By Bobby Narang- Photos by Renee Kaspar
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ORLAND PARK — As the second of a three-game day at Sandburg High School, the Orland Park junior varsity team was looking for redemption.
In the first game, Tinley Park posted a blowout shutout win over Orland Park’s Super Lightweight football team. The JV team had sights on turning the momentum around for the proud program in the second game of the day. But Tinley Park had other teams, overpowering the Pioneers in a 24-0 victory at Mike Navarro Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
“The first half we played our style of football, but the second half we did not,” JV coach Al Krokes said. “We have a lot of things to work on. We have to be able to come out strong in the second half. We were down one or two guys in the second half, but that shouldn’t stop us from moving that line in the right direction. Our line was working and we had some good running holes and a good gameplan but we didn’t execute. We have to come back strong next week.”
The Pioneers (2-2) did open the game on a strong note, sending a message with a solid nine-play drive that ended with an incomplete pass. The Pioneers converted a key fourth down play early in the possession on a nice play by Hudson Doftert. The drive lasted almost 11 minutes, ending at Tinley Park’s 32-yard line.
The Pioneers sent a strong message with the drive, starting off with Doftert’s 12-yard run on the opening play. Mixing the pass and the run well on the drive, the Pioneers couldn’t build off the momentum of the solid series for the rest of the game, struggling with mistakes and short possessions that wore down their defense in the intense heat.
On their third drive, the Pioneers were able to move the ball again but were forced to punt. The big play of the drive came on Doftert’s six-yard reception on third down that moved the first-down chains. Zackary Salah came up big with an interception with one second left until halftime to keep the game scoreless.
Tinley Park stole the momentum in the second half, scoring on an eight-yard run to start the third quarter. The Pioneers seemed to let the muggy conditions bring them down, as the offense went into a funk while the defense started to wear down. The visiting team returned an interception for a touchdown to seize a 16-0 lead.
Trailing 24-0, the Bulldogs still manged a few memorable plays in the final minutes.
Nicholas Peisker, a center and linebacker, credited the Bulldogs for putting together a good gameplan, but he also said the Pioneers played strong in the defeat.
“They were a good team, but we have to come back strong from this game,” Peisker said. “Leaders have to lead and we have to work hard as a team and this will never happen again.”
Krokes said his players have to respond with a better showing next week, but he did notice numerous building-block moments.
“Colin Valan had a nice catch and had been working hard at a new position after playing line,” Krokes said. “Doftert had a big kickoff return late in the fourth quarter but that would be the end of the highlights for the home team. They have a good offense, but we need to hit the holes and not be scared and come out and be stronger. We will come back stronger.”
The fifth-quarter game was full of ups and downs. Carter Erwin completed some nice passes, showing off his poise and arm, including a rocket throw that went incomplete. Vinny Ficaro also had a few nice plays at quarterback. Michael Ordman tossed a highlight-reel pass to Collin Valan late in the game. Defensively, Samuel Horeluk sparked the team with his tackling in the 12-minute quarter.
“I normally don’t really go out for catches,” Valan said. “I missed it the last time I went out for a pass, so this game coach told me I was going out for a pass and caught the pass. It was my first catch. It felt amazing. My friends were so happy for me.”
Carter Peluso was another player with a sterling performance in the fifth-quarter game for the Pioneers.
“For me, my highlight was my broken up pass and I just missed the pick,” Peluso said. “The defense was great. We tried hard and worked and succeeded.”
The Pioneers’ entire team held their heads up in the postgame despite the difficult defeat, with the team consisting of Maximus Streets-Pruitt, Zackary Salah, Anderson Matthews, Nicholas Peisker, Vinny Ficaro, Luke Krokos, Cole Baldridge, Panos Kyros, John Sutter, Luke Tonra, Dylan Enriquez, Jase Enstrom, Carter Erwin, Carter Peluso, Tyjuan Hagler, Lucca Morandi, Karam Olyyan, Noah Cordoba, Nick Mase, Andrew Richardson, Gavin Connors, Caden Kolodziej, Moody Abudan, Christian Paulson, Scott Gumienny, Noah Maslowiec, Cody Godlewski, Nicholas Dertz, Nick Pomonis, James Okrasinski, Ameen Musa, Dominic Lach, George Petraitis, Bradley Patterson, Dylan Ahmer, Avery Vermilyea, Michael Ordman, Michael Galivan, Jude Morrar, Rayder Slabenak and Owen Garrity.
The Junior Varsity cheerleaders were positive throughout the tough loss, inspiring the fans with their routines and energy. The team features 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.
