Washington-McKinley School captured the tenth annual Chicago Heights School District 170 Flag Football Tournament defeating Grant School, in the championship game 36-14.
The Spartans, coached by Mark Pesavento and Nick Kozlowski, went 4-0 during in the tourney and winning every game by a minimum of 21 points.
"Our student-athletes demonstrated great sportsmanship and overcame adversity throughout the tournament, and these are the two things that we emphasize with our student-athletes every year," Pesavento said.
"We knew we had a good team this year with the opportunity to go far in the tournament, but the level of success that we achieved was impressive. It was most satisfying to win the championship this year, and I couldn't be prouder of our student-athletes."
"All of the credit goes to our players. They bought into our philosophy, worked hard throughout the season, and gave everything they had at the district tournament," he concluded.
Kozlowski noted that the team's victory was especially satisfying because the student-athletes excelled at being great students in the classroom and teammates, and athletes on the field during the tournament.
"The athletes played with tenacity, especially on defense, where they took pride in playing hard and shutting-down teams in every game," Kozlowski stated.
"They gave their all, especially in the championship game, and I couldn't be prouder of how they played and brought Spartan pride and ferocity to every minute and every down of every game."
Team members Jimmie Pryor and John Strickland acknowledged the satisfaction that came with winning the title.
"We improved a lot during the season and gave it all we had in the tournament," Strickland said. "We were able to block out negativity and stayed positive even when things got difficult. I am so proud of our team."
"The tournament was a lot of fun. We played hard and pulled together as a team, and I'm glad we won the championship," Pryor added.
The Washington-McKinley Flag Football team was made up of Jonathan Alva, Bryan Contreras, Jose Cortes De Vaca, Robert Council, Julelein Demps, Tony Gardet, Marco Gonzalez, Michael Howard, Taliyah Jones, Isjaya McGee, Jimmie Pryor, Omarion Roberts, John Strickland, Kyshaun Thornton, and Jervontae Walker.