By Pat McGavin- Photos by Gary Larsen
** Additional Photos are Available for Purchase at https://justallsports.zenfolio.com/p146963783**
GILBERTS— In a flash the mood and atmosphere of the Algonquin Argonauts 10U Silver team went from exultation to something harder to describe.
One play away from a hard-fought comeback victory, the Argos went through a dizzying and strange sensation.
It was an in-between world—not victory, but not defeat—though it felt like a punch in the gut in some regards.
“Everybody got excited and hyped up on the sidelines, and that helped us on the field,” wingback Mason Wasilewski said.
What happened next was hard to fully comprehend.
The Argos saw a near certain victory end with the 12-12 overtime tie with the Humboldt Park Patriots in Chicagoland Pop Warner league play at Gilberts Elementary School on Sunday, October 11.
The mood was jubilant and riotous after the Argos stormed back from an early 6-0 deficit to score the tying and then apparently winning score.
Quarterback Adam Drwal was the orchestrator, connecting with electric receiver Mason Gennell on a 52-yard touchdown pass in the closing seconds of the first half.
He put the team on his back with a tough and dramatic four-yard touchdown run on fourth and goal at the start of overtime.
“It was a designed run,” he said of the four-yard dive around the left edge.
”I saw one person, so I just cut in and then I cut back out and I was able to get the ball across.”
Despite missing the point-after attempt, the Argos had the momentum and drive.
Edge rusher Dante Liang, who was fantastic the entire game, trapped a Patriots’ runner for a three-yard loss on their first play of overtime.
The game, momentum and everything vital was pointing in the Argos’ favor.
“It’s hard to describe, but I was able to get past the guy in front of me during the game, and I also got out wide when they tried to get around me,” Liang said.
“I’m physical and strong, and most of the tackles I got were because they ran straight at me.”
The Patriots caught a fortuitous break seconds later when another apparent negative play was wiped out by an inadvertent face mask.
Following an incompletion, Liang, Austin Whiteman and Isaak Martinez combined for another three-yard loss.
The game down to one play, one action.
The Patriots stunned the Argos by completing the fourth down pass as their receiver caught the ball in the shadow of the end zone as he was falling down.
Fortunately for the Argos, they secured the tie by getting pressure on the quarterback and forcing an errant throw.
Under league rules, regular-season games feature a single overtime.
The tie dulled a little bit of the edge around the Argos’ valiant and joyous mood.
The game had plenty to celebrate, particularly the strong play of the defense that allowed the offense the necessary time to find its own footing and shape.
Liang finished with six tackles, including three for losses.
He was a one-player wrecking crew, getting pressure at the point of attack and using his feet to get into space.
Several times the Patriots tried to throw flare or screen passes, but he was there each time to shut it down.
“I got them to the ground,” he said.
Juan Lupercio, Rasim Ganiyev, Miles Lobo and Beckett St. Leger were also deeply active and engaged in strong defensive play.
After some early miscues, the offense found its groove midway through the second quarter.
Drwal ripped off a 16-yard run around the left edge
The drive stalled, but the deeper point was made. Drwal found his voice.
“My favorite part about playing quarterback is throwing touchdowns, but I also love running the ball,” he said. “We had good blocking today, and the receivers team ran really good routes.”
Liang once again changed the calculus of the game with a three-yard sack that forced a turnover on downs.
Drwal needed just one play to tie the score. Buying time, he lofted a perfect strike that receiver Mason Gennell caught in stride for the 52-yard touchdown pass.
“He knows how to get the ball when I’m open,” Gennell said. “After I caught it, my only thought was to just score.”
Just 12.3 seconds was on the second quarter clock.
“We had to score before the half, and we had to try and tie the game,” Drwal said.
Suddenly it was a new game, and a new set of terms. Lobo had an interception that wiped out a promising Patriots’ drive to start the second half.
“I was really happy with how I was playing on both sides,” Lobo said. “After I got that interception, everybody got really excited.”
The Drwal and Gennell connection created the longest play of the second half with a 30-yard strike. A sack undercut the drive.
The Silver unleashed a lot of variations and possibilities in their offensive sets and formations. Drwal showed dual-threat capabilities, and Masilewski and Lobo operated both out of the backfield and on the wing.
“We had great blocking throughout the whole game, and everybody did their jobs,” Wasilewski said. “We were able to execute this play where the linemen go out to block, and it looks like I’m going to join them. Then I cut away.”
The Argos’ coaches did not play for the tie. They called an aggressive game plan that featured Drwal repeatedly rolling out and trying to find his receivers down the field.
The Argos even survived a late interception as Whiteman and Martinez collaborated on a strong stop on the final play of regulation. In overtime, Wasilewski ran hard twice for five yards, and Whiteman edged the ball closer to the goal with a one-yard plunge.
It was a team game, and a team effort. The level of play bodes well for the next stage with the playoffs looming.
“We’re going to prepare a lot, we’re going to work hard, and we’re going to do whatever it takes,” Drwal said.
The Argos’ 10U Silver team had many standout contributors in the 12-12 overtime game. They were Jacob Skrzypczak, Braxton Tyrrell, Joshua Heaton, Declan Larson, Kenneth Lupercio and Benjamin Bernick.
