Addison Trail slips past Leyden

Defense was the name of the game Friday night in Addison, as both Addison Trail and Leyden slugged it out in a nip-and-tuck 14-7 West Suburban Gold victory for Addison Trail.

“That’s been our blueprint for the past two years,” running back and defensive back Vince Beltrano said of the Blazers’ defense. “We have a lot of guys returning on defense, and inside Mike Imperiale and Kevin Kent control the defense and we follow them.”

The Addison Trail defense allowed a mere 69 yards as it hounded the Eagles’ offense all night. The relentless defensive pressure allowed Addison Trail (3-0, 1-0) to take control of the field position battle early.

The advantageous field position paid off when quarterback Trevor Bermingham found wide receiver Nick Wisniewski for a 39-yard touchdown strike down the middle of the field with 2:34 left in the opening quarter.

The Blazers then capitalized against with less than a minute left in the first half, as Beltrano scampered 23 yards to give Addison Trail a 14-0 halftime lead.

“It was a well-blocked play, and I got behind my pulling guard, Jake Newsome, and I took it in,” Beltrano said.

Leyden, however, proved to be a pesky team in the second half as their defense bent without breaking. Linebacker Adam Morrison came through with 2 clutch interceptions, keeping the game within striking distance for the Eagles.

“When I see the tight end come out, it’s my job to sprint to him and I got there in time tonight,” Morrison said. “We have a focus of not allowing more than 14 points, and we did that tonight.”

A late passing touchdown in the third quarter gave Leyden a chance in the fourth to tie it, but the offense couldn’t click enough to get the equalizer.

“It’s a building block for us after getting blown out last week. Our defense and the turnovers were huge, especially against a good team, we just made too many mistakes,” Leyden coach Mike Fazzio said.

For Addison Trail it was a win, yet there is still work to be done.

“We need to stay balanced and we didn’t do that today,” Addison Trail coach Paul Parpet said. “I wanted them to see that in times of adversity like tonight, with turning the ball over, all the penalties and not moving the ball like we expect to, they rose to the occasion when our backs were against the wall.”