City High-West rivalry will feature pair of talented No. 10s

IOWA CITY - One of them is a streak down the sideline, outracing defenders until he's halted by the end line where he either lets fly with a cross or recalculates and begins a surreptitious rear-guard action.

The other is a spinning, whirling point guard dribbling through defenders as if they were standing still. Head up and focused, he sees all the possibilities and at the last moment selects the shot or the pass that will cause maximum harm to the opponent.

Senior midfielders Gaby Baloci and Antonio Sanchez aren't the leading scorers for Iowa City High and Iowa City West, respectively, but they are the fire-starters. Their skills are comparable and their roles similar, but they are different kinds of players at this stage of their development.

The two will lead their teams into the annual grudge match Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. at City High.

Baloci, who grew up in the Congo playing street ball, is more of a raw talent. His speed with the ball sets him apart as he develops more technical and tactical awareness.

'He brings that little spark that sometimes you need to break a team down when things are getting ugly,” City High Coach Jose Fajardo said. 'The player that may be fantastic passing the ball, switching the point of attack is fine, but he cannot break that last line. But here is a player who can break that.”

But he's not just a speed guy. He has the grit, commitment and work ethic to handle much bigger, stronger players.

Sanchez, on the other hand, has played soccer since he was 3 and has been part of the ODP program since he was 12. He developed his skills on his own after school and through the ISC. West Coach Brad Stiles loves his versatility.

'I'd call him an attacking specialist that knows how to defend,” Stiles said. 'He defends by example with effort, but he's also able obviously to beat players on the dribble and get scoring chances and create them and hopefully finish them off.”

As skillful as they are, neither is a top scorer. Baloci has two goals and five assists. Indicative of his skill at creating and his need to work on the finer points of finishing, Baloci leads the team in shots taken but has the poorest shooting percentage.

'My role on the team is to take care of the forwards,” Baloci said. 'I'm not for scoring this year. My big role is to distribute the ball.”

Sanchez has three goals and three assists.

'I feel like I'm more of a team player and I have the ability to dribble by people and use my speed and skill, but I feel like I'm more of a playmaker,” Sanchez said.

Scoring or not they both create magic on the pitch where their creativity and vision combines with their ball-handling skills to mesmerize defenders and spectators alike.