By Patrick McGavin- Photos by Kathy Jones
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ORLAND PARK— The best football players are often like actors who instinctively know the art of improvisation.
That means being able to make something out of nothing, or simply throwing off what’s in the script and going on their own tangent.
Jason Erwin knows the feeling of having to change course. Sometimes there are no other options for the top playmaker of the Junior Varsity of the Orland Park Pioneers.
“I didn’t really have anywhere else to go, so I just went to the opposite side of the field,” he said.
Erwin changed directions brilliantly on a 69-yard touchdown run that sparked the Pioneers’ 12-0 victory over the Frankfort Falcons Black in Wednesday Night Football League play at Schussler Park on September 16.
Erwin’s freewheeling and improvised action was just the start of a spectacular night. He put the game away with another breathtaking 58-yard scoring run in the second half.
Erwin punctuated the shutout with a late interception.
“We just did a great job the whole night of guys just stepping up,” he said.
Every victory is a collective effort. Erwin was the headliner, but there were many other featured players who showcased playmaking or hard hitting to shut down the Falcons.
“We had great speed on defense the whole night, and we knew what to do when we had to do it,” lineman Ameen Musa said. “Personally, I like to play with a lot of strength and power.
“We took on the challenge.”
The defense had its back to the wall a bit after an Erwin pass was intercepted on the Pioneers’ opening possession.
Scott Gumienny, Nick Pomonis, Gunner McCarthy and Musa responded with aggressive and physical play at the point of attack that resulted in a three and out for the Falcons.
Their ability to pressure the quarterback or shut down running lanes were the critical actions for the shutout. McCarthy had a huge sack that snuffed out the second drive by the Falcons.
“I thought we all worked together really well, and we were able to jell,” Gumienny said. “I thought we were just a better team than them tonight.
“That early turnover gave us a little bit of a downfall, but we knew we could get back. We proved it there by not letting them get more than five yards or so on their first drive.”
Sometimes a single play changes the calculus of a game. What appeared to be a defensive struggle and field position-oriented game changed in a flash.
That opening interception was a distant memory for Erwin.
“I just had to forget about it, and pick myself back up,” he said.
His quick thinking and elusive moves were just what the Pioneers needed. Playing with the lead was a harbinger of things to come.
The Erwin touchdown provided an internal boost for the Pioneers, and deflated the aggressive style of the Falcons.
“Jason’s touchdown boosted us a whole lot, and we just played with a lot of fire and energy after that,” Musa said.
Knowing the Falcons had the ball to start the second half, the Pioneers had to make an early statement and extinguish any psychological hope the Frankfort team had of answering the Erwin touchdown.
“That first touchdown made us very happy and had everyone ready to play,” Gumienny said. “I like to play very aggressively and attack. It’s easier to do that when you’re already up.
“We broke them down and put our spirits up.”
The Falcons appeared to make a strong push to get back into the game with a series of first downs on the opening possession of the second half.
Caden Kolodziej had enough of that.
With the defensive line applying the pressure, Kolodziej fought off the Falcons’ receiver for a dramatic interception.
“I noticed they were shifting, so I yelled that they were all going into trips formation,” he said. “I just went back into my zone coverage, and I noticed the receiver was going long and the QB just tossed it up into the air, thinking their team would probably catch it.
“I just had to get in there, and get that pick so we could go down and score the way we did.”
His father Dan is the coach of the Lightweight Red team. Another player in the secondary, Adam Krokos, is the son of JV coach Al Krokos. His older brother Luke is the starting quarterback.
“The line played great, and we did a great job of covering their receivers and letting them have any big plays,” Adam Krokos said.
The younger Krokos also made some excellent tackles out of the secondary. Kolodziej was also a featured player there.
The game illustrated the idea that nothing happens out of chance. The secondary played so effectively in large part because of the players upfront.
“The line did a great job of getting to the quarterback, and not giving him a lot of time to throw,” Kolodziej said. “Our defensive line is really good.
“Their quarterback just had to toss it up there because he didn’t want to get sacked.”
The Pioneers had to work for everything. The Falcons had a sturdy run defense and limited the running of Bradley Patterson.
The play of the night only went for eight yards. Under heavy pressure, Erwin broke out of the pocket and threw a pass against his body that receiver Thomas Sutter made a diving catch.
One play later, Erwin put the finishing touches on the victory with his follow up 58-yard touchdown burst.
Pomonis had a big fourth down stop to end another Falcons’ threat.
“Our defense and communication were great,” Pomonis said. “We were talking, and we never let their quarterback have any real time. I feel like we all started to believe we could win.”
Everything connected and fed into each other. The offense made the plays when it had to, and the defense responded in kind. It wasn’t necessarily easy.
It all worked out.
“Jason’s touchdown fired us up, and just broke the silence right there,” Kolodziej said. “We were ready to play from the first to the last whistle.
“The offense set the tone, and then the defense did the same and it just went all around.”
The first-team players for the Junior Varsity also dressed and vocally supported the team. The Pioneers had many other key contributors in the 12-0 victory. They were Colton Gutkowski, Keith Piekarz, Cooper Elslager, Joey Zotto, Will Poore, Emmett Kane, Jackson Biskup, Ryan Lukas, Jase Enstrom, Patrick O’Boye, Talon Tyrakowski, Carter Erwin, Michael O’Connor, Lucca Morandi, Noah Cordoba, Christopher Medina, Andrew Richardson, Anthony LaPapa, Christian Paulson, Laith Hammami, Cody Godlewski, Dominic Gabriele, Dominic Lach, George Petraitis, Collin Valan, Vincent Shervino, Jimmy Elsberg, Connor Kvelland, Michael Ordman, Michael Galivan, Zechariah Torgerson, Jude Morrar, Rayder Slabenak and Owen Garrity.
