By Bobby Narang- Photos by Lauren Gray
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TINLEY PARK – Coaches love to preach that practice makes perfect.
It’s a trite and old saying that’s been passed on for generations to push players to work hard and to seek perfection.
However, it rarely ever occurs in sports.
But it nearly happened on Wednesday night, on the thick and plush grass football field, at Fulton School in Tinley Park.
The River Valley Youth Football League playoffs featured Homewood-Flossmoor United taking on the Orland Park Pioneers in the Super Lightweights Division in the Wednesday Night Football League. With the winner slated to advance to the Super Bowl on Wednesday, Oct. 16, the Pioneers picked an ideal time to play a near flawless game thanks to a perfect game plan designed by coach Pat Richardson and his staff.
The Pioneers executed their game plan on both sides of the ball, handling several aspects of the game in ideal fashion to play one of their best games of the season.
Thanks to the solid work on offense and defense, a great running effort by Peyton Barbee, a stout defense and good play-calling, the Pioneers recorded a 19-6 victory over H-F United to advance to the Super Bowl.
“It felt amazing,” Barbee said of the win. “I just felt like really good running tonight. It was fun to play against a really good team and beat them. I had good blocking and just felt good early in the game and kept it (going).”
Coach Pat Richardson kept his postgame chat brief with his players, congratulating them on a well-played game and a strong effort that helped them overcome a 6-0 deficit and reel off 19 unanswered points. Richardson said “free football” to his players, in reference to the Super Bowl, and for them to be ready and motivated to take on the host Tinley Park Bulldogs in the Super Bowl.
Richardson said the entire team deserved the various postgame awards due their outstanding effort and teamwork.
Several parents starting chanting “Super Bowl bound” to celebrate the Pioneers’ solid two-way showing against a talented H-F United team. The Pioneers defeated H-F in the final game of the regular season, adding a second victory this season over the vaunted unit. Barbee earned a lot of praise from his teammates and the coaching staff for a stellar job on offense and defense. He paced the offense with 105 yards rushing and two touchdowns.
“They played awesome and worked hard all last week,” Richardson said of his players. “They worked hard yesterday in practice. We shortened up our practice and went quantity over quality. They did exactly what they were supposed to do. They got down but fought back. We didn’t make it to the Super Bowl last year. Most of these guys are in their second year, so they haven’t been to the Super Bowl. This is an awesome experience for them.
“Peyton is fast and has some amazing moves, the ones most kids don’t have. Zach Ballouta is a third-year player and is a grown man playing football. Jordy Kolodziej did great. All of them did great. The discipline for our guys was the difference. We were able to draw them offsides for some critical plays and stayed strong and didn’t let the hard hit or physicalness get to us. It was a great game. We finished and we fought hard. The credit also goes to the other six coaches for getting the kids ready.”
Richardson said his team is peaking at the right time, setting up a fun battle with the Tinley Park Bulldogs in the Super Bowl on Oct. 16th. Richardson said his team is motivated to avenge a regular season defeat to Tinley Park.
“Tinley Park is a good team,” Richardson said. “They’re big and strong and very good. We lost to them earlier this season. It’s our only loss on Wednesday. It’s going to be a dogfight. We’re going to be ready to go. Our kids are going to come out ready to go and fired up, like H-F did in this game.”
Down 6-0, the Pioneers suddenly started to put things together. The Pioneers had a drive to remember, relying on quality clock management to take up 12 plays to gain control of the game and steal the lightning from H-F United’s opening touchdown
Pioneers’ quarterback Thomas Richardson was another player who came up big, plus he did an excellent job managing the offensive game plan. He extended numerous drives with basic sneaks up the middle, highlighted by a 1-yard plunge for a touchdown to cap the 12-play scoring drive to tie the game at 6-6 with 3:03 remaining in the second quarter.
“It felt good to score a touchdown,” Thomas Richardson said of his TD. “It feels good to win this game to go to the Super Bowl. Peyton ran really good. It was special to see him run. I’m very happy and excited.
Soon after, Barbee scored on a 16-yard run late in the quarter to give the Pioneers at 13-6 lead. This time, the Pioneers made quick work with a one-play TD drive instead due to the game nearing halftime with 2:04 left.
Richardson did a great job managing the clock late in the game, helping to keep H-F United’s high-powered offense off the field by taking his time before snapping the ball on numerous plays in the fourth quarter. Richardson stayed in his element by following a simple yet highly effective game plan that revolved around quarterback sneaks to prolong drives, tough inside running by Ballouta and pitches out wide to Barbee.
The Pioneers had so many positives in the game, plus they kept getting more efficient, organized and stronger as the game progressed, while H-F United started having issues with ball control, time management and straying away from giving the ball to their playmakers. During a late fourth-quarter drive, H-F United fumbled the snap three times to hurt any chance for a possible comeback, as the Pioneers’ defensive line was quick to spot the loose ball to get a tackle for a loss.
“It feels great to win,” Pioneers’ offensive and defensive lineman Amari Adigun said. “I loved getting our team getting touchdowns and winning the game.
At the head of the offensive attack was Barbee. With next-level cutback ability, shifty moves and anticipation and patience to wait for holes to open up, Barbee torched H-F United all game long with his running. He finished with a team-high 105 yards rushing, including a key run of 40 yards late in the first half to go with a runs of 10 and 20 yards after halftime.
“Peyton was very, very good at running and did a solid job,” Adigun said. “The line blocked good and everyone helped.”
H-F United came out firing, striking gold on their first play from scrimmage to put a big scare in the Pioneers. H-F United scored on an 85-yard touchdown run by its quarterback to seize a 6-0 lead with 62 seconds left in the first quarter.
But that’s when the Pioneers’ defense buckled down, limiting H-F United offense to small gains or negative yards.
In the fourth quarter, the Pioneers locked up the game by continuing a long drive that featured 10 plays in the third quarter. Orland Park needed five more plays before finding paydirt, when Barbee relied on his patented cutback to shake H-F United’s defense. Barbee weaved his way through a few defenders to score a 6-yard touchdown run on third down to extend the lead to 19-6 with 9:08 left in the game. The long drive showcased the solid blocking of the offensive line to go with the talented stable of backs by the Pioneers.
The 15-play drive was an ideal way to cap a near perfect game, as the Pioneers used nearly 12 minutes of clock time. Ballouta did the brunt of the work, slowly finding gaps in the defense for short gains to keep the chains moving. Barbee had the big play with a 20-yard scamper and Jordy Kolodziej was a key player in the game, adding a 17-yard jaunt to H-F’s 28-yard line. The Pioneers kept the drive alive by converting a key third down and three thanks to a penalty by H-F United on the final play of the third quarter.
Orland Park managed another successful third-down conversion on the 12th play on Ballouta’s 2-yard run. Three plays later, Barbee scored to cap the highlight-reel drive that chewed up valuable possession time and covered 77 yards.
“I felt good running and got really good blocks,” Ballouta said. “I got scratched up but kept going and going and didn’t give up. On defense, I love playing defense. We all played super good.”
H-F United had one last gasp to cut the deficit to one score on its next possession, but Orland Park’s defense shut them down in four plays to take control of the ball again after an unsuccessful fourth-down. Richardson had a crucial play for a loss of three yards when he bulldozed his way past H-F United’s offensive line to get in the backfield on third down.
Orland Park’s Jonathan Mizera did a good job getting a strong push on both sides of the ball.
“The defense was very good,” Mizera said. “We ran fast and hard. The offense did good and we got a lot of touchdowns. This win feels very good.”
The Pioneers closed out the game in typical, workmanlike style, riding out the final three-plus minutes to not let H-F United get the ball back.
“It was a great game by the entire team,” coach Pat Richardson said.
Several Pioneers had a hand in the victory, including JJ Abuzir, Nate Abbs, Taylor Morandi, Moody Jaber, Zakariya Jaber, Luke Bosack, Sean Kikilas, Wyatt Kipper, Xyan Bell, Suhaib Ballouta, Lawson Capps, Martin Groark, Brady Higgins, Alex Kopec, CJ Hufford, Luke Holoubek, Sean Johnson, Bennett Kersten, Vinny LaPapa, Michael and Dominic Maurella, Gavin Garrity, Michael Ramos, Arthur Slabenak, Henry Wade, Paxson Leithleiter, Ian Frost, Jonathan Mizera, Quinn McCarthy, Ammar Abdelmuti, William Jordan, Michael Sweis, Paul Rylan Davies and Luke McDoniel.
