown passes, and lots of hard-hitting tackles.
When the final second clicked off the clock, the visiting Rams had defeated the host Eagles, 43-29.
The Eagles had expected a tough game especially after the Rams had been trounced the week before. There was simply too much talent on their team and the Eagles knew it.
Elk Grove was coming off a road win at Lemont, their 22-12 win last week was a great start to their season, so at home in week two, expectations were positive.
Eagles runningback’ Andrae Salaman sweeps to his right against the Wheaton Rams on September 4 in Elk Grove.
After the opening kickoff, Wheaton wasted no time in showing off their run game. A 40-yard burst finally came to an end when Nathan Kutella made a touchdown saving tackle.
The Rams were using all factions of the offense and completed a pass that got them down to the Eagle 14 yard-line. Tackles by Abraham Mora and Daniel Estes kept the Rams from scoring, but the visitors kept nearing the goal-line, finally scoring from 2-yards out. After the conversion pass, the Eagles trailed 8-0.
The Eagles also feature quite a talented backfield. Running plays by Andrae Salaman and Mora picked up big yardage on the Eagles first possession, runs of 13, 12 and 11 yards by Salaman and Mora moved the sticks often but turnovers will kill a drive and a pass by Salaman was intercepted which ended a promising start.
It took two plays for the Rams to extend their lead after the interception. A touchdown run of 31-yards and another pass completion conversion now saw the Eagles down 16-0 to conclude the first quarter.
Ryan Tanner (7) along with his Eagles teammates, wait for the snap during their play against Wheaton on September 4 in Elk Grove.
Eagles Quarterback Ivan Medrano is as talented as they come. Elusive on the ground and a strong arm through the air, makes him a difficult task for opposing defenses.
A pass to Salaman opened Elk Groves’ second possession. Another pass completion to Salaman from Medrano kept the drive going and when Medrano took off running, an added facemask had the Eagles at the Rams 14 yard-line.
A huge loss on a sack of Medrano didn’t faze the Eagle quarterback who again completed a short pass to Joseph Acino followed by a Salaman run.
From there, Medrano used his elusiveness, created space until he saw Salaman crossing in the endzone and lofted a perfect throw for the 15-yard touchdown. The missed extra-point try left the score with the Eagles trailing 16-6.
Sometimes a team so well prepared can still have a flaw, in the case of the Varsity Eagles, pass defending seemed to be theirs. Numerous times in this game, a pass completion would extend a drive on third down. It would turn out to be their nemesis.
Eagles’ Lineman Charlie Bates (99) battles his Wheaton foes on September 4 in Elk Grove.
After tackles by Kutella and Evan Kirk, the Rams completed a pass that went 30 yards for their third score, extending their lead to 24-6 with the added conversion just before halftime.
The play of the game was turned in in those last few moments prior to the intermission.
Quickly trying to respond, the Eagles went to the air. Medrano was moving around, again being elusive and giving his receivers time as he scanned on the run. He found Joseph Acino for 7 quick yards and followed with a scramble left where he lofted a pass to Salaman, who extended all he could, leaping backwards and fingertip-catching the pass, landing on his back for the 26-yard completion.
Seconds only remained and the Eagles drive ended at the Rams 3 yard-line as time expired.
The games most spectacular play was turned in by Andrae Salaman of the Elk Grove Eagles, leaping backwards and making a fingertip catch during the Eagles game against Wheaton on September 4 in Elk Grove.
Opening the second half, the Eagles run game started quickly. A 38-yard run by Mora took the Eagles from their 41 to the Rams 21, unfortunately, two plays later, Medrano would be picked off and the scoring opportunity ceased.
Defensively, Coach Joe Acino’s Eagles were in “Bend but don’t Break” mode and did a great job of containing runs and produced a turnover when Nathan Dean picked off a Rams pass to stop a drive.
Medrano then connected with Joseph Acino, who caught the pass and quickly spun upfield, down the sideline for 22 yards. Two plays later, Salaman swept left and scored from 16 yards out. Acino caught the conversion pass and saw the Eagles close the gap to 26-14.
With momentum back on their side, the Eagle defense had the Rams at third and long on their next possession. Tackles by Jacob Barnett and Kaleb Avalos set that up, but a long pass downfield was completed and a play later the Rams up their lead to 31-14 on the 40-yard run to the endzone.
Entering the final quarter, Salaman, Mora and Medrano were gaining yards with their speed and elusiveness. A 16-yard keeper by Medrano set up the 20-yard touchdown run by Salaman who slipped Rams reaching arms, and after Medrano added the extra-point, the Eagles were within 10 at 31-21.
The elusive Ivan Medrano leads the Eagles offense at Quarterback. Here he picks up big yards during their game against Wheaton on September 4 in Elk Grove.
With nearly 9-minutes left, the Elk Grove sideline and crowd were confident with momentum again on their side.
Barnett and Ignacio Taboada’s tackles again had the visitors in third and long, but like before, the Rams completed another pass when the Eagles needed a stop. Kirk, Mora and Taboada were doing all they could with hard tackles but with a hard running game, and inside the Eagles 5 yard-line, the Rams again answered with a touchdown with five minutes to play.
Trailing 37-21, the Eagles never quit trying to close the gap. Time became a factor down two scores. Elk Grove did score again late in the game when Medrano raced 27 yards for the touchdown with just 1:33 left. The Eagles closed to 37-29.
An onside kick attempt was recovered by the visitors and a breakaway run to the Eagles 3 yard-line followed by a short touchdown run, sealed the Rams, 43-29 victory.
The Varsity Elk Grove Eagles look to take on all comers in the Bill George Youth Football League this season.
Defensively, the Eagles saw great skills from several player. Among them was Ignacio Taboada.
“I was trying to juke them out in the second half, and they couldn’t see it coming because I didn’t do it before, so I was able to make tackles and get through. We need to be quicker and get to the middle to make tackles. I was just doing the best I could, but we need to work on gang tackling.”
For Quarterback Ivan Medrano, his versatility stood out. The soft-spoken leader said;
“’I’m just working to get some yards on every play, trying to get some touchdowns. I think I see the field pretty good. I was happy how we did; I think I could do better. The team I thought did pretty good, it’s a loss but we’ll build off of it. Small little things that help us in the future is what we have to fix, nothing big.”
A three-touchdown effort is something that needs mentioning. Andrae Salaman was a force on offense for the Eagles.
Andrae Salaman looks for a hole during the Eagles games against Wheaton on September 4 in Elk Grove.
“We practice a lot on our sweeps, we just have to execute on the field in games. I think I have good vision of the field, but I have a lot to work on when it comes to shooting gaps, but when a gaps opens, I’m always there. Our linemen do a good job so I can get through much of the time, but this was a tough group today. We didn’t stop throughout the game, we didn’t stop, we fought all the way to the finish, that’s what we really did well today, I’m very proud of our team.”
Coach Acino added: “They didn’t give up, we hadn’t been in this position in a long time, they fought and didn’t give up, that was quite a positive for us. It was frustrating on the pass completions; we knew it was coming and they still managed to get the pass but that’s football. Defensively we played extremely well, they just hit the big plays and that killed us. Turnovers hurt us, they scored off them and you see what happens. Iggy (Ignacio Taboada) stood out for us on defense. I just want the kids to have fun, its their last year before high school.”
Other Eagles contributing to the valiant effort include Nathan Zdzichowski, Emmett Arens, Ryan Tanner, Brandon Adamowicz, Jake Blames, Chase McCormick, Ryan O’Malley, Liam Wetzel and Charlie Bates.
