By Patrick McGavin- Photos by Eileen Copenhaver
** Additional Photos are Available for Purchase at https://justallsports.zenfolio.com/p688528416 **
NEW LENOX— The Junior Varsity of the Orland Park Pioneers did not always make it easy.
The Pioneers just found a way to add to the intrigue and deepen the drama. Owen Garrity picked the perfect moment.
The wide receiver turned a near disaster sequence into his own brand of gold.
“They were playing a lot of zone coverage, and it was all about finding a way to get open,” he said. “I just had to run my route, and find my quarterback.”
Garrity caught an eight-yard touchdown pass that powered the 8-0 victory over the Tinley Park Bulldogs in a first-round playoff game of the River Valley Youth Football League at Lincoln-Way West on Sunday, October 25.
The Junior Varsity will play the Frankfort Falcons in the quarterfinal round.
“That was the hottest we’ve started a game the whole season,” running back and receiver Carter Erwin said. “We started off really great, and they didn’t get hardly any first downs the whole game. Last week we started down 8-0, and everybody knew that was going to be hard to come back from. When you start off ahead 8-0, everyone’s just more excited and amped up.”
On the scoring drive, the Pioneers had first and goal at the three-yard line only to commit three penalties, including a holding call, that pushed the ball back to the 23-yard line.
The Junior Varsity was unfazed. Quarterback Luke Krokos found Garrity over the middle for a 15-yard completion. On fourth down, the two worked their magic again with Garrity getting free on the left edge for the game-winning play.
“We were running a post, but the coach called an out route because their safety was playing over the top,” Garrity said. “I just ran five steps and cut back.”
AJ Richardson, who had a huge fumble recovery to set up the touchdown, drilled the 2-point conversion kick, with 5:40 to play in the second quarter. The offense monopolized the time of possession, and the defense dominated, permitting just one first down by the Bulldogs.
Richardson, who plays center on offense, also registered a huge sack and made three tackles off the edge.
“I was just locked in and ready to play this game as soon as I woke up at 7:30,” he said. “I knew I was going to bury that kick because I’d been doing well in warmups.”
The Junior Varsity was spectacular on special teams the entire game. Noah Cordoba blocked two punts. After forcing a three and out on the Bulldogs’ opening drive, he blasted through the line of scrimmage for the game-altering moment that gave the Pioneers the ball at the 38-yard line of Tinley Park.
“I just saw an open hole, I just jumped up and prayed for the best,” Cordoba said. “Today just felt different. We had great energy. As soon as we got out of the car, I just knew that we were going to play well. We felt really energized and ready to go.”
The blocked punt initiated a strange and wild string of events. On fourth down, Krokos threw an interception. Trailing the play, receiver George Petraitis chased down the Bulldogs’ defensive back and knocked the ball loose. Richardson recovered the fumble at the Bulldogs’ 27-yard line.
After conferring, the officials ruled a change of possession and gave the ball to the Pioneers with a fresh set of downs.
“George punched it out, and I just saw it, and I was the closest one to it, and I just jumped out and grabbed it,” Richardson said.
Carter Erwin had a huge 11-yard reception to help set up the score. He finished with five catches for 64 yards.
“When we ran our trips and I was outside, I got open a lot, and so did Owen,” Erwin said. “The two of us had a lot of yards together. We also had good runs up the middle. That’s the way we wanted it, with nice slow drives and slow first downs.”
The Bulldogs ran only six plays from scrimmage in the first half. Cordoba also deflected their second punt attempt.
Penalties were the only scourge of the offense. A holding call hijacked a follow-up drive that stalled inside the Bulldogs’ 10-yard line.
The second half was ostensibly a copy of the first. Michael Galivan registered consecutive sacks coming off the edge. Cordoba was also disruptive and highly active. Richardson was flying all over the field. Garrity also made some big stops. Their effort and enthusiasm reiterated the advantages of playing with a lead and dictating the terms of the game, and how it was played.
The offense did not produce any points after halftime. The Pioneers did the next best thing by controlling the ball and preventing the Bulldogs from doing much when they had it.
Michael O’Connor had an efficient and sharp second half with a series of between the tackles running actions during a 10-play possession that chewed valuable time off the clock.
The defense was rested and ready to go. The Pioneers contained the Bulldogs’ best running back, and continuously pressured the quarterback.
“Their quarterback was running for his life every single play back there,” Petraitis said.
Garrity and Galivan did tremendous work off the edge.
“We had a great game on both sides of the ball, but I really felt like we dominated on defense,” Galivan said. “We had a game plan coming in to contain the outside, and we did that. The offense hardly let them on the field, and when they did get there, we stopped them with sacks.”
The Bulldogs had a final chance with 4:29. The team had a momentary burst of optimism with a 28-yard pass play that marked their only first down. Petraitis ended the threat on the following play by stepping in for the game-sealing interception.
“I was looking at the quarterback the whole time,” he said. “I don’t think the wide receiver looked up. He didn’t see it coming, and the ball was underthrown. I was able to jump on it, and make a pretty good return.”
O’Connor picked up 21 yards on four consecutive carries to run the clock out with the Krokos kneel down in victory formation.
“This game showed exactly how we play and start off every game,” Carter Erwin said. “That was one of our best games of the year. We played really well.”
Coming off a Super Bowl victory in the Wednesday Night Football League on the same field, the second and third-string units showed out with some superb play in the Fifth Quarter.
Connor Kvelland and Ryan Lukas alternated at quarterback. Lukas had some excellent runs, and Kvelland showed off his arm, especially connecting with Michael Ordman.
Ordman had a 26-yard catch down the left sideline, and scored the Pioneers’ only touchdown with a 19-yard catch on a swing pass. Jackson Biskup also made some strong runs. Gunnar McCarthy and Thomas Sutter made big stops on defense.
“Typically we only get in for a couple of plays, but without a Wednesday game this week, we saw probably five or six minutes of playing time,” Ordman said. “It felt great to be out there.”
The Junior Varsity had many standout players in the 8-0 playoff victory. They were Colton Gutkowski, Keith Piekarz, Cooper Elslager, Joey Zotto, Will Poore, Emmett Kane, Ameen Musa, Jase Enstrom, Patrick O’Boye, Talon Tyrakowski, Lucca Morandi, Jason Erwin, Christopher Medina, Caden Kolodziej, Anthony LaPapa, Christian Paulson, Scott Gumienny, Laith Hammami, Cody Godlewski, Dominic Gabriele, Nick Pomonis, Dominic Lach, Collin Valan, Bradley Patterson, Vincent Shervino, Jimmy Elsberg, Zechariah Torgerson, Jude Morrar, Rayder Slabenak and Adam Krokos.
