By Bobby Narang- Photos by Laura Stubbs
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ORLAND PARK – In life, you have some good days and bad days. On Sunday, September, 22, the Orland Park Pioneers of the Junior Varsity Division had a bad day.
Not only did the heavy rain turned Sunday’s home game against the New Lenox Jr. Knights into a battle of attrition, the Pioneers couldn’t get their offense in sync all game but the visiting team deserved praise for their effort.
Regardless, the Pioneers are blessed with several talented skill players, a good offensive and defensive line and a deep and knowledgeable coaching staff.
Even with all of those attributes, the Pioneers couldn’t build any momentum in dropping a 12-0 decision to New Lenox at Sandburg High School. The Pioneers, coached by John Duckhorn, struggled on offense and had a few moments of positive plays on defense, but even all of their issues, the home team nearly pulled off a stunning comeback which showed their fortitude and togetherness.
Duckhorn was extremely proud of his players in the postgame, telling them how they competed but pointed to his players to not let the loss tarnish their season after being together for 10 weeks.
“We played a really tough team and they had a good game plan,” Duckhorn said. “We put themselves in a good position on their first (TD). It was a bad mistake on my part that resulted in a touchdown. The kids played tough defense and answered. I couldn’t ask for more from my team. I’m proud of the kids. They’ve been working hard for 10 straight weeks. We had lot of kids stepping up in the game. I’m proud of our fifth-quarter kids for playing well in the rain and battling. We will step back and regroup. We have some tough games coming up in the next three weeks and try and make it in for the playoffs. We have a bye week coming up, so we have to improve.”
The New Lenox team played outstanding defense to manage to hold the high-octane Pioneers’ offense to a measly 22 yards rushing and 26 yards passing.
Running back Ben Snider led the offense with 17 yards rushing, including a 10-yard on his second carry. He also had a five-yard burst. Snider said the offense, including standout running back Enzo Angone, couldn’t get going against the visiting team.
“We have to work on our blocking and me and Enzo have to find a hole, even if we have to make one,” Snider said. “Their defense was showing us stuff we haven’t seen before. They made it very tough for us.”
Gavin Loman said the rain, which came down in buckets during a few segments of the game, made it tough to get any momentum on offense. But he also tossed a few words of praise at the Jr. Knights.
“It was a tough game despite the weather conditions, we played strong and hard,” Loman said. “We just need to work little more on stopping them on defense. It was tough because it was hard to hold onto the ball. Our defense did good even considering the weather was a factor.”
The Pioneers’ defense did their part with countless highlight plays in the defeat. Angone saved an interception when he caught the ball with a defender at the same time but ripped the ball out of the defender’s hands but the play resulted in a five-yard loss in the second quarter.
John Sutter was solid on the defensive line, battling some big kids to keep the Jr. Knights from adding to their lead. Sutter had a key fumble recovery in the rain during the early minutes of the third quarter at the 7:21 mark with his team down 6-0. Sutter jumped on the loose ball, celebrating with his teammates on the recovery.
“I feel like we did well even with the weather conditions because it was hard to get a gripping with the cleats,” Sutter said. “I felt like their offensive line was good across the board. Defensively, it was tough because they were good. We have to find our groove on offense. Some weeks we are struggling and some weeks we play really well.”
Quarterback Charlie Enstrom completed two passes for 26 yards, finding John Werner for a 10-yard gain and Angone for a 16-yarder.
Enstrom said the Jr. Knights’ defense made things difficult for the offense. “They had a pretty good defense,” Enstrom said. “They had a bunch of speed and it was confusing because they kept switching every single player depending on where we lined up. I think we should practice our plays better. I have to practice and get better at them. On our passes, we ran slants and had a nice complete pass on a slant that I thought was good.”
Ryan Duckhorn, who played left tackle and defensive end, was in the thick of the action all game, getting himself soaked in the game. His strength and toughness kept the defense in the game.
“Their defense was good, but the weather was not good,” Ryan Duckhorn said. “I hope we see them again. They had a good offensive and defensive line. I think our whole team tried our best, but we just came up short. We have to improve.”
The fifth-quarter game included a lot of action, as the Pioneers showcased their fortitude by battling the elements to help build momentum for the following game. The Pioneers’ entire team held their heads up in the postgame, with the team consisting of Max Streets-Pruitt, Marco Orozco, Hudson Doftert, Gavin Loman, Dylan Butler, Anthony Baniewicz, Cade McNulty, Vinny Ficaro, Charlie Enstrom, Evan Lavelle, Luke Tonra, John Sweis, Ben Snider, Finn Redmond, Carter Peluso, Logan Helman, John Werner, Panos Kryos, Karam Olyyan, Drake Ulaszek, Nick Mase, Zackary Salah, Enzo Angone, Gavin Connors, Maverick Vander Veer, Dylan Gavin, Nicholas Peisker, Jacob Hyla, Noah Maslowiec, Brock Lenzen, Nicholas Dertz, Qais Naser, Steven Mullins, Ryan Duckhorn, Nicholas Hertzog, Charlie Miele, Dylan Ahmer, Avery Vermilyea, Adam Naser, Justin McNamara, Erik Baran, Jayden Spiotto, Brian Curran and John Sutter.
The Junior Varsity cheerleaders were a ray of light on the otherwise dark and rainy afternoon with their enthusiasm and memorable routine. The team features Kaelyn Albright, Aubrey Baran, Brittney Blazys, Brooke Blazys, Aviana Briseno, Annabelle Briseno, Oliwia Burda, Hayden Campbell, Giulia Cangelosi, Avery Carroll, Ellyana Connors, Charlotte Day, Annabelle Deloya, Darcy Dorigan, Frankie Ficaro, Emma Golonka, Arabella Hernandez, Ariana Hinton, Leah Janota, Bianca Kapusciarz, Flora Lane, Brinley Laniosz, Malayna Marable, Addison Meyers, Serena Murray, Sofia Murray, Emma Overman, Gia Parisi, Emily Pastiak, Charlotte Raubolt, Maklaya Roman, Emma Ruisz, Luciana Rupp, Alyse Sparacino, Kamilla Ulaszek, Kassandra Vazquez-Gutierrez and Nora Velez.
