Something about the short, skinny freshman stuck with Oswego football coach Brian Cooney.

Mariano Velasco showed up for high school all of about 5-foot-5, 120 pounds. Not much muscle.

But he competed.

“We thought, ‘Geez. If this kid can hit a growth spurt, he can be something,’ ” Cooney said. “He was all over the field. He plays basketball the same way. All gas, all the time.”

The growth spurt came. When Velasco showed up one of the first days of summer camp before his junior year, Cooney did a double take. He could not believe how much Velasco had grown.

Velasco’s contributions to Oswego are giant now, doing double duty.

Doubling as a defensive back and receiver, Velasco has helped key Oswego’s 2-0 start. He caught a touchdown pass from Drew Kleinhans in Week 1, and his pick-six on the second play last Friday sparked an eye-opening 35-6 win over Geneva.

“It’s been great. I love playing both ways,” Velasco said. “I’m glad coaches gave me that chance, that they believe in me.”

Scoring touchdowns is nothing new to Velasco, a running back his freshman and sophomore years. He played linebacker growing up, and wanted to freshman year but was too small.

Velasco’s never been afraid to throw himself into contact.

“Regardless of size, he’s all over the place, putting his nose in where it doesn’t belong,” Cooney said with a laugh. “Week 2 last year against Joliet Catholic we thought he could play some hard edges. He really impressed the coaches with his willingness to go in as needed. He’s got his own style, more confidence this year.”

Velasco was a dependable part of the secondary last year for a stellar Oswego defense. Velasco, 6-foot and 180 pounds, was fourth on the team in tackles with 46, 30 of them solos. He also had three interceptions and deflected a team-high six passes.

He didn’t play much if any offense, but over the summer he was split 50/50 between offense and defense. He had four receptions last Friday in addition to his big interception.

“It’s been different. Had to get my conditioning up, not having a break,” said Velasco, who is leaning toward football for college and holds an offer from Northern Michigan. “I love to play with toughness, love to get in there and hit. I have always played with that mentality.”

Despite graduating the vast majority of its starters off a 10-1 team, Oswego hasn’t missed a beat thus far this season.

“We have always been known for that culture and we want to continue that,” Velasco said. “We have a good group of guys, a good chemistry. Everybody is putting in the work.”

Oswego East O-line getting it done

Oswego East senior Jasiah Watson had the game of his young life last Friday, a career-high 208 yards and two TDs on 31 carries.

Watson could thank his yards after contact with several broken tackles in the 24-7 win at Willowbrook.

Salute the boys up front, too.

The offensive line, right to left, of Rocco Lacalamita, Anthony Thornley, Zane Hotchkiss, Connor Griffin and Jeremiah Smith is a big reason for Oswego East’s 2-0 start.

Lacalamita and Griffin are the two-year starters in the group. Added to that mix are H-backs Derek McComb and Connor Konken.

“It’s a group of guys that have come together, taken to coaching, worked hard, guys that worked in the offseason. They are a group that lifted together constantly in the offseason going back to January,” Oswego East coach Tyson LeBlanc said. “The hard work has paid off.”

They’ve also bought into the coaching. Veteran coach Paul Parpet and Oswego East alum Kyle Eberly are additions to the staff.

“With the experience of Parpet and the resume of Ebs – his name is up in the weight room as the strongest kid in the program," LeBlanc said. “They have bought into the coaching.”

Yorkville ‘D’ stingy as ever

If it’s one thing Yorkville can typically hang its hat on, it’s playing sound defense.

Two games in, no different this year.

The Foxes (2-0) in both of their games have limited their opponent to one first-half score, giving their offense room to go out and win games in the second half.

“We’ve just been opportunistic, bend but don’t break,” Yorkville coach Dan McGuire said. “Don’t think they’ve been perfect, but buckled down when they needed to.”

Senior linebacker Caleb Viscogliosi has been Yorkville’s leading tackler in both games, 21 on the season.

“Caleb, first of all, is extremely intelligent, very cerebral in everything he does,” McGuire said. “Everything he does, he does it for a purpose. He got experience last year, got more physical. He has good speed and athleticism. A combination of athleticism and intelligence.”

Up front, junior James Sapp Jr. is at 11 tackles through two games and had a key stop in the third quarter last Friday that set up Jack Beetham’s 71-yard TD pass to Joel Castillo.

“He has really high potential,” McGuire said. “His size and athleticism is pretty special as a defensive tackle. He is tough to block and he is getting better and better. His athleticism and speed is something you can’t coach.”

Sandwich set to host 114th ‘War on 34′ game

Jason VanPelt has participated in the Plano-Sandwich “War on 34″ game as a player, and as an assistant coach.

On Friday, he will for the first time as Sandwich’s head coach in the 114th edition of the rivalry dating back to 1897.

Sandwich holds a 57-52 edge with four ties.

So VanPelt understands the game’s meaning. But he also keeps it in perspective.

“What it means is it’s bragging rights in the rivalry for a year. Other than that, it’s one of nine games,” VanPelt said. “Guys know each other, they’ve played against each other, maybe played basketball together in a league, played with them before.

“It’s one of nine, but it means more being the town next to us. It’s always a rivalry. A lot of players that played are now friends, but that’s after high school. During the game in high school, not so friendly.”

Both teams come in 0-2, Sandwich for the second straight year – although last year the Indians recovered to make the playoffs.

Sandwich comes in off a tough 49-6 loss at Wilmington.

“They were very good. They are very disciplined on defense, very strong physically, play hard,” VanPelt said. “That being said, proud of our guys. We were playing hard with them. We had 21 kids dress on Friday night, those guys were playing offense, defense and special teams. I thought our guys fought hard. We got better playing those guys.”

Plano seeks perfect 10

Plano talks about stringing together 10 perfect plays. Practice Mondays and Tuesdays the Reapers build up the 10 plays they believe will be the best. A big session Thursdays is sharpening those plays.

“It’s something we preach and practice,” Plano coach Kyle Tutt said.

Plano is far from perfect through two weeks, which Tutt knows. But he’s seen progress.

The Reapers were pushed around in a Week 1 loss to Ottawa, but hung in there last Friday in a 28-14 setback to Manteno. Plano only trailed by a score into the second half, and was out-gained by a mere 44 yards.

“I thought we made some great strides,” Tutt said. “We like a lot of things we’re building. We’re not stringing enough plays together. But they did a nice job competing.”

Tutt, set to coach his second Plano-Sandwich rivalry game, need not worry about his kids competing Friday.

“When you go into a rivalry game you have to throw stats, what has happened the last two weeks, out the window,” Tutt said. “It’s how disciplined you can play, how will you execute when emotions are high and families are coming from everywhere. It is trying to stay focused, having some really good practices and being able to execute.”