Freshman Football Completely Reverses Their Field

by Nate Kirshenbaum

This team was not supposed to win. After being blown out 30-0 in the regular season, not able to get a first down, and the offensive line being blatantly overpowered by La Salle’s constant pressure, the Hawks were the bar-none underdog for the Freshmen Super Bowl. The Rams had totally destroyed Hendricken in the regular season with strong run blocking and protection for Leroy Deoliveira, their starting running back, who’s unexpectedly fast for his thick stature. The shining star in the Hawks season was Preston Santos, a 6’4” wide receiver with unbelievable athleticism. If the ball was thrown in his general vicinity, he almost always came down with it, despite the coverage thrown at him. Even so, the major fear was that the linebackers for the Rams would provide the pressure seen in Hendricken’s loss, which would leave their pass game irrelevant.

As soon as the game got underway, the Rams showed that they were determined to repeat their performance from earlier in the season when they decisively held the Hawks to a three-an-out, following that up with strong run blocking on their way to the game's first touchdown. With 8:47 left in the first, Leroy Deolivera twice reached the end zone on a sideline run and two-point conversion to extend their lead to 8-0. After the ensuing kickoff, the Hawks showed promise on a first down run by Devin Rivet to march our guys up the field; however, the Rams stopped an inside run on third down and forced Preston Santos to punt the ball. The Rams seemingly picked up where they'd left off and put together a decent drive, which ended in a turnover because they never punt. The Hawks ran the ball up the gut for little gain as the first quarter clock wound down and ran out.

The second quarter proved to be promising for the Hawks until the Rams converted on fourth and two, leading to a score by Jake Ribero on a touchdown pass, extending their lead to 14-0. The Hawks’ next drive was stopped short with about 2:20 left in the half, but their defensive line remained strong and forced a turnover on a fourth and twelve run. The Hawks took over and finally put some points on the board on a run by Rivet, which was followed by a failed two-point conversion. After the kickoff, the Rams ran the clock out and both teams exited the field.

The Hawks received the kick to start the second half and began to move the chains. This seemingly productive drive failed on third and ten, however, when La Salle picked up a fumble and answered with a QB draw for a touchdown by Andrew Wright, making the score 20-6. The Hawks then took over at the forty- one yard line and began incredible pass blocking that led to a forty-yard gain on a well-executed slant route. Preston Santos caught a well-placed pass and found the end zone to cut the La Salle lead to 20-12. A heartbreaking touchdown run by the Rams on their next drive was a huge momentum boost for La Salle, but luckily it was called back on a holding call. Ensuring that that wouldn't happen again, the Hawks stuffed the run on the proceeding downs and forced yet another Rams turnover. On that possession, the Rams' linebackers inched forward to pinch the run while the Hawks' Santos went deep for an amazing seventy-eight yard touchdown. The estatic Hawks inched even closer when Santos again caught a pass in the corner of the end zone to cut the lead to 20-18.

The momentum of the huge score rubbed off on the defensive linemen, as they swarmed a speed option perfectly. Being conservative, the Rams finally punted. Expecting Santos to break loose again, La Salle had the 6’4” receiver in triple coverage. His incredible speed and vertical leap allowed him to catch yet another pass for a seventy-yard touchdown and the Hawks’ first lead, 28-20. Once again, the Rams couldn’t get their run game going as they had earlier, the Hawks’ line staying strong. Desperate, the Rams went right to the end zone from about the thirty yard-line, a pass that was picked off by - guess who? - Santos, leaping to secure the Hawks' victory. Our guys then ran the clock out, completing the exhilarating comeback victory. The Hawks stormed the field in celebration and were presented with the RIIL state championship trophy.

As Coach Quigley would say, it was truly a great day for football.