Maine South’s first five quarters of football this season did not go according to plan. The Hawks lost by 27 points to Lincoln-Way East last week. The lopsided defeat was the talk of Park Ridge this week.
“Definitely,” Hawks senior Michael Dellumo said. “Right away on Saturday after the game I was coaching some [youth football] and every parent was coming up and talking to me about Lincoln-Way East. It was bad.”
The rough run continued in the first quarter on Friday against Warren. Dellumo fumbled on the Blue Devils’ 5 when he looked poised to score.
“After last week we talked about keeping our heads up on the sideline no matter what happens,” Dellumo said. “So I guess we were ready for that because that’s exactly what we did.”
Dellumo went from goat to hero throughout No. 9 Maine South’s 35-18 win over visiting No. 5 Warren. He scored two TDs on offense and grabbed two interceptions on defense.
“It was super exciting,” Dellumo said. “I’m just trying to find a way to help the team win any way I can.”
Dellumo had 11 carries for 89 yards. The TD runs were for 37 and 38 yards.
Junior safety Santino Bernabei made two key plays in the second quarter that helped turn the season around for the Hawks (2-0).
He broke up a pass play at the Maine South 5 on a third down. Then on the next play, he stopped Warren running back Aaron Stewart on the Maine South 6 to force a turnover on downs.
“I had been watching film and knew something was up on that fourth down,” Bernabei said. “So I broke pretty good and I just needed to hit him so he wouldn’t get the first down or score the touchdown.”
Huge back to back hits from Maine South’s Santino Bernabei shuts down a Warren drive. pic.twitter.com/wacOoCRAnB
— Michael O'Brien (@michaelsobrien) September 7, 2024
Stewart scored five TDs and ran for 361 yards last week, likely the top performance in the state. He had 32 carries for 185 yards and two TDs against Maine South. But the Hawks generally contained him. Stewart had a 37-yard run late in the fourth quarter but only one carry topped 13 yards.
“The safeties and linebackers were flying around and trying to gang tackle him and get him down as quick as possible,” Bernabei said.
Maine South quarterback Constantine Coines, who put up massive numbers last season, struggled in the opener against Lincoln-Way East.
The Hawks’ backup quarterback, sophomore Jameson Purcell, has 18 D1 scholarship offers. So Coines may have been facing more pressure than any player on the field.
“I tried to be more calm this week,” Coines said. “I was animated in the Lincoln-Way East game and I’m not very proud of that but it happens. Everybody has their moments at times. This week I relaxed more and dialed it back and tried to be more of a leader, not just yelling at kids.”
Coines delivered on the air and the ground. He was 13 for 19 passing for 218 yards with one TD. He had six carries for 128 yards with electrifying TD runs of 54 and 68 yards.
“We made a decision not to push any panic buttons,” Maine South coach Dave Inserra said. “Jameson’s a really good quarterback and he’s going to get his opportunities and his chances. But we know what Constantine did for us last year.”
Warren (1-1) scored the first TD of the game on a 17-yard run by Stewart early in the first quarter. The Hawks scored the next 28 points.
Blue Devils quarterback Jack Wolf was 16 for 29 passing for 182 yards with two interceptions. Senior Aydan Edwards had nine receptions for 109 yards.
Warren, which knocked off Hersey last week, will be favored in its final seven regular season games and will be a major factor in the Class 8A state playoffs.
Maine South has two more major tests in the coming weeks. The Hawks are at Hersey next week and host Barrington in Week 4.
“The season wasn’t over just because we lost Week 1,” Bernabei said. “We’re definitely looking forward to seeing Lincoln-Way East in the playoffs.”
