Win or lose, it's Drew
'Other' Tondini prepared to lead Morris' 5-2 defense once again
The public-address announcer at the University of Illinois' Memorial Stadium practically lost his voice in the Class 5A state championship game last November, all because of Morris High School's Drew Tondini.
In the manner of Picasso chiseling the final strand of mosaic on a sculpture, the then-junior inside linebacker put the finishing touches on a 167-tackle, 120-solo season, stockpiling 17 tackles on the strength of 8 solos and 9 assists during a 17-14 loss to Metamora.
Included in that dominant mix for Tondini was a 2-yard tackle for loss from the middle of the Redskins' resilient 5-2 defense. Although Metamora rallied from a 14-7 deficit through three quarters with a 10-point fourth, many of the afternoon's highlights could be summed up by those sounds.
Tackle ... Tondini.
Tackle ... Tondini.
Tackle ... Tondini.
"I was prepared for it," Tondini said nine months later as Morris prepares for Friday night's 7:30 opener on the road at Bishop McNamara. "It seems like we almost had two weeks to prepare for that game, we had our scout team running basically their entire offense and I was ready for it.
"It wasn't the first time that has happened, where you have a good feel for the other offense, you have a better view of everything and you kind of know how you're going to be making a lot of tackles, but it was probably the best time."
After an 0-2 start last year, Morris (11-3) managed one of the best rebounds in the football program's illustrious history, winning seven straight conference games for the Southwest Prairie title and running the string to 11 overall with four consecutive playoff wins.
Before the Metamora setback, the Redskins ousted Burlington Central 41-12 and previous nemesis Rochelle 21-7. The 'Skins survived both Belvidere 32-27 and Woodstock Marian 10-9, setting up the second state title game in three years under cult-of-personality coach George Dergo.
Afterward, Dergo shared the praise reporters showered on Adam Tondini, Drew's twin brother and Morris' pile-driving tailback. While Adam finished the fall with 1,316 rushing yards on 184 carries with 13 touchdowns, plus 21 catches for 287 yards and 3 TDs, Dergo dished credit to the defense.
And win or lose, it's Drew.
"I'll tell you what, defense wins championships," said Dergo, who's blessed with an excellent coordinator in Andy Peterson. "Our defense put us in a position to win every game, except the Belvidere game where they were running up and down the field and we were running up and down the field. But if defense wins championships, you're looking at Drew Tondini as the heart and soul."
"He's a good linebacker because he's always around the ball," said Adam Tondini, who plans on moving from cornerback to weak safety. "When there's a tackle, he's either the one making it or he's coming in to clean it up. He's always there."
Yep, death, taxes and Drew Tondini. Count on that trio as a constant. Vouching for Tondini's payoff were defensive end Tim Sereno, who stifled Metamora's outside efforts with 3 tackles, and corner Matt Hussey, who complemented 4 tackles with an interception.
"It's really important to have a guy like Drew because he cleans up everything," Sereno said. "The linemen up front can't do everything. We're cutting people and doing different things to help him do his job, and we can rely on him, too."
"He's great at reading offenses," said Hussey, who's slated to be Morris' quarterback this season. "He can see what the play is going to be right off the bat. He has been playing football all of his life, so he has been around it and he knows what's going in. Obviously, he's a big boy, can make the tackles, and nobody's going to run him over."
Doing most of the running over for Morris a year ago was Adam Tondini. As a result, Drew Tondini toiled in relative obscurity, surprisingly even after a 26-tackle performance against Rochelle. No joke. If Rodney Dangerfield's son played middle linebacker, his name would be Drew Tondini.
Respect, Dergo guaranteed, will come in his senior season. The 6-foot, 230-pound Tondini will take a to-be-determined amount of snaps at fullback, and as Dergo confirmed, "an offensive guy scoring touchdowns overshadows the guy making all the tackles. Without those tackles, though, it's hard to get into the end zone."
And hard hitting, it's Drew.
"Yeah, he did get overshadowed a bit, but he had a great year," Adam said. "But he just plays football. He doesn't need all the publicity. He just plays tough, tackles tough, because that's what he loves to do."
"Sometimes, you think it's not fair because it's always about the offense and the touchdowns," Drew admitted. "I've always felt that because Adam's on offense, he gets looked at a little more, but oh well. I know I still had a pretty good season and I plan on doing the same thing this year."
A similar tackle-laden output in 2008 will improve Tondini's status on the radar of interested colleges like Northern Illinois and Eastern Illinois. As the Redskins begin against Bishop Mac, Driscoll and Minooka, however, Tondini's focus goes to another spotlight.
Win ... Morris.
Win ... Morris.
Win ... Morris.
"He's a true Redskin, cut right out of the cloth of the best defensive guys' mold you've ever seen here," Dergo said. "You go over the names of linebackers like Keith Anderson, Ed Brady, Mike Nelson, Craig Olson, Ben Price, Josh Tischer -- I guarantee you Drew Tondini's there. He might not be as big, he might not be as fast, but as a football player, he's not taking a backseat to any of them."
e-mail: bscheibe@scn1.com
