By Bobby Narang- Photos by Laura Stubbs
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FRANKFORT – Two days after Lincoln-Way East’s football team gashed Maine South in an epic battle between two of the top programs in the state, the Orland Park Lightweight Pioneers had a chanced to make their own noise on the same field.
On Friday night, the season opener for high school football, the Griffins rode the strong arm of quarterback Jonas Williams, an Oregon recruit, to thrill the large crowd in a game filled with elite players.
On Sunday afternoon at Lincoln-Way East High School, the Pioneers and the Frankfort Falcons hooked up to make their own memorable highlights.
However, the home team dominated most of the big plays, as Frankfort pulled out a 7-0 victory over the Pioneers on a sunny and delightful afternoon. The Pioneers, who consist of fourth and fifth graders, remained positive in the postgame because of their gritty effort and steely determination displayed by the entire team in the four-quarter battle.
“The defense played well and their speed and our speed was a pretty good matchup,” Krokos said. “We just blinked first. We were on the wrong side of a close game. Two games into the season, the defensive unit is playing pretty strong now. We have to fine-tune a few things on the offensive end, then we will be pretty good.”
The Pioneers opened the game in flashy fashion on a stellar 10-yard run Jase Enstrom, who finished with four carries for 18 yards. Overall, the Pioneers hit a wall on offense against the stingy Falcons’ defense, managing just 19 yards rushing and 15 passing.
Quarterback Luke Krokos made some big plays, tossing a 13-yard completion in the second half to Jason Erwin. The Pioneers’ defense was just as formidable, constantly making outstanding plays to keep the game scoreless through the first three-plus quarters.
Erwin and Mike O’Conner were headline players on defense, joining forces on several tackles in the four-quarter game. Erwin stopped a touchdown after a 29-yard run by the Falcons in the second half. Erwin and O’Connor combined for a tackle on fourth down to end the home team’s drive at the Pioneers’ 27-yard line in the fourth quarter.
“I felt pretty good out there on defense,” Erwin said. “We wanted not to let them get more points, so we had to stop them. We stopped them on fourth downs, which helped us stay in the game.”
O’Connor, a running back and linebacker, said the offense did a good job, but the defense played at a high level. The Falcons’ lone score came off an interception return for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter.
“On defense, we did pretty good and stopped them a lot,” O’Connor said. “They had a fast team and we just had to run hard. The offense for us played pretty good. Our blocking has to get better, but still did pretty good.”
Will Poore, who played tight end and defensive side, said he saw several good things in the defeat that will help the Pioneers.
“The defense played really good today,” Poore said. “We had a few good sacks and fumbles. On offense, we had a lot of runs for a few yards and were pretty good.”
The fifth quarter game was also an exciting one, especially because both teams played with energy and heart to thrill the arriving crowd. Bennett Brown made a nice play on offense on the first play of the game for the Pioneers. Later in the drive, the Pioneers drove down to the Falcons’ 1-yard line to set up the only score of the game. Joey Zotto bulldozed his way into the end zone with a 1-yard TD run for a 7-0 lead with 5:46 left.
In the postgame, Zotto was smiling and straining at the same time because he was awarded the heavy postgame hammer for his play in the fifth-quarter game.
“That touchdown felt really good,” Zotto said. “After the pass to the 1-yard line, they ran me up the middle and I got the touchdown. It was my first touchdown of the season. I was happy how I played in the fifth quarter game.”
On the defensive side, Bradley Patterson notched a tackle for a loss, while Thomas Sutter added a sack. Samuel Horeluk saved the day with a tackle to stop a potential touchdown late in the game.
The entire Pioneers’ team played a role throughout the week and during Sunday’s game. The team consists of Gunner McCarthy, Keith Piekarz, Joey Zotto, Will Poore, Cole Baldridge, Jackson Biskup, Ryan Lukas, Jase Enstrom, Vito Cangelosi, Carter, Jason Erwin, Mike O’Connor, Lucca Morandi, Noah Cordoba, Chris Medina Jr., Andrew Richardson, Brooks Foster, Blake Nance, Laith Hammami, Dominic Gabriele, Nick Pomonis, Yousef Yasin, Samuel Horeluk, James Okrasinski, Dominic Lach, Collin Valan, Jimmy Elsberg, Connor Kvelland, Michael Galivan, Jude Morrar, Rayder Slabenak and Owen Garrity.
Showing their talents along the sidelines and at halftime are the Lightweight Pioneers Cheerleaders, they include 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, Alivia Zawada
