After a season full of tricks, the ILS football team earned a treat on Halloween when they defeated Citi Christian 35-0 on Senior Night.

Led by a group of 10 seniors, the ILS varsity football team dominated their final opponent of the 2019 season. Their opponent, Citi Christian Academy, wasn’t supposed to be their senior night foe.

Their original opponent, Scheck Hillel Community School, forfeited the contest earlier this week because they were down to nine healthy players on their roster. This led ILS AD Nick Fernandez to reach out to local schools in order to find the team an opponent. Enter Citi Christian Academy.

The Royal Lions jumped out to an earn 7-0 lead against the Fire after a touchdown run by senior running back Jacques Calixte. Senior quarterback Francis Coronado, returning from a shoulder injury for his final game, found senior wide receiver Zachary Barrios on a slant for the second touchdown of the game. Barrios beat the defensive back to the inside of the field and took the short pass 15 yards for the score.

From there, the ILS defense locked down the Citi Christian offense. The Fire struggled to move the ball throughout the first half thanks to the active play from the Royal Lions defenders. Even when Citi Christian found a little space to move the ball up the field, the bend-don’t-break nature of the ILS defense prevented them from scoring at all.

Overall, the seniors played very well throughout the night. Coronado returned from injury to play in his final game and performed well. He finished with 167 yards and two touchdowns, completing seven of his 12 pass attempts. Coronado also rushed the ball twice for nine yards.

Barrios finished his season with a pair of touchdown in his final home game of the season. Both of his receptions went for touchdowns on Senior Night. Barrios finished the season as the team’s leading receiver in every category, most receptions (26), most yards (365) and most touchdowns (5).

Senior Andy Abreu was an active part of the offense as well. Abreu made a pair of catches for 11 yards, and ran the ball twice for 13 yards and a touchdown.

Senior Jacques Calixte lead the team with four rushing attempts and finished with a team-high 35 yards on the ground. Sophomore Jude Servius carted the ball twice for six yards and a touchdown. Freshman Sharrod Miley had three carries for 16 yards.

Junior wide receiver Kiondre Glinton team the team with three receptions and registered 18 yards. Freshman Demetrius Johnson made a huge play with a 65-yard catch.

The stout defense prevented Citi Christian from finding any footing throughout the game. The 35-0 victory stands as the defense’s third shut out of an opponent this season. The defense was led by seniors Lafonzo Ruffin and Dominique Vidal.

All of the seniors were honored at a halftime ceremony on the field. Their parents escorted each of them through the tunnel one last time as the P.A. announcer told the crowd where the players were interested in attending college. Among those seniors honored at halftime were Abreu, Barrios, Calixte, Coronado, Ruffin and Vidal, as well as kicker Marcello Aedo, injured running back Deondre Dozier, defensive back Gianluca Conci, and lineman Francisco Quintero.