As the Sequoits begin their season, they look to repeat conference championships. The Grayslake Central Rams were their first foe. The first half of the game was a defensive showdown, both teams only managing to score one touchdown each. By halftime, the score was tied at 8-8. This game was a lot closer than most people expected. The Sequoits were the high favorites for this game. 

Junior Roberto Dominguez, believed that the biggest factor to the game was that we were not prepared enough and we were humbled.

“We thought that last night was going to be an easy win and easy game but Grayslake had different plans,” Dominguez said. “They gut checked us right out of the gate.”

A huge performance in the second half came from both the special teams and the offense. Sophomore wide receiver Joseph Neumann caught a big touchdown by a pass from Athanasios Kaliakmanins to put the Sequoits up by two possessions. The score would be 22-8. After a few exchanges of points, a huge game-changing play occurred. After the Rams had scored a touchdown, they decided to kick the ball deep. The man in the back, receiving the ball, was none other than senior Dino Kaliakmanis. He caught the ball and ran for sixty yards for a touchdown. This would be his third touchdown of the day, two rushings and one-off a kick return. 

Junior Andy Bowles, a two-way starter, had this to say about the game. 

“Dino played an excellent game and I think everyone thrived off of his gameplay,” Bowles said. “We also had a couple of key fumble recoveries giving us short fields and capitalizing on the Rams’ mistakes.”

The Sequoits were able to clock out the game with 2:30 remaining in the game. The game ended with the final score being 34-28, the Sequoits are starting their season off with a bang, with a record of 1-0.

“This is a great stepping stone for us to progress towards next week,” junior Hunter Bukowy said. “We were able to see some things we need to work on and I am excited to see how much we can progress.”