By Bobby Narang- Photos by Renee Kaspar
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JOLIET— The 13U Black Darien Swarm football team had to wait little bit longer to get some revenge.
The Swarm were looking to avenge a regular season defeat to the Rockford Renegades on Sunday afternoon at Joliet West High School.
Several Swarm players anxiously waited for the 3 p.m. kickoff, even with their coaches telling them to be patient and work on their techniques and focus on their emotions for the mid-afternoon kickoff.
But a schedule mishap led to a delayed start, forcing both teams to wait an extra 80 minutes for the kickoff.
The Swarm didn’t mind the additional time, opening up the game with an impressive drive that helped swing the momentum their way. Running back Daniel Cook scored on a 3-yard touchdown to spark the offense, leading the Swarm to a 24-8 Division 2 playoff victory over the Rockford Renegades.
The Swarm (7-1) avenged their only loss and move forward to the second round of the playoffs.
I’m excited,” Darien Swarm . “It was a tough game,” Head Coach Kenny Smith. “but I’m still happy we got the win. We knew Rockford was tough. They were our only loss this season. We’ve been thinking about this game all year. They have a lot of tough players and play hard. We were prepared. We ran the ball really good. For me, it was about our offensive line. We put in a lot of work on our offensive line. We rotate so much that it’s one big unit.
“We have to be more patient. Some of our players were little impatient. We have to be better at that and we all have to do our job.”
On the other side of the field, the Rockford Renegades closed out a memorable season in defeat. With head coach Kenneth Williams in a deep discussion about the season, the Renegades had trouble keeping their emotions in check. Several players covered their faces, some looked down and numerous other players had a strong desire to start their offseason workouts.
Sitting on the turf, the Renegades (4-5) were still on the field well after the final buzzer, digesting the season and the playoff game.
Williams closed out the postgame session by asking his players and coaches for one final group hug, bringing the team together for an emotional end.
“We didn’t see anything different than we normally see, but they did change up a few things and were a little more prepared this time against us than the first time,” Williams said. “We beat them the first time, but I give their coaches credit for making some changes and preparing for us better. My team played harder. This is my last year coaching this group, so I was little emotional, but I love the 13U Renegades.”
The Swarm relied on a basic formula to knock off the Renegades – hand the ball off to Cook or Pharrell Bryan. Cook, a strong and durable runner with speed, gobbled up yards, while Bryan, a diminutive yet super fast runner, moved the chains with several big runs.
Cook said the offensive line was main reason for the victory.
“I think it all starts upfront,” Cook said. “We wouldn’t be able to run if not for our O-line. The line on offense and defense did it all. I love the O-line and love them for opening up holes, blocking down the field and moving the ball.”
Cook sealed the victory with a 63-yard touchdown run with 3:46 left in the game to put the game out of reach for Rockford.
“It felt good to score, but I didn’t think it was time to celebrate because I knew we still had to win the game because Rockford is a good team,” Cook said. “Me and Pharrell are special. He’s my speedster and I’m the power back and he’s my outside back. We’re a good combination. The entire team was the reason we won.”
His running mate, Bryan, was tough to stop because of his elusive moves and speed. Bryan opened the game with a 20-yard run up the middle on the first play. He added a 23-yard run on the third play to set up Cook’s opening 3-yard TD.
With the scored tied at 8-8 in the second half, the Swarm engineered a game-turning nine-play drive. Cook had a key 27-yard run on the second play, but Bryan ended the drive with an 8-yard TD run to the right side for a 16-8 advantage.
“I felt I could’ve done better. I made a few mistakes, but overall I did good,” Bryan said. “I love the offensive line. I feed them every week. We made some mistakes, but we had big plays. (Daniel) is fast and big and I’m fast and shifty, so teams can’t stop us. We have a very good offense and our O-line is special. We want to make it all the way to nationals this year.”
Joseph Ajere was a key factor in the victory for the Swarm. He played offensive and defensive line, blowing up holes for his running backs and being a disruptive force on defense. He helped stop a potential scoring threat by the Renegades with two big tackles to end an 11-play drive on downs late in the second quarter.
“I knew I had to get to the quarterback and get to the ball carrier,” Ajere said. “That was my motivation. I had to play both ways, so I just did my job. Our running backs made my job easier on offense. On defense, I’m a bigger fella, so I had to use my moves against double teams to apply the pressure. I love this team, so I’m happy we played together to win this game.”
For most of the game, the Renegades struggled to move the ball, but their defense kept them in the game by slowing down Darien’s high-octane attack. Linebacker Corey Knuckles lived up to his last name with a tough effort on defense, inspiring his teammates with three tackles behind the line of scrimmage to slow down Darien’s offense.
“I felt we did a good as a team by communicating and getting to the ball,” Knuckles said. “They had two really good running backs. We had to block better and play stronger on defense.”
Down 8-0, the Renegades marched the ball down the field on their first drive. Brayden Fleming fueled the offense with his hard running, mostly up the gut of Darien’s defense. Fleming had a big 10-yard run on the fourth play, though the drive ended with an interception by Ryan DeNardo on his leaping catch in the red zone.
Later in the half, Rockford’s Damelon Ingram-Graham opened up a drive with a 15-yard run, but once again, the 11-play drive stalled and ended in downs. Knuckles set up his team’s lone touchdown by recovering a fumble early in the third quarter.
Four plays later, quarterback Jordan Williams hid the ball behind his back, running to his right and scoring on a 32-yard drive to tie the game at 8-8 all with 6:23 on the clock in the third quarter.
“I practiced that play for four years, faking the ball and looking to the other side, so they don’t think you have the ball and then look at just run,” Williams said of his TD run. “I just ran hard as I could so they wouldn’t catch me. It was a good play. They had tall players on their defense. It was hard to see over their five-man front. It was a tough game for us.”
The Renegades’ offense failed to move the ball on their final two drives.
“This was a tough way to lose,” Williams said. “I’m proud of my team for playing strong. You have to give credit to the other team.”
The Swarm had contributions from the entire roster, including Stas Valincius, Ashton Cole, Justin Miller, Jayce LeSain, Kyler Ruff, Kobe Smith, John Davis, Ryan DeNardo, Jesus Ortiz Jr., Landon Echols, Ashton Wells, Carmine Pollack, Jayden Autrey, Griffin Yena, Kaleb Green, Francisco Martinez, Shael Laasiri, Cruz Perales and NaShaun Robinson.
The Renegades’ roster includes Santiago Saucedo-Flores, Amir Smith, Angelo Johnson, Ryjere Gillis, Tramon Fleming, Mason Poulin, Landon Ellis, Shalako Hudson, Ziayr Goza, Kayvion Flowers-Del Rea, Angel Martinez, Charles Trislan Keer, Macson Milligan, Caden Love, Maddux Hoffman, Evan Moree and Cade Harris.
