By Patrick Z. McGavin- Photos by Jenn-Anne Gledhill
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ELGIN— A great and dramatic game ended the only way imaginable, with fantastic individual talents from both teams trying to make one final dramatic play.
“It was difficult during the game,” two-way standout James Former of Northwest Tide said. “I had some missed tackles. At the end of the game, I wanted to pick my head up and do better and help my team win.”
Former scored the game-winning touchdown and registered two crucial late tackles that propelled the Northwest Tide 12U past the Lockport Porters 12-8 in the Pop Warner Game of the Week at St. Edward High on Sunday, September 29.
Former’s 11-yard burst around the right side with 2:14 remaining helped the Tide (5-1) overcome the late deficit.
“In the fourth quarter, we were down, and we knew we had to get the ball downfield,” he said.
Lockport (4-2) nearly pulled off the stunning rally after a spectacular 47-yard one-handed catch by receiver Brody Ullrich put the ball at the 10-yard line with just over a minute remaining.
In the furious conclusion, the Porters relied on their elite running back Joseph Ponterio, who scored on a 47-yard touchdown run in the second quarter for the 8-6 lead.
Operating out of the Wildcat, he carried the ball twice to the 7-yard line. Carson Russell nearly scored on a sweep, tackled behind by Former at the 4-yard line.
“After they scored the touchdown, I thought we’d be able to answer,” Ponterio said. “In the Wildcat, I just run. You just have to look where the hole is. When you find it, you just have to run.”
The game came down to the final play: fourth down, 4.3 seconds remaining, and the ball at the 4-yard line.
“We knew No. 22 (Ponterio) was going to get the ball on the goal line because that’s their go-to player,” safety Amahzion Hendrix said. “Once I saw him, everybody gang tackled him. I was so happy.”
Ponterio took the hand off from quarterback Luke Schumacher and was stopped by Tide interior linemen Alexander Johnson and David Zavala and linebacker Tai Vongsa two yards short of the end zone as time expired.
“That team was very good on the interior, and we tried to get it outside and catch them off-guard,” Lockport coach Brian Furczyk said. “We hadn’t really shown that formation the whole game, and we wanted to catch them. We have a really good team that always fights from the beginning to the end. They’ve been together for three years, and it’s a good group of kids who never quit.”
Ullrich appeared the hero moments earlier with his one-handed stab from Schumacher that he caught going across the middle. Picking up an excellent downfield block from Russell, he broke down the left sideline and was seemingly headed for the end zone when Former caught him behind.
“When I caught it, I was just trying to find the hole or find the end zone,” Ullrich said. “I knew I had blockers in front of me, and that was kind of my fault for picking the wrong way to run at the end. We just wanted to get down the field and score.”
Ponterio ended up with 77 yards on 12 carries for the Porters.
Ponterio, linebackers Wes Ramirez, Jr., and Filip Lizak and lineman Lucas Salazar were the defensive standouts for the Porters. Ramirez posted three tackles for loss, and Ponterio had a bone-crushing hit on Former during the second quarter.
The Ponterio touchdown run, and the stellar play of the defense enabled the Porters to maintain the two-point lead at halftime, with the difference being the kick by Russell following the Porters’ score.
“We knew it was going to be tough going into the game,” Northwest Tide coach Jared Lose said. “We did our scouting on them. We were very impressed with Ponterio. We worked very hard on tackling. We practiced against our 13U team just to work on tackling that big kid. Until the end of the game, I was just telling our defense to finish the game.”
Former was the most versatile player on the field. He finished with 56 yards on seven carries and the two touchdowns. He also caught three passes from quarterback Conan Viruet for 24 yards.
He staked the Tide to the 6-0 lead with 6:27 to play in the first half with a blazing 27-yard touchdown run around the right edge.
“It was a middle play, and I hit the middle and bounced outside and I was free,” Former said. “Some plays we run up the middle with our big guy (Vongsa), and some plays we bust outside. We just see what happens from there.”
The ballhawking Former ended the Porters’ opening drive of the second half with an interception. He finished with six tackles, the most important his touchdown saving stops of Ullrich and Russell.
Offensively the Tide feature a Thunder and Lightning attack with the bruising fullback Vongsa using his strength and force to pound the interior, and Former and Hendrix utilizing their explosiveness and speed on the outside.
“We have the power back, and the two speed guys and they really play off each other well,” Lose said.
The three playmakers each impacted the game-winning 11-play, 56-yard drive that burned nearly nine minutes off the clock.
Former had a big 10-yard run and a 5-yard reception. Hendrix rushed for 55 yards on 12 carries.
Vongsa finished with 11 carries for 62 yards, the most important a fourth down conversion, a 5-yard run that set up the Former game-winner.
“Usually at the start of the games, I get the ball and we run inside, the one or two hole, and then by the end, we get these two on the outside and they make a big play,” Vongsa said. “On the fourth down call, I told the coach I could get the ball, and I just charged. I almost ran over my right guard. We had great blocks on that play.”
The Porters needed just one play to nearly pull the game out.
“We just stepped up defensively,” Hendrix said. “When they had that big pass, I thought the game was over, but we just got back up and got over it. We just tackled them.”
Former’s game-saving tackle gave the defense a final chance.
“I kind of got scared after the big pass play, but then I realized I couldn’t give up, and I got all of the defense ready,” Vongsa said. “Our defensive line did a great job there.”
Joseph Ponterio nearly willed the Porters to victory.
“I realized in the moment if I didn’t make it, we were going to lose,” he said. “I just tried my hardest. Some people thought I was down, but you just have to keep driving. Most of our games have been very close, and they have come down to the wire. Unfortunately, today, we didn’t make it.”
Despite the heartbreaking 12-8 loss, the Lockport Porters received superb contributions from its entire roster. Those players included Allan Nemec, Nathan Koscielniak, Jackson Sibick, Jaxon Sinople, Meryk Moniz, Richard Hiller, Evan Burian, Joshua Bonnell, Dominic Gincauskas, Cayden Blase, John Rosa, Luke Conser, Jacob Allison, Maxim Wozniak, Jayden Vargas, Brian Furczyk and Anthony Mottola.
In the victory, the Northwest Tide featured many standout contributors, including Emmett Stalley, Richard Marin, Noah Jackson, Andrew Powell, Sergio Cazares, Cameron Bennett, Landen Fraley, Carter Paduch, Julio Cesar Garcia-Sanders, Emmanuel Navarro, Jason Gillman, Austin Cano, David Kamel, Connor O’Callaghan and Gino Salcedo.
The Northwest Tide’s PeeWee cheerleaders brought passion, energy and enthusiasm to the Game of the Week. Their members are Gizelle Beltran, Marley Clark, Giovanna Libreri, Lelanii Perez, Kataleya Gallardo, Isabella Galvan, Allison Magdaleno, Danajah Taylor, Kaitlyn Redmon, Natalia Munoz, Jaelani Acevdeo, Alexis Hallman and Addy Alvarado.
