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2008 Preseason Outlook
The goal of the 2008 Walther Bronco football team is to close the final season of football in the PSL, with a championship banner. The Broncos will replace last year's backfield of Dan Green (Miami University, Ohio) and Will Jenkins (Illinois Wesleyan) with a solid group of backs that will keep the Broncos traditionally strong running attack going.
The Broncos will be led by Seniors Brandon Sims (853 yards rushing) and Marcus Cyrus. Logan Davis will be the fullback. Transfer Elgin Swanigan and juniors Najee Finner and Joshua Easter add depth to the running game. Senior David Tuomi returns to start at quarterback. The quarterback position is solid as Sean Cotton moves up from the frosh-soph team.
The offensive line will be led by returning starters Perry Brown and Larry Barajaz. The remaining spots in the line will be filled in by seniors Torrence Givan, Paul Mazcka, Chris Candelas, Aaron LaMar and Mike Bunnetta. All Conference kicker Victor Reeves returns to handle the kicking duties. The receiving corps will be made up of Tyreese Russell, Michael Branda, Lloyd Watson and Martin LaMar.
On defense, the Broncos will be solid up front with returning tackles Perry Brown and Chris Candelas. The trio of Lloyd Watson, Darrington Payne and Elgin Swanigan will anchor the ends.
Linebacker will see a group of new faces at the starting positions. The second level of defense will be manned by a combination of the following players: Torrence Givan; Larry Barajaz; Logan Davis; Sydney Arnold and Will Schuld. There should be plenty of speed in the secondary, with Marcus Cyrus, Najee Finner, Reggie Hughes, Jarrett Dotson and Michael Branda.
The Broncos hope to keep their IHSA playoff streak going. This would be the 18 th year in a row that the Broncos have qualified for post season play.
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Phoenix Academy
The Broncos opened the 2008 season with an impressive 49-0 victory over Phoenix Military Academy of Chicago. The Broncos scored early and often. Najee Finner picked off a Firebird pass and returned it 22 yards for a touchdown, just two minutes into the game. Victor Reeves kicked his first of seven straight extra points for the day.
After stopping the Firebirds on the next series, quarterback David Tuomi found Brandon Sims for a 20 yard touchdown pass. Brandon tallied Walther's third TD of the first quarter, when he ran around left end for a six yard touchdown. Brandon would score two more touchdowns in the second quarter on runs of 15 and 40 yards. Sandwiched between Brandon's two runs was a 34 yard TD pass from David Tuomi to Martin LaMar.
The reserves took over in the second half and continued to shut down the Firebirds. Kendall Richmond scored the final TD for the Broncos in the fourth quarter. Brandon Sims finished the day with 81 yards and three touchdowns on five carries. Joshua Easter was the second leading runner with 45 yards on seven carries. David Tuomi finished the day 4 for 4 passing with 86 yards and two touchdowns.
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Rockford Christian Life
The Broncos made the long trip to Rockford to take on the Eagles of Christian Life. The Broncos battled the scrappy Eagles to a 35-6 victory. The win improves the Broncos to 3-1 overall and 2-0 in the Private School League. Brandon Sims led the Bronco rushing attack as he rushed for 157 yards on 17 carries. Brandon crossed the goal line four times, scoring on runs of 4,1,15 and 4 yards. Senior Marcus Cyrus scored the Broncos first touchdown on a twenty yard scamper.
Sophomore Karl Koch converted on all five extra points. The Bronco rushed for 251 yards overall. The offense was balanced with the passing of David Tuomi , who completed 11 of his 14 passes for 168 yards. Brandon Sims led the receiving corps with 6 catches for 119 yards.
The defense was led by Perry brown ( 12 tackles), Logan Davis ( 10 tackles) and Chris Candelas (8 tackles).
The Bronco look forward to hosting our annual Friday Night Lights Game this Friday vs. Wheaton Academy at Serpico Field.
Wheaton Academy
If you like offense in football, Serpico Field was the place to be last Friday. The Broncos hosted their third annual” Friday Night Lights” at Serpico Field in Melrose Park . Both teams combined for over 1,000 yards in total offense. Wheaton quarterback Brian Pell threw for 400 yards and two touchdowns. The Broncos countered with the rushing of Brandon Sims, (258 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 33 carries) and the passing of David Tuomi, (10 completions for 235 yards and four touchdowns.)
The lead changed five times. Wheaton took the early lead to go out 7-0. The Broncos tied the score on the first of Sims touchdowns. The Warriors retook the lead in the second quarter, but missed the extra point, to go up 13-6. The Broncos came storming back with a 49 yard pass from Tuomi to Sims. Victor Reeves kicked his second extra point to put the home team up 14-13.
The Broncos added 55 yard touchdown on a pass from Tuomi to Tyreese Russell at the end of the second quarter. Reeves third extra point made the lead 21-13. The lead was short lived. The Warriors came right back on their next play with a long pass and a two point conversion to end the half with the score tied 21-21.
Wheaton scored the only touchdown of the third quarter to take a 28-21 lead. The Broncos once again battled back on a 5 yard touchdown strike from Tuomi to Martin LaMar. The Broncos had the opportunity to tie the score, but missed the extra point as the result of a bad snap. Wheaton held on to its one point lead until Tuomi found Martin LaMar a second time for a 58 yard touchdown pass with three minutes left in the game. The Broncos were successful on the two point conversion to take a 35- 28 lead. The Broncos caused a fumble less than a minute later, and Brandon Sims scored on a reverse that covered 70 yards and sealed the victory.
Tyreese Russell (5 catches for 110 yards and a touchdown), Martin LaMar (3 catches for 73 yards and two touchdowns) and Najee Finner (11 tackles and 1 interception) were strong contributors to the Bronco Victory.
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Lake Forest Academy
Homecoming 2008 brought the Caxy football team from Lake Forest Academy to Fran Fanelli Field. A large crowd of students and alumni saw the Broncos explode for 34 first quarter points on their way to a 69-28 victory. Brandon Sims scored a 57 yard touchdown on the first play from scrimmage. Brandon would cross the goal line a total of seven times for the day.
Brandon Sims's seven touchdowns in a game (5 rushing, 2 receiving) broke a previous Walther school record of six, which was held for 37 years by Dick Reynolds. Brandon rushed for 252 yards on 18 carries.
David Tuomi completed touchdown passes of 5 yards to Tyreese Russell, and two to Sims for 10 & 17 yards. Tuomi finished with 9 completions for 145 yards. Joshua Easter and Daniel Lo dolce had runs of 9 and 11 yards to close out the scoring.
The improving defense was led by Logan Davis (8 tackles, 2 interceptions), Sidney Arnold(8 tackles) and Lloyd Watson (7 tackles).
The Broncos are looking forward to next week's Private School League Showdown, when the undefeated Eagles of Aurora Christian invade Melrose Park .
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