By Patrick Z McGavin-Photos by Jenn-Anne Gledhill
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ORLAND PARK— A team that only knew one side and one direction suddenly found itself in reverse and left wondering what just happened.
In rampaging through their undefeated season, the Orland Park Pioneers Lightweights showed no mercy by dominating teams with a punishing defense and an opportunistic and skilled offense.
That narrative broke up on the second play of the game after the Pioneers got caught on a 59-yard touchdown pass down.
“That number 2 had a touchdown, and I think it impacted the team and everybody was a little down after that,” defensive lineman Arthur Slabenak said.
“We did everything we could to fight back.”
The Lightweights’ dream of a perfect Super Bowl season ended with the crushing 12-0 defeat against the Frankfort Falcons in the semifinals of the River Valley Youth League football playoffs at Sandburg High School on Sunday, October 26.
The Falcons’ best player went in motion and caught a swing pass in the left flat, and raced down the sideline for the stunning opening sequence.
“I feel like everybody got down after that play, but then our coaches helped us get back up,” quarterback and safety Connor Kvelland said.
The Pioneers appeared poised for a quick response after they took possession at the Falcons’ 40-yard line. Michael O’Connor burst through the hole for a nine-yard run on second down.
That turned out to be the only first down through the first half the Pioneers generated. The Falcons sold out to stop the run, putting up to nine or 10 players in the box.
The Pioneers’ top playmakers of O’Connor, Jason Erwin and Adam Krokos were consistently bottled up in the first half. An illegal formation also set back the opening drive, ending with Erwin being stopped on fourth down.
“The whole season, and the reason we’ve been so successful is that we had a great combination of hard hitters and great playmakers,” Kvelland said.
“They went to our side that had more players, and they overloaded to that side. We still felt confident because we knew we could drive the ball down.”
Entering the game, the first team defense permitted only four touchdowns on the season.
The inspired and aggressive line play of Gunner McCarthy, Ellis Hubbard and Slabenak, and Sean Kikilis off the edge created a pincer attack.
After the shock of the early touchdown wore off, the defense created its own momentum and force that kept the Pioneers down by just a single score.
Erwin, O’Connor and Krokos combined on a couple of stops on the Falcons’ follow up possession. Hubbard’s two-yard sack returned the ball to the Pioneers.
The defense again rose to the occasion after the Pioneers offense was stuck deep in its own end and was forced to punt, giving the Falcons prime field position.
On second and goal, Jackson Biskup broke through to create the quarterback pressure that forced an errant throw that Krokos intercepted on the goal line.
“It was my fault that I let in that touchdown,” Biskup said. “We kept staying in the game after that. We knew it was not over.
“The whole year, we had great leadership. Everybody accepted their roles and played up to their abilities. We had a really good season. I’m going to remember the coaches and the other players.
“They were great.”
The absence of O’Connor from an injury for most of the season created the emergence of Erwin as a dynamic two-way threat. A fast and elusive running back, he scored both touchdowns in the 13-0 victory over Tinley Park last week.
The Pioneers introduced a new wrinkle with Erwin taking snaps at quarterback or working out of the Wildcat. Erwin’s 19-yard halfback option pass to Krokos on the opening drive of the third quarter appeared to signal a breakthrough.
In a moment that symbolized the Pioneers’ plight, Erwin had a wide open Krokos on another option pass that was overthrown. That moment constituted the best scoring chance of the day.
For the first time this season, the Lightweights struggled to generate a consistent offensive attack.
“We couldn’t really move the ball on offense, but we had our coaches and our teammates pump us up in the second half,” Kikilis said. “We felt pretty good. We really wanted to move the ball.
“We wanted it more than them, but we just couldn’t move the ball. If we had one more quarter, we’d probably pull it out.”
Despite a touchdown saving tackle by Hubbard at the start of the fourth quarter, the Falcons punched in their second score on a four-yard touchdown run.
The Pioneers adopted a hurry-up attack and tried to spread the Falcons out. It worked, up to a point. Erwin and O’Connor were bottled up most of the game.
That early deficit proved a cautionary tale, and a forewarning of how the game was going to play out.
“When they scored on the second play of the game, everybody got down and some probably thought we might lose because we haven’t been down very much this season,” Krokos said.
“I thought we might be able to drive down the field.”
The Pioneers never gave up. Krokos underscored the point when he ran from the opposite side of the field to deny a last-minute score by the Falcons.
The ending was bittersweet, but the larger season was one to remember and celebrate.
“I’m going to remember my friends and my coaches and everybody who made it such a great season,” Slabenak said. “We had a lot of good kids who came up from Super Lightweights, and some other good kids who’d been here for two or three years and we had some new people that were also really good.
“We dominated every game.”
In the Fifth Quarter, running back Keith Piekarz was the standout for the Pioneers, continuing a trend from his excellent play on Wednesday Night.
He ripped off a 54-yard touchdown run in the preliminary play.
“We have good coaching, and I’ve worked hard in practice,” Piekarz said. “The blocking was really good. It was an exciting season, and I was happy to get the opportunities, especially with the way I run, breaking tackles and getting touchdowns.”
Despite the 12-0 semifinal loss, the Orland Park Pioneers Lightweights had many standout contributors. They were Jaweed Abuzir, Nate Abbs, Thomas Sutter, Taylan Morandi, Joey Zotto, Will Poore, Luke Bosack, Ryan Lukas, Zachariah Ballouta, Martin Groark, Brady Higgins, Alex Kopec, CJ Hufford, Christopher Medina Jr., Shane Sternberg, Luke Holoubek, Bennett Kersten, Brooks Foster, Michael Patterson, Gavin Garrity, Anthony LaPapa, Paxson Leithleiter, Laith Hammami, Ian Frost, Jonathan Mizera, Dominic Gabriele, Ammar Abdelmuti, William Jordan, Jordy Kolodziej, Jimmy Elsberg, Luke McDoniel, Paul Rylan Davies, Amari Adigun and Dominic Maurella.
The cheerleaders also brought great energy, passion and enthusiasm with their performances. Their members are Lucy Bohanek, Kaitlyn Minick, Alexandra Burda, Mabel Lukasiewicz, Elena Schmaling, Adaline Johnson, Zoey France, Emerson Schweikert, Eleanor Koehn, Stella Bristow, Brooklyn Loman, Eila Richter, Aaliyah Medina, Ava Janota, Molly McGeever, Skylar Shlepakov, Makayla Sotelo, Vera Joda, Kara O’Meara, Sophia Molina, Emily Okrasinski, Ainsley Moore, Maevry Harmatys, Marissa Gumuls, Madison Hedger, Morgan Collins, Aleena Badwan, Scarlett Sternberg, Sadie Griffin, Grace Poore, Kennedy Krokos, Olivia Ally, Liliana Holmes, Morgan Burger, Evelyn Byrne, Lillian Fudala, Alaina Holoubek, Anderson Foster, Selena Rios, Gwendolyn Moffatt, Margaret Moffatt, Evelyn Moffatt, Quinn Heinze, Callie Juarez-Radovanovic, Eloise Sarhage, Jenna Michalczewski and Charlotte Dorigan.
