By Patrick McGavin-Photos by Kathy Jones
**Additional Photos are available for purchase at justallsports.zenfolio.com/2022pione
Momentum is often the hardest part of the game to influence or shape. You either have it, or you don’t.
It is hard to recover from once it slips from your grasp.
The Junior Varsity of the Orland Park Pioneers had control throughout the first half of their season opener. The team ran 27 plays from scrimmage to the six plays run by the Homer Stallions. The problem was the Pioneers could not convert their two most significant first half possessions into actual points.
“We were getting four or five yards a carry, and our runners were doing well,” running back Mason Marable said.
That failure to score would come back and haunt the Pioneers. The Junior Varsity suffered a heartbreaking 6-0 loss against the Stallions in a River Valley Youth Football League game at Sandburg High School on Sunday, August 29.
“We have to learn how to step it up and become more of leaders, especially those players like myself who are now playing their second year at this level,” Marable said. “We are playing against bigger and faster players, and we have to make that adjustment.”
The Junior Varsity is a team of many compelling pieces and parts. Marable is flashy, explosive and dynamic in space with the ball. Vincent Annel is his counterpart. The two are like lightning and thunder. Marable is the explosive one who has the necessary size to also move between the tackles.
Annel is shifty and elusive, blessed with excellent vision and a feel for the game and how to make cuts or tacklers miss him.
“I love juking and being shifty,” Annel said.
Marable busted runs of six yards apiece on his first two carries. He later had a personal best on the day off 11 yards. Annel was just as effective, in a different manner. He ran more between the tackles, flashing balance and nerves.
“I thought we did okay with our offense,” Annel said. “I think we need to hold our blocks and do a better job blocking. We were letting too many people get through into the backfield.”
A converted running back, Samuel Basiorka is the new quarterback. He is still getting his feet underneath him.
“I was a little nervous out there today with my first start,” Basiorka said. “I am used to being a running back. I just had to focus on doing my job.”
The Pioneers reached the Stallions’ 32-yard line on the opening possession until Basiorka was sacked, effectively ending the drive. A 22-yard punt return by Annel set up the Pioneers on their second possession.
Like the first drive, the team mixed different runs, utilizing the combination of Marable’s size and speed to get to the edge, and the movement of Annel to get inside.
“We didn’t pass that much, but our running backs were good,” Marable said. “We found a way to make it work.”
The Pioneers were just missing that one vital last piece of the equation. The team did everything well in the interim.
The finishing touch was absent.
Like their opening possession, the Pioneers strung together a 12-play drive only to be undone by missed connections in the passing game once the Stallions’ defense tightened up.
“It’s only week 1, and we just need to condition better, and be in better shape, and get ready for our next game,” Annel said. “We have to be able to run harder, and run the ball better than what we showed today.”
The Pioneers had one last chance before halftime, again set up by a crafty punt return by Annel. He alertly caught the punt on the fly in reaching the Stallions’ 18-yard line.
Just over four seconds remained, allowing for one last play of the first half. Basiorka’s pass into the end zone was just high.
In retrospect, that was the closest the Pioneers came to the end zone.
The Stallions flipped the switch at the start of the third quarter. They did not devastate or knock out the Pioneers. They simply created just enough offense and consistency to throw the Pioneers off balance.
“By halftime, we got tired,” Jack Bullington said. “A lot of guys play both ways, and we’re on the field a lot. Little by little, they were able to move the ball. They were just going three or four yards every time, and we couldn’t stop them.”
The Pioneers’ offense never saw the field in the third quarter. Homer conducted a 12-minute drive that extended into the fourth quarter.
Fatigue played a factor.
“It felt like by the end of the drive, we got really tired,” Bullington said. “I feel like we condition well and we work really hard in practice. We just didn’t have it today.”
By the end, the Pioneers could not come up with the necessary stop.
“They kept chipping away, and picking up first downs,” Ayden Toth said. “They just went little by little.”
That was the most frustrating part. The Stallions did not break any big plays or make long runs.
“I think we have to get into better condition,” Marable said. “Pretty much everybody, myself included, was pretty tired by the fourth quarter.”
The offense is always playing catchup with the defense at the start of the season. The Home game was no different.
The Pioneers had two final possessions after they went down a touchdown. Annel and Marable alternated seven yard runs. Unfortunately for their cause, the Pioneers lacked the big play at their own end.
Getting the ball one last time with 1:18 remaining, the Pioneers looked for a late rally. It never materialized.
The focus going forward is diversifying the attack and making the vertical attack as skilled as the ground game. The offense is a work in progress.
“When we get down, we need to execute better with our blocking,” Bullington said. “We also have to work on finishing plays.”
The Fifth Quarter featured developing and new players a chance to play in the scrimmage.
Despite the disappointing 6-0 result, the Junior Varsity received strong play from its talented ensemble. Other players who played with passion and conviction were Ryan Beeler, Colin Kluever, Thomas Elliott, Ethan Vinson, Colin McElligott, Kyle Krokos, Ashton Brennan, Caden Votteler, Overmyer, Wyatt Heinze, Ayden Toth, Henry Byrne, Joshua Montell, Christian Czerwonka, Matthew Bullington, Dominic Gigliotti, Kyree Gills, Layth Zughayer, Nichols Davis, Ryan Almasri, Ameen Rayan, Alex Kantzavelos, Eli Citlau, Terrin Lovitt, Nicholas Baniewicz, Nolan Burns, Jude Doftert, Luke O’Reilly, Mark Grech-Lisula, Santino Marrella, Nathan Owei, William Reilly, Jacob Oberman, Andrew Wojtanowicz, Dominic Rizza, Joey Driscoll, Nick Shamma, Michael Sraga, John Curran and Brady Straka.
The cheerleaders also brought a passion and style to the game with their routines and excitement. The group featured Alyssa Abed, Lily Carroll, Issabela Enriquez, Erica Gonsowski, Madeleine Heinz, Layla Jeffries, Madalyn Marable, Hailey McDonald, Liliana Minard, Lucy Moran, Avery Nugent, Maeve O’Connor, Paige Pomonis, Arianna Ramadani, Taylor Ruisz, Jordyn Shamma and Klaudia Willis.
