By Bobby Narang- Photos by Laura Stubbs
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Orland Park – Luck was on the side of the Orland Park Pioneers’ Lightweights on Sunday. Normally, the Pioneers are the second of four games for the program on weekends.
Not on Sunday, September 22.
And that was great news for everyone involved, from the players to the coaches and the fans at Carl Sandburg High School.
The Pioneers kicked off the fifth quarter game at 10 a.m. against the Homer Glen Stallions. Due to a scheduling quirk, the Lightweight team, of Orland Park, were the only program team to not play New Lenox on Sunday.
So, luck was on their side, but the best news was the weather. The first game of the slate included very little rain – unlike the next three games.
The Pioneers took advantage of their good fortune, scoring early in the game to cruise to a 27-0 victory over Homer Glen on Sunday morning. The Pioneers were smiling after the game, which helped wipe away any left-over residue from the previous weekend’s four overtime defeat to HF United.
“The defense is playing really good and lining up where we need them to be,” Coach Al Krokos said. “At this level, it’s all about having the numbers and trying to take advantage. If our defense lines up the right way and we’re even against them, I’ll take our chances against any other team. Today was a complete game, from offense, defense, special teams and the fifth quarter. We will be tough to handle when we play like that.”
Krokos said his entire team came into the day with good spirits, high energy and a strong focus that helped them score points in bunches, play stout defense and solid on special teams. His son, quarterback Luke Krokos, led the charge on offense by completing his first three passes to finish 3-for-4 with 75 yards and two TD passes. The offensive line was an big part of the win, blowing up holes and helping to keep their quarterback’s jersey clean throughout the game with a strong and unified effort.
“Our quarterback did not get touched and we had running lanes all day,” Al Krokos said. “It all starts with communication with the offensive line and they did a wonderful job all day communicating. He had high percentage throws. Cole Baldridge made a nice play in the end zone to get the first touchdown. Carter Erwin made a nice play and Jase Enstrom made a nice individual effort.”
Luke Krokos opened up the scoring with a 13-yard touchdown pass to Cole Baldridge for an 8-0 lead with 3:51 left in the first quarter.
“I knew the play was coming, so I rolled out really fast and dodged a tackle and lobbed it right up and he made a great catch,” Krokos said of his first TD. “It felt really good to complete my passes today. It felt really good to score a lot because we worked really hard in practice and had several really good scores.”
Baldridge said he was happy to be a key contributor again for the offense, giving credit to his quarterback for finding him on the nifty TD pass.
“I just ran my routes and looked for the pass and was able to catch the touchdown,” Baldridge said. “This year I’ve bene getting a lot of passes thrown to me. I’ve been learning how to play wide receiver.
Krokos came right back and scored on a 1-yarder up the middle for a 14-0 lead. He added another TD pass, this time to Jase Enstrom, a rollout where he found his speedy receiver who managed to avoid the sidelines to score on a 45-yard for a 21-0 lead. Carter Erwin added the final touchdown with a 1-yard plunge.
The Pioneers played several reserves on both sides of the ball in the second half, including in a key fourth quarter stand to keep their shutout. Tyler Wilkie was one of the heroes in the game due to his touchdown-saving tackle late in the final quarter to preserve the shutout, earning him special accolades in the postgame from the coaching staff.
“It felt really good,” Wilkie said of the recognition from his teammates and the coaching staff. “It was the first or second tackle for me of the game. I did not want to score. The chain feels really good and I have to keep working hard.”
Carter Erwin earned praise from the coaching staff for his unselfish play and being a huge part of the victory on offense and defense.
“We all played really good,” Erwin said. “I’m starting myself to finally get acclimated to going up and running against the bigger guys.”
Jackson Biskup was a stellar player in the fifth quarter game, helping raise the level of his play for his teammates.
“I only got one run, but I ran the hardest I could,” Biskup said. “I saw the hole and they tried to tackle me.”
In Fifth Quarter play, The Pioneers saw outstanding play by several players. Topping the list were defensive lineman James Okrasinski. In one series of plays, he managed to come up with four tackles out of five plays. On the flip side, offensive play by Vito Cangelosi and Keith Piekarz led the offense. Cangelosi was stellar in lead blocking for his backfield teammates while Piekarz picked up several yards on his rushes.
The Pioneers’ football team included Gunner McCarthy, Keith Piekarz, Thomas Sutter, Joey Zotto, Will Poore, Luke Krokos, Cole Baldridge, Bennett Brown, Jackson Biskup, Ryan Lukas, Jase Enstrom, Vito Cangelosi, Carter Erwin, Mike O’Connor, Lucca Morandi, Jason Erwin, Noah Cordoba, Christopher Medina, Jr., Andrew Richardson, Brooks Foster, Tyler Wilkie, Caden Kolodziej, Anthony LaPapa, Christian Paulson, Blake Nance, Scott Gumienny, Laith Hammami, Cody Godlewski, Dominic Gabriele, Nick Pomonis, Yousef Yasin, Samuel Horeluk, James Okrasinski, Dominic Lach, Collin Valan, Bradley Patterson, Jimmy Elsberg, Connor Kvelland, Michael Ordman, Michael Galivan, Jude Morrar, Rayder Slabenak, Owen Garrity and Adam Krokos.
The Orland Park Pioneers’ Lightweight cheerleaders earned a big applause before their halftime performance due to their recent success earning a trip to state. The cheerleading team thrilled the mainly dry crowd with a stellar routine. The team includes Alexandra Burda, Morgan Collins, Madison Davis, Nora Dorigan, Emma Evans, Chloe Gaj, Kaylee Gaj, Lila Gavin, Madison Hedger, Quinn Heinze, Ava Janota, Margot Joda, Vera Joda, Adaline Johnson, Ella Kluever, Gemma Laniosz, Brielle Lenzen, Brooklyn Loman, Molly McGeever, Aaliyah Medina, Sophia Molina, Ainsley Moore, Annette Mullaney, Kayleigh Mullins, Emily Okrasinski, Kara O’Meara, Ayya Ramadani, Selena Rios, Sydney Scharpf, Avery Seliga, Maeve Smith, Addison Storrs, Peyton Tomasik, Molly Utz and Alivia Zawada.
