By Ed Muniz-Photos by Jenn-Anne Gledhill
** Additional Photos are Available for Purchase at https://justallsports.zenfolio.com/p175250712 **
The Orland Park Pioneers Football and Cheer organization opened their 47th season hosting four games on the docket.
Sandburg High School was the site, as the River Valley Youth Football League participants would clash with the Mount Greenwood Colts.
Opening up their play under new leadership, the Pioneers were looking to continue their winning ways.
Last season the Pioneers traveled to Brother Rice, the Colts home field, and won both games.
This year, the Colts paid a visit to the Pioneers and would leave winning three of the four games spoiling a promising debut for the new leadership.
The Super Lightweights would open the four-game set. For coach Pat Richardson, this would be a game of discovery with so many new players participating in their first game.
Unfortunately, the lack of experience and the talents of Colts’ runningback’ Cade Gutkowski, would doom them as they fell to the visitors 27-12.
Offensively, the Pioneers featured a talented runningback of their own in Michael O’Connor, but he struggled to get going as his speed was matched by several of the Colt defenders.
The Pioneers did move the ball around the edges but running inside was very limited. Quarterback Jason Erwin did all he could to lead his team, but he too was limited, occasionally gaining yards on keepers to the edge.
The Pioneers opened the game offensively but were thwarted on their three running plays and were forced to punt from their own 8-yard-line. It didn’t help that they also were moved back due to a penalty.
It took the Colts just one play to take the lead, scoring on a 15-yard blast up the middle. After the one-point conversion, the Colts led 7-0 early.
The Pioneers responded with a nine-play-drive behind the running of O’Connor, Dominic Sopha and Erwin, with Erwin gaining 25-yards on one run. Unfortunately, the Pioneers drive stalled after O’Connor ran for 9-yards and were unable to get a yard on three tries to continue their surge.
The Colts would control the ball the remainder of the second quarter, but a stout Pioneer defense gave some yards but held the Colts scoreless heading into half time.
Strong tackling by Ellis Hubbard, who provided four stops of his own, Adam Krokos, Chris Medina Jr. and O’Connor kept it a one score game.
The second half saw much more scoring, it was a contrast of how the teams would score. For the Colts, they didn’t have the ball much offensively, yet scored three touchdowns while the Pioneers would maintain much of the clock offensively but scored just twice.
After O’Connor grabbed a tackle to open the second half, the Colts again score on a long run up the middle and upped their lead to 14-0 after converted the extra-point.
O’Connor, Sopha and Erwin would use their running abilities enroute to scoring the Pioneers first touchdown of the season. O’Connor would streak 21-yards around right-end for the touchdown on the six-play drive, cutting the lead to 14-6.
Immediately after the Pioneers initial touchdown, the Colts countered right back scoring their third touchdown when Gutkowski to a handoff and busted through the middle for the 50-yard score and regaining the 14-point lead at 20-6.
The Pioneers were working hard to score while the Colts were using the big play to cross the endzone.
Entering the final stanza, the Pioneers were in the middle of their second drive of the half that began at their own 30-yard-line.
Erwin and O’Connor were doing most of the rushing now with an occasional Sopha try as they moved the ball towards the endzone, culminating with O’Connor scoring his second touchdown from 11-yards out. The Pioneers closed the gap to 20-12.
O’Connor has the speed and the power to gain big yards on every touch and if he gets to the edge, he is difficult to catch.
“I’m getting the ball more this year, we got new running backs and it’s kinda hard for them to block because it’s their first year,” said O’Connor. “I could have been better today by running and tackling better. Its alright if they expect me to do a lot but I am a little tired. We need to block, tackle and get more yards. We made some mistakes on defense and sometimes we ran into each other.
Like previously, the Colts immediately responded to the Pioneer score with a one-play drive as Gutkowski again ran up the middle 55-yards for the Colts fourth score and a 27-12 lead.
The Pioneers were playing catch-up all day and couldn’t cut int the deficit enough and make stops to have a chance at a comeback.
In Fifth Quarter action, several Pioneers stood out. Quarterbacks Gavin Garrity and Brooks Foster showed the ability to lead and produce positive yards offensively. Foster reeled off a 51-yard run that led all rushers.
“I was playing Quarterback and kinda got tripped up, so I faked to the runningback and pulled it in and took off around the other way,” said Foster of his long run. “It’s my first year so I had a smile on my face, I thought I was gonna score, but got tripped up right before it. I just think as a team it was our first game and we have to get used to it, we will be better, you’ll see.”
Defensively, the Pioneers gave up a lone score and saw aggressive play from several defenders. Ellis Hubbard was tops among them, coming away with several tackles on his own and becoming a pest in the Colts backfield.
“They didn’t have anyone on me a lot of the time so it was easy getting in there quick and so I made the tackle a lot. Sometimes there was a really tall guy in front of me, so it was hard to make a tackle,” said the Defensive star.
“I like defense a lot because I don’t have to memorize the plays on offense. I like that. I think I should wrap more when I’m tackling so they don’t get away from me but some of those guys were really fast.”
Also giving their all on the offensive and defensive sides were Taylan Morandi, Arthur Slabenak, Luke Bosack, Dominic Gabriele, Jackson Biskup, Peyton Barbee, Anthony LaPapa, Aaron Mccarthy, Sean Kikilas, Shane Sternberg, Vito Cangelosi, CJ Hufford, Tyler Wilke, Zak Jaber, Thomas Richardson, Keith Piekarz, Logan Cohen, Alex Kopec, Jonathan Mizera, Moody Jaber, Arun Mallavarapu and Nathan Abbs.
Others also contributing to the Pioneer efforts were Jack Dubois, Zach Ballouta, Wyatt Kipper, Seth Cobbs, Jaweed Abuzir, Dean Kassem, Laith Hammami, Blake Nance, Jimmy Elsberg, Jordy Kolodziej and Dominic Maurella.
“I think we have to work on some stuff; our line positioning wasn’t the best, but the good thing is that everybody fought hard throughout the game,” said Coach Richardson. “Those guys were big, and our guys were green, man. We got a learning curve and we’re a work in progress.”
“We hesitated some today and they had to big plays then, we weren’t exploding off the ball and that’s on me. We’re going to be coaching better. All in All, I thought we fought hard and we’re gonna get better everywhere.”
The Sideline were quite active throughout the game as fans were entertained by the Super Lightweight Pioneer Cheerleaders. Showing the team spirit were Lea Barbee, Charlotte Dorigan, Anderson Foster, Alaina Holoubek, Clarke Jones, Callie Juarez-Radovanovic, Gianna Kipper, Grace Kvelland, Mia Mizera, Grace Poore, Elena Schmaling and Scarlett Sternberg
The Pioneers will face the Blitz at St. Rita next Sunday with hopes of evening out their season.
