Both the Varsity and the Freshman/Sophomore football teams competed Saturday in the 32nd Annual Pontiac 7-on-7 Passing Tournament, in Pontiac, Illinois. The day, originally scheduled as a five game event, was shortened to three games due to the extreme heat in the midwest. Pontiac marked the fourth and final 7-on-7 of the summer for the Varsity, and also gave the opportunity for the lower levels to compete in their first passing tournament.
“I like coming to Pontiac for a few different reasons,” ACC Head Coach Brian Casey said. “There is a competition aspect, with points awarded for big plays on both offense and defense on the Varsity level. I also really like the opportunity for our younger kids to get a taste of what these are like, and gives them a chance to work on some things we have taught during our summer camp.”
The Varsity opened the day against LeRoy High School, a 2A playoff qualifier in 2010. The Chargers were near perfect on both sides of the football, winning 38-10. Offensively, quarterbacks Kyle Clechenko (St. Charles) and Drake Riedy (Yorkville) completed 15-20 passes, 5 of those going for over 30 yards. Senior Jesse Valenzuela (Yorkville), juniors Luke Dickerson (Aurora), Nick Homan (Geneva), and sophomore Brian Bohr (Aurora) all snagged touchdown receptions for the Chargers. The defense allowed zero plays over 15 yards, holding LeRoy to 40% completion percentage. Juniors Tyler Nelson (Sugar Grove) and Anthony Andujar (Montgomery) grabbed interceptions for ACC. Senior Kyle Ritli (Aurora) and sophomore Cody Ekstrom (North Aurora) added knockdowns in the effort.
The Varsity dropped a 22-20 decision to Munster High School from Munster, Indiana in the second round contest. The defense continued to shine, allowing only 2 pass plays over 15 yards, however the offense struggled to find a rhythm due to some drop passes, and mis-fires. The final game of the day was a similar result, as the Chargers fell to Mendota High School 27-20.
“Our first game was the best we have looked all summer on both sides of the football,” Casey said. “The defense played great all day long, our offense was in a position to make plays in the last two games, but we lost some concentration and focus as the day wore on. Some dropped passes costed us some big plays, but I believe we make those plays come August.”
Casey was pleased with the development the Varsity showed over the Summer competition season.
“Our defense has played well all summer,” Casey said. “Our team speed on defense is going to be a huge asset. On offense, I was extremely pleased with our improvement over the last 6 weeks. Our quarterback (Clechenko) now has a lot of confidence in himself throwing the football, and we started to find some guys who can make some plays. Overall, we are right where we want to be heading into the fall.”
The ACC Sophomores competed against Taylorville, Prairie Ridge, and Streator High School, in their only competition of the season. For many of the 28 freshman and sophomores in attendance, it was their first exposure to passing tournaments. While scoring was not kept at the lower level games, the Chargers performed well.
“I thought we did some things very well,” ACC Sophomore Head Coach Luke Brauweiler said. “There are things that still needed to be worked on, but we got a lot of kids some reps, and saw how certain individuals have improved since we started teaching them our offense and defense.”
The Chargers have one week remaining in their 2011 Summer Camp. On Thursday, the Chargers will break camp for the IHSA mandated “off-period”, until August 10th, when ACC will officially kick off the 2011 season with “Midnight Madness”, the first practice of the season at the Aurora Sports Dome.
