By Kevin McGavin- Photo by Renee Kaspar
** Additional Photos are Available for Purchase at https://justallsports.zenfolio.com/p274073498 **
CHICAGO— Every boxer who ever went up against Muhammad Ali always liked to say they had a plan. That moment crumbled the second they took a swing and were promptly smashed in the mouth.
The Junior Varsity of the Orland Park Pioneers knew they were the underdog against the mighty Frankfort Falcons. They still had ideas and visions.
The Falcons dashed them pretty quickly by scoring on their second play from scrimmage.
“It’s really hard to start a game down 8-0 and then bounce back against a really good team like that,” running back and receiver Carter Erwin said. “We have to start off stronger, and we haven’t always done that.”
The Orland Park Pioneers could not overcome penalties or mistakes in the 28-0 loss against the Falcons in River Valley Youth Football League play at St. Rita High School on Sunday, October 18.
Defensive end Michael Galivan provided an early jolt by breaking through the left edge for a five-yard loss on the Falcons’ opening play. A Falcons’ electric running back broke free for a 45-yard touchdown on the next play. The Pioneers had to chase the lead.
“It’s hard when they take it to the house on their second play of the game,” Galivan said. “It’s tough to come back against that. They had all the momentum, and we were constantly playing from behind. The defense never gave up, and I’m proud of the effort. We’re always trying to stay in the game for as long as we can, even if we’re down by however many we were today.”
Every game offers its own set of challenges and difficulties to overcome. The Pioneers welcomed back quarterback Luke Krokos, who’d been out with a hand injury the previous four weeks. That allowed Carter Erwin a chance to return to a playmaker role in space, and also Michael O’Connor with his tough running between the tackles.
The best version of the Junior Varsity turned up early in the second quarter. Krokos did a great job of eluding the powerful Falcons’ rush and finding his open receivers. Galivan showed terrific footwork on a 16-yard catch. George Petraitis posted back-to-back catches.
The turning point came moments later. On fourth down, Krokos found the cutting Petraitis across the middle for a beautiful 24-yard gain for an apparent first and goal.
A very dubious holding penalty called by the side judge who was 40-yards from the play instead produced a fourth and long. The subsequent Krokos pass was incomplete, creating a turnover on downs.
“It was never the same after that,” Petraitis said. “Had we kept the momentum, it could have been a much different game. We might have a chance to come back. We were just down one score there.”
A big pass play to Krokos to Carter Erwin in the third quarter that put the ball inside the red zone was also negated by a penalty.
“We kept having good plays, but every time they called holding, or penalties against us,” Krokos said. “I think if we come out strong in the beginning of the game, we’re going to be fine. We’re going to turn the page.”
If the penalties brought the team down, two lost fumbles in the second half doomed any chance of staging a comeback, or even making the game competitive.
“We had three good plays on offense, and two of them got called back,” Carter Erwin said. “We had a lot of really good over the middle stuff. They had a really good defense. George and Michael did great. Hopefully the offense is going to do a better job of moving the ball. We can’t put too much on the defense. We’ll get better, and hopefully game plan for the playoffs this week.”
To be sure, there were moments worth celebrating, particularly on special teams. Noah Cordoba blocked a punt, and Colton Gutkowski deflected a point after kick.
“Whenever somebody makes a big play, we all get hyped up and try our best out there, no matter the score,” Cordoba said. “We try to get into their backfield, and have all of our players do something positive. When we don’t win, in practice we just try to work harder on stuff and get better the next game.”
The core players repeatedly stepped up and showed great resolve and toughness to play through the difficulties and setbacks.
Gutkowski, Cordoba and Galivan proved tenacious and never stopped hustling. Carter Erwin, O’Connor and Krokos held the middle and secondary together.
“If anybody ever does make a mistake, we’re always trying to pick each other up,” Petraitis said. “We’re never trying to get our players down. That’s the only thing we can really do out there. We just have to play hard. We’re going to be ready for next week, whoever we play.”
The team has never lost hope, or a drive to improve and fight back. Even with the odds against them, the Junior Varsity is a proud and defiant group.
“We’re the underdogs going into it, and everybody is going to look down on us,” Carter Erwin said. “We’re going to do everything possible to fly through everyone. This loss put us in a tough position, and now it’s our job to battle out of it.”
The one-sided score allowed the coaches to play the entire roster. The second and third-string units had a chance to get some playing time. That was important given the Junior Varsity is playing in the Super Bowl of the WNFL on Wednesday at Lincoln-Way West.
Connor Kevelland saw some time late, building off a strong performance during the Fifth Quarter.
“The mood for the Fifth Quarter is that the guys who play on Wednesday are usually only in for a few plays, and we want to make the most of it,” he said. We got some snaps, and I’m sure our coaches didn’t want any of the starters getting hurt before the playoffs. We’re ready for Wednesday . Our defense is going to be really good, and our offense is good at scoring.”
Cheerleader Lila Gavin was part of the impressive performance group on the sidelines. The three-year member of the team loves the beauty and pageantry of performance.
“I’ve been on the team for three years,” she said. “There were some girls at a banquet, and they convinced me that I should do it. It’s really fun. I once thought about quitting, but then I realized how much I’d miss it. It’s really fun.”
The Junior Varsity had many standout contributors. They were Gunner McCarthy, Keith Piekarz, Thomas Sutter, Cooper Elslager, Joey Zotto, Will Poore, Emmett Kane, Jackson Biskup, Ameen Musa, Ryan Lukas, Jase Enstrom, Patrick O’Boye, Talon Tyrakowski, Lucca Morandi, Jason Erwin, Christopher Medina, Andrew Richardson, 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, Michael Ordman, Michael Galivan, Zechariah Torgerson, Jude Morrar, Rayder Slabenak, Owen Garrity and Adam Krokos.
The rest of the cheerleaders are Sydney Scharpf, Brielle Lenzen, Marissa Gumuls, Mabel Lukasiewicz, Annie Milosovic, Adaline Johnson, Ainsley Moore, Ava Janota, Emily Okrasinski, Maeve Smith, Alexandra Burda, Kaitlyn Minick, Skylar Shlepakov, Brooklyn Loman, Morgan Collins, Molly McGeever, Ayya Ramadani, Madison Davis, Sophia Molina, Margot Joda, Olivia Hufford, Sana Kishta, Aaliyah Medina, Delaney Piencak, Kyla Kwiatek, Olivia Ally, Allison Guest, Ella Mrowca, Khaliaha Brown, Liliana Holmes and Liliana Darlak.
