By Patrick Z. McGavin- Photos by Jenn-Anne Gledhill
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ARLINGTON HEIGHTS— The Arlington Dogs 12U program turned an exhilarating football game into a classic track meet featuring wild runs and decisive momentum changes.
The Dawgs were burned a couple of times. They got even.
The team responded with a virtually flawless offensive performance, allowing the superior numbers and possibilities to work for their advantage.
The number that mattered the most was 5-for-5.
The Arlington Dawgs 12U team scored on its first five possessions in the 31-13 Homecoming victory over the Ottawa Wolfpack in Pop Warner League play at Liberty Christian Academy on Saturday, September 14.
Quarterback Michael Manno threw three touchdown passes, and Charlie LaMonica utilized his elite size to score two rushing touchdowns and make a huge early defensive play.
The Dawgs took a shot to the proverbial chin by the early running of the Wolfpack’s fast, athletic and imposing quarterback.
“At the start of the game, we were not expecting for their quarterback to run all over the place,” two-way player Alexi Zaimis said. “Once we started to realize what he could do, we started to contain more.”
The first half was fast and blazing with two lead changes, and big plays impacted both sides of the ball.
The team’s tallest player at nearly 6-foot, LaMonica made his presence felt on both sides of the ball. An apparent Wolfpack touchdown on the opening drive was nullified by penalty.
The Ottawa team played off the energy of its skilled quarterback.
LaMonica changed everything with a strip sack and fumble recovery at the Dawgs’ 43-yard line, allowing the versatile and potent offense to show what it was capable of.
“I thought the play really boosted us up, and gave us the confidence to go out and finish the plays throughout the game,” LaMonica said.
Manno orchestrated a terrific attack, ably mixing the running of Logan Alpert and Keaton Kuhns. Alpert ripped off two runs totaling 25 yards. Manno’s first completion went to Kuhns for 8 yards in the flat.
LaMonica finished what he started by taking the ball on an end and scoring on the 12-yard sweep for the 6-0 advantage at the 1:55 mark.
The lead lasted one play as the skilled Wolfpack quarterback broke multiple tackles and exploded 70-yards down the left sideline on the next play from scrimmage.
A conversion run put the Wolfpack up 7-6.
Manno quickly restored order, and showed off accuracy and an excellent connection with his receivers. He connected with Ben Stevens for an 18-yard pass.
After a personal foul against the Wolfpack, Manno made them pay for the short field. He snatched the lead with a gorgeous 15-yard dart to Nick Nagy over the middle for the 12-7 lead.
LaMonica and Hank Crossin joined forces to stop the Wolfpack on a fourth down play on their follow-up possession.
By this point, the Dawgs’ offense was operating on full cylinders. Alpert broke loose for a dazzling 25-yard run on a beautifully designed option run. He quickly followed with another 20-yard run. He showed tremendous speed, elusiveness, balance, and the ability to find open spaces.
“I like to run because it helps me be the player I am,” Alpert said. “I’m fast, and it helps me be one of the best players out there. The passing game helps get our motivation.”
Receiver Alex Cappas extended the lead to 18-7 with a spectacular one-handed 19-yard touchdown catch with 3:10 remaining in the second quarter.
“All our guys are good, and they can catch the ball,” Manno said.
The Wolfpack quarterback made one last stand with another exhilarating 55-yard touchdown run that narrowed the Dawgs’ lead to 18-13. That was the closest the Ottawa program ever got.
With the offense lighting up the scoreboard and showing it could move the ball and score from any location on the field, the defense found its own voice and confidence.
Declan McCarthy, Corwin Rasar, Leo Butcher, Nathan Hogge, LaMonica, Alpert and Nagy started to assert themselves, and showed better and more effective technique at the point of attack.
“We forced them to pass the ball,” Zaimis said. “The way the offense was scoring, it meant we could allow a touchdown, even though we didn’t want to. That meant that we had to hold them, and we did a better job of that.”
LaMonica put the stamp on his outstanding first half by breaking free for a 49-yard touchdown run on the Dawgs’ final possession of the first half.
“I’m pretty hard to tackle,” LaMonica said. “I’m pretty fast, and sometimes I make the right decisions. It doesn’t really matter to me whether I’m playing offense or defense out there. I just like to be on the field.”
After their first three kicks failed, the Dawgs went to play action on the conversion attempt, and Manno hit Stevens in the right corner for the team’s only successful point-after play.
LaMonica maintained his torrid play with a big 34-yard sweep down the right side on the Dawgs’ opening possession of the second half. The only downside was a subsequent hand injury that forced him out of the rest of the game.
Manno stepped up in his absence with another beautifully thrown 11-yard scoring pass to Nagy for the 31-13 lead.
“We’re close friends, and we have a lot of chemistry,” Nagy said. “We’ve only known each for about four years, but we hang out together every day. Our team is very fast, and we fly around on the field. We’re also big and strong, and that helps a lot. It’s pretty simple. He just threw me the ball, and I caught it and ran.”
Five possessions, five touchdowns, a perfect blend of efficiency and quality of play. Manno is the orchestrator of the attack. This is his first full year of playing quarterback.
“My coaches told me that I’d been rushing too fast, so I slowed down,” Manno said. “I was passionate about it, and everything worked out. I like passing. I don’t like running the ball. I love throwing touchdowns.”
Only a holding penalty that wiped out a long Alpert touchdown run ruined what was otherwise a perfect offensive day. The Dawgs punted just once. Alpert ended the game in grand style with back-to-back tackles inside the 3-yard line that prevented a late Wolfpack score.
“We were much more solid and fundamental than the last couple of games,” Leo Butcher said. “We just have to remember to tackle low, and get our heads up a little more. We just have to work on getting everybody focused and ready to play. We collaborated very well today, and we can do a lot more things out there.”
The Arlington Dawgs 12U team had many standout contributors in their 31-13 Homecoming victory. They included Igor Khabenyuk, William Daly, Marco Cossentino, Greyson Wilder, Filip Rakoczy, Gabriel Ramirez, Mick Crossin, Ilija Jovanovic, Joseph Harrington, Evrett Boeykens, Marshall Jefford, Alex Cappas, and Sebastian Piatek.
