Last Friday night, the Sequoits came to play with the eyes of the Chicagoland area on them. With strong play on all sides of the ball, the Sequoits beat the Knights 29-8.

“We played the way we knew how, and it ended up with another win,” senior football manager Symone Henderson said. “[We’ve] improved from weeks one and two; we’re already moving in the right direction.”

The Sequoits have been becoming more consistent on both offense and defense. Since their slow start in week one, Glashagel’s team has only allowed one touchdown in back to back games, while steadily outscoring their opponents with four touchdowns in each.

However, slow starts still seem to be a concern for the northernmost team in the NLCC.

“We started slow offensively, but we picked it up after the first half,” senior center Dylan Czerlanis said. “We need to start the game with the same intensity that we finish it with.”

This isn’t the first time consistency has been an issue for the Sequoit offense. In week one against Lake Forest, the Sequoits went down 14-0 versus the Scouts before roaring back in the second half to secure the win. While this game was not as slow as a start, it wasn’t until the second half when the offense turned on the afterburners and really put the game away.

The Kaliakmanis brothers stole the show again. Quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis factored in every touchdown scored by Antioch, rushing for two and passing for two in the game. His older brother, wide receiver Dino Kaliakmanis caught both of the touchdown passes thrown by his younger sibling. The brothers have had a big impact since transferring from Carmel and that can be seen both on and off the field.

“It’s great to see the dynamic between [Athan], a sophomore, and some of our older players,” Henderson said. “To see them so humble and sometimes even insecure about their performance is actually super cool because they aren’t as conceited as I’m sure people expect them to be.”

While the Kaliakmanis brothers shone under the lights, they were not the only stars to shine brightly. Senior running back Nicholas Wiley continued to excel. He rushed for well over 100 yards, including many clutch first down conversions on third and long.

However, the night belongs to head coach Brian Glashagel. With the win Friday night, Glashagel inched even closer to 80 career wins and he tied former head coach Delmer Pechauer for most wins in Antioch football history.

“Glashagel has been such an incredible father figure to me,” Henderson said. “I rely heavily on him and he relies heavily on me to keep everything and everyone in check. He’s the core of this team. I couldn’t imagine Antioch being the team that we are without him.”

Czerlanis’ sentiments parallel Henderson’s.

“Without Coach Glashagel, I would not have been able to get into better shape, I would not have aspirations to get into college and continue my athletic path and I would never have gotten to experience the feeling of grinding and winning with brothers that you train your tail off with,” Czerlanis said. “He gave me the opportunity to experience things that so few get to.”

Coach Glashagel has helped to issue in a golden age of Antioch football. His ability to tie such a prestigious record will help to keep him in the lore of Antioch High School for years to come.

In the short term, however, the Sequoits look to improve on their perfect conference record as they take on the 1-1 Wauconda Bulldogs on Friday, September 14, at Antioch Community High School.

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To read our Adobe Spark story about this game by Tom Tom staffer Evan Day, follow this link.