November 13, 2008
The Hinsdale Falcons 130-pound Gold football team's road to the
Super Bowl went from Washington, D.C. to Lisle.
After returning from their three-day school trip to the nation's
capitol Saturday night, the Falcons came ready to play for their
8:30 a.m. Sunday kickoff.
Hinsdale couldn't have gotten off to a much better start
defensively, and that set the tone for its 22-6 victory over
Glendale Heights in the Bill George Youth Football League AFC
Division Super Bowl at Benedictine University in Lisle.
Danny Ives' big hit on the game's opening kickoff forced a
fumble. Glendale recovered the ball, but back-to-back tackles
for losses and an interception by Griffin Driscoll gave Hinsdale
all the momentum it would need. Tim Glavin also had a sack in
the opening quarter, while Kyle Casillo recovered a fumble.
Hinsdale (8-3) got a touchdown in the second quarter when
Casillo scored on a 38-yard run on a perfectly-executed trap
play. The offensive line of Ives, Jack Liljeberg, Jacob White,
Glavin, Eric Mahon, George Parks, Andrew Eck, Karl Grimm and
T.J. Moruzzi, who sported a Mohawk haircut like the ones the
Hinsdale Central high school players are wearing during their
playoff run. John Claussen caught a perfect fade pass from
quarterback Joe Herr for the two-point conversion and the
Falcons enjoyed a 16-0 halftime lead.
Griffin had an interception in the second quarter, while Chris
Miller batted down three passes and Jack Adams, Herr and Eck
also helped shut down the passing game with tight coverage.
Casillo returned the second-half kickoff to the Spartans'
32-yard line with help from a huge block by Mahon, but Hinsdale
wasn't able to score. Glendale scored to pull within 16-6 after
Adams batted down the extra-point attempt.
Miller came in at quarterback and threw a 53-yard TD pass to
Driscoll for his second score of the day to increase Hinsdale's
lead to 22-6.
Herr intercepted a pass in the fourth quarter and then completed
a clutch 12-yard pass to Claussen on a fourth-down play for a
first down and then tackle-eligible Liljeberg caught a 16-yard
pass.
Receptions by Claussen and Brett Goss from Miller and big runs
from John Weinzelbaum allowed the Falcons to run time off the
clock, and the defense took care of the rest.
Hinsdale advanced to the Super Bowl with an incredible 19-14 win
over top-seeded West Chicago.
Things looked grim for Hinsdale after West Chicago used an
interception to set up its second straight touchdown with a
4-yard pass that helped turn a 13-0 fourth-quarter deficit into
a 14-13 lead with 56 seconds left.
Out of timeouts, the Falcons returned the ensuing kickoff to
their 47-yard line.
Quarterback Miller then rolled right and tossed a pass on a deep
comeback route to Driscoll, who cut in front of the cornerback,
broke a tackle and outraced speedy Miguel Floes to the end zone
for the game-winning TD.
The Falcons dedicated the season to Kevin Kiyosaki, who was
awarded the Super Bowl game ball for his courage and dedication
coming back from surgery and making every practice before
returning to the field late in the season.
The Falcons are coached by Paul Miller, John Adams, Steve
Hofmann, Ted Parsons, Larry Zeno and Randy McGivney. Kyle
Larkin, Scott Hrubes, John Miller, Tim Curran and Brendan
Sullivan, who are all current or former members of the Hinsdale
Central football team also assisted during camps.
Copyright 2008 Doings
