By Patrick Z. McGavin- Photos by Jenn-Anne Gledhill
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ORLAND PARK— A game seemingly fully in their grasp came down to one play for the Junior Varsity of the Orland Park Pioneers.
After an improbable closing sequence, defensive lineman Lucca Morandi knew he had to bring the pressure down on an inexperienced kicker.
“I don’t think they’ve ever practiced a kick before, and I thought we could block it,” he said. “I just knew we had to get pressure up the middle.”
The Junior Varsity preserved the 8-6 Homecoming victory over Homewood-Flossmor United by forcing a short, errant two-point kicking attempt in River Valley Youth Football league play at Sandburg High School on Sunday, September 7.
H-F stunned the Pioneers by scoring on a 13-yard pass with 1.5 seconds remaining.
“They came out and had a big pass there, and they scored on us,” Morandi said.
The difference in the game was the two-point kick by AJ Richardson after the Pioneers scored on a touchdown catch by receiver Anderson Matthews late in the first half.
A first-year player in the program, Matthews was an immediate sensation in the season-opening victory over Mount Greenwood, scoring the first touchdown that day. He was unavailable to play against the Jr Warriors last week in the 20-0 loss. His absence was deeply felt.
“Everybody was at their normal positions this week because we had him back,” quarterback Luke Krokos said. “After last week and coming off a loss, we were really pumped up for this game.”
Matthews was the offensive spark after a very questionable officiating call denied the Pioneers’ first touchdown in the second quarter.
The electric Max Streets-Pruitt returned a punt 67 yards for an apparent touchdown that was nullified by a so-called “blindside block,” even though the Pioneer player was clearly in front of the H-F defender.
Taking over at their own 40-yard line, Krokos and Matthews responded. On first down, Krokos lofted the ball to Matthews down the left edge.
The tall and athletic Matthews gathered the ball for the 36-yard gain, the Pioneers’ longest play from scrimmage.
“When Luke threw it up in the air, I knew I had to try and go get it, because the last thing we want there is an incomplete pass,” Matthews said. “I caught it, and I was thrilled. I’m tall, fast, and I have good hands. I feel really welcome here, and the coaches have done a great job.”
The Pioneers struck paydirt on a gorgeous sequence involving Krokos and Matthews.
“On the touchdown, I wasn’t supposed to roll out, but there was a guy behind me, and I ran,” Krokos said. “I saw the open space, and I knew Anderson was going to get open.”
Forced out of the pocket, Krokos rolled and threw a dart to the right edge of the end zone. Matthews made a diving grab for the 10-yard touchdown with 1:47 remaining in the second quarter.
“The ball was not where I expected it,” Matthews said. “Luke made a great throw. When I made the catch, I thought to myself this is going to be the touchdown to win the game. I was really excited.”
Every yard counted. The H-F defense was fast, mobile and athletic. The Pioneers struggled for the balance to find the end zone.
Fortunately the defense was up to the challenge. Hudson Doftert ended the first half with an interception. The defense did not permit a first down through the opening half.
Morandi was a standout, creating pressure at the line of scrimmage and getting into the backfield. Zackary Salah was another dynamic and impactful player.
“We practiced a lot,” Morandi said. “We had specific plays designed when they went to certain formations or tried to spread the ball out.”
As usual, middle linebacker Nicholas Peisker was the true star of the group. The athletic and rangy talent roamed sideline to sideline, and racked up eight tackles, including two for losses.
After H-F opened the second half with its best field position of the day, Peisker had back-to-back stops that forced a critical fourth and four. With the quarterback under pressure, defensive back Dylan Ahmer stepped up with the huge interception.
“Their quarterback was rolling out a lot, but we had containment,” Ahmer said. “We were forcing him to get it out right away, and he kind of underthrew it. I just picked it off. Practice, practice, practice. Everything we do in practice we just excel in. The hard work that we put in really helped us.”
Until the fateful final drive by H-F, the team only ran seven plays from scrimmage in the second half. The Pioneers did not score, hurt by a fumble on their opening drive of the second half.
Orland Park did a good job of keeping the H-F attack off the field. Another 11-yard reception by Matthews was the key play on a 12-play possession by the Pioneers. The drive stalled out with a couple of incomplete passes. Even so, things looked good with just over a minute remaining and H-F stuck deep in its own territory.
Disaster struck on a deep pass route and a missed tackle that resulted in a 34-yard pass play for H-F. On the final play, Doftert appeared to tackle the receiver short of the end zone.
The officials ruled the receiver broke the line. Fortunately for the Pioneers, the Richardson two-point conversion amounted to a two-possession game.
“AJ made that kick, or we’d still be playing,” Doftert said. “Our mindset at the start of the game was to play hard and be tough the whole game. Last week the Jr Warriors handed it to us, and we responded and we fought back.”
Owen Garrity was the standout during Fifth Quarter play. The tight end is one of the most versatile of the reserves. Taking advantage of several trick plays, he connected with Carter Erwin on several pass plays.
“I really like that call of the pass play off the reverse,” Garrity said. “It’s all about starting the game off in a good way. We get the momentum going for the starters.”
The Orland Park Junior Varsity received many standout performances in the dramatic 8-6 Homecoming win. They were Vinny Ficaro, Cole Baldridge, Panos Kyros, John Sutter, Luke Tonra, Dylan Enriquez, Jase Enstrom, Carter Peluso, Tyjuan Hagler, Karam Olyyan, Noah Cordoba, Nick Mase, Gavin Connors, Caden Kolodziej, Moody Abudan, Christian Paulson, Scott Gumienny, Noah Maslowiec, Cody Godlewski, Nicholas Dertz, Nick Pomonis, Samuel Horeluk, James Okrasinski, Ameen Musa, Dominic Lach, George Petraitis, Collin Valan, Bradley Patterson, Avery Vermilyea, Michael Ordman, Michael Galivan, Jude Morrar and Rayder Slabenak.
The cheerleaders also brought energy and style, a crucial part of the Homecoming theme of peace and love. Their members are Brielle Lenzen, Natalie Brown, Addison Meyers, Aria Lasky, Ania Cunningham, Ellyana Connors, Frankie Ficaro, Natalie Kehoe, Annabelle Briseno, Annabelle Deloya, Lila Gavin, Leah Janota, Nadine Gazarin, Nora Velez, Charlotte Day, Margot Joda, Ella Kluever, Sydney Scharpf, Ayya Ramadani, Avery Seliga, Maeve Smith, Madison Davis, Sana Kishta, Lily Hahn, Olivia Hufford, Giuliana Bertucci, Annie Milosovic, Hayden Campbell, Katelyn Gallina, Avarie Schwartz, Peyton Meekma, Eivan Willis, Marguerite Ryan, and Emilia Krol.
