IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Glenbrook South’s Anthony Savino makes a St. Patrick defender miss on the opening kickoff of the game. PHOTOGRAPHY BY GEORGE PFOERTNER
Displaying the speed of a gazelle and the body control of a circus acrobat, Anthony Savino came up with an athletically spellbinding play the other night.
It was … head over heels impressive.
Dance-move perfect.
YouTube worthy.
Roll the tape.
With only a few seconds elapsed in the fourth quarter, Glenbrook South’s Andy Sirakides lifted a lofty left-footed punt toward the St. Patrick end zone.
How lofty?
The ball and the speedy Savino arrived at the St. Patrick one-yard line almost simultaneously.
That wasn’t the hard part.
The hard part for Savino was keeping the ball in play and out of the end zone by leaving his feet, cupping the ball and swatting it back to teammate Ryan O’Hara at the 2½-yard line.
It was an eye-rubbing play.
Often tried.
Rarely successful.
“Just trying to make a play,” said Savino, who made at least three signature plays in Glenbrook South’s 34-21 victory over visiting St. Patrick on Sept. 1. “A once-in-a-lifetime play for me to make.”
“It was unbelievable,” added GBS head coach Dave Schoenwetter, after guiding the Titans to their second straight win of the new season. “Anthony is one of the fastest guys on the team. He does some explosive things. We tell him, ‘hey, go out and be an athlete.’ ”
Downing that punt deep in St. Patrick territory was fairly crucial. The Shamrocks (0-2) trailed 28-14 at that juncture, and they were desperate to turn around the momentum.
Three plays later, St. Patrick had to punt the ball away. And three possessions later, GBS essentially put the game away by scoring its fifth touchdown of the game. They went ahead 34-14 with 3:39 left to play.
But the 6-foot, 160-pound Savino wasn’t quite done. He dazzled again — this time while playing in the defensive backfield — with a little over two minutes left, when he positively and unequivocally blew up a screen pass.
Lined up in a bunch formation on the right side, the Shamrocks tried to ambush Savino by flooding the flat on a first-and-10 call at the GBS 40-yard line.
Savino saw right through it. First, he fended off a block. And then, he bulldozed in and wrapped up St. Patrick receiver Xavier Saldana behind the line of scrimmage for a four-yard loss.
“We worked on defending that play all week,” said Savino. “And so, when I saw them in that formation, it was built into my head that the play was coming.
“I was able to bust through and make a play.”
“A great read by Anthony,” said Schoenwetter. “He showed great timing, great strength.”
Savino’s first mark on this game came on the opening play, when he fielded a kick in stride, turned on the jets and returned it 46 yards to set up Glenbrook South’s first score (a two-yard run by sophomore tailback Andrew Gall).
“That gave us a spark,” said Schoenwetter.
A multi-sport athlete — hockey, lacrosse, soccer and baseball — growing up, Savino has found another gear on the football field.
Doing speed training with TC Boost in the offseason has done just that. It has boosted Savino’s speed — and confidence.
It also has helped to boast his enthusiasm for football.
Junior year basically was a “red-shirt” season for Savino. After playing football as a freshman and sophomore, he decided to hang up his pads.
Well, sort of.
That decision didn’t stick.
After Week Two of the 2016 season, he contacted Schoenwetter and made his way back to the team — and prepared exclusively for his senior season.
“I stopped playing because I had lost interest in the game,” said Savino. “I also saw studies that football was too dangerous. And at that time, I didn’t want to risk it.
“But you can’t think about the risks,” he added. “I thought I might have regrets — if I didn’t come back to play.”
Anthony Savino (No. 2) breaks up a pass during GBS’s win over St. Patrick. PHOTOGRAPHY BY GEORGE PFOERTNER