By Bobby Narang- Photos by Gary Larson
** Additional Photos are Available for Purchase at https://justallsports.zenfolio.com/p131260824 **
ORLAND PARK— The Orland Park Lightweight Blue football team endured some adversity before the start of Sunday’s home game against the Manhattan Patriots.
The Pioneers were stung by a significant injury to Luke Lawler during the pre-game warmups, causing Lawler to head to the emergency room.
With the entire team and coaching staff shaken up by the injury, the game turned to an afterthought for several minutes before the noon kickoff.
Playing with heavy hearts, the Pioneers bounced back and responded with a stellar effort to honor their teammate. The Pioneers battled numerous emotions by playing with intensity and heart to record a 7-6 victory over Manhattan at Seliga Field on Sunday afternoon.
One player who was feeling the pain of Luke Lawler’s injury was his brother, Landon Lawler. But he honored his brother by playing strong and even intercepted a pass early in the first half.
The Pioneers (1-4) had one of their best games on defense this year, helped by a change to a 4-4 defense which kept the Patriots stymied all game long. The Pioneers displayed incredible heart to fight for their fallen teammate, not letting a strong push by the visiting team late in the game deter them from getting their first win of the season.
“It was a tough game because of Luke’s injury before the game,” Orland Park Lightweight Blue coach Adam Maurella said. “Luke hurt himself warming up before the game at the softball diamond. These kids went out there and really wanted to win for him. They had a lot inside and a lot of heart to win this game for Luke Lawler. They brought the heat today. I was really happy with them. His brother had a big interception. We gave him the turnover chain to give to him to give to his brother in the hospital.
Orland Park’s defense made the Patriots work for every inch on offense, highlighted by Ethan Hamideh’s strong tackle on fourth down on the visiting team’s first possession of the game. Landon Lawler had the best play of the first quarter, intercepting a pass and adding a long return to thrill his teammates and coaches.
The Pioneers, though, struggled through some early issues on offense, perhaps still struggling with their emotions.
Orland Park’s offense was held to a scant few plays in the first half on two drives. It wasn’t until their third possession did the offense wake up.
Luke Bosack energized the offense with a seven-yard run on third down to prolong the drive. Peyton Barbee darted free on a 15-yard run to the MP 25-yard line midway through the second quarter. Barbee broke free for a 12-yard jaunt to the four-yard line. On third down and goal, quarterback Tommy Richardson scored the only touchdown of the game for the Pioneers. Richardson lost the ball on the snap, reaching down to get the loose ball and bulldozing his way into the end zone for a one-yard TD and a 7-0 lead.
“The ball came out of my hands and all I saw was everyone on defense was covering the hole, but I just powered through for the touchdown,” Richardson said. “The drive was great and the offensive line was blocking really hard. It was a great game.”
The second half was full of exciting plays and thrilling and tense moments to keep the crowd on its feet in the close game. The Pioneers’ defense was on the field for most of the final two quarters, but they did not fatigue be a factor.
Instead, the defense played with a full heart and strong legs to keep the visitors to six points. Ammar Abdelmuti was a big play creator on defense, recording several tackles to stymie the Patriots in the second half.
Johnny Waliczek joined the defensive party with numerous prolific tackles late in the game. He had a big sack on fourth down deep in the red zone on Manhattan’s second drive of the second half.
After the Patriots managed to score a touchdown to trim the deficit to 7-6, the Pioneers’ offense grinded to a halt for the final 12-plus minutes to force the defense to carry the load. The Orland Park defense was up to the task, though.
“I got down in my stance, got through the offensive line and tackled the guy and a lot of players got on top of me,” Waliczek said. “Someone even stepped on my hand. Our defense played really well today. Of course, there’s room for improvement, but we played great.”
The Patriots had one last gasp in the final two minutes to win the game. Dominic Maurella made a key tackle, plus Luke Bosack added a sack and forced a fumble, which was recovered by Jayden Enriquez to ice the home victory.
“We had a lot of guys step up today,” Coach Maurella said. “We changed up our defense because we knew they were more of a passing team. We took our ends and moved them back to middle linebacker.
“We just knew we had to get out there and get these guys in the backfield to stop them. This win means a lot, giving up momentum and moving. We have some tougher teams coming up, so this helps us build chemistry and with our confidence. Before
Dominic Maurella said it was a memorable performance for the Pioneers.
“Last week I was not feeling good at all but played the entire game,” Dominic Maurella said. “I feel a lot better. We did a great job on the goal line stand. Everyone got in the backfield the whole game and our defense was awesome. It was awesome to do so well.”
Barbee was on the field for most of the game, playing solid defense with numerous tackles to hold the visiting team to six points. Barbee had several runs on offense to help move the chains.
“Our defense played really well and we had a lot of tackles and sacks,” Barbee said. “I really liked running the ball on offense today.”
Running back and linebacker Joey Guest credited the team for coming up big on the goal line stand.
“The goal line stand saved the game,” Guest said. “Our defense played really well and got into the backfield and didn’t let anything happen. I’m very happy with the win.”
Bosack had numerous long runs on offense, praising the offensive line for coming together and sticking to their assignments.
“I can’t run the ball good without my offensive line,” Bosack said. “They did very good. All of my good runs were possible because of my offensive line. Our defensive line and linebackers did a great job on that drive because we wanted the win.”
The Pioneers also played with desire in the fifth quarter game. Rasheed Williams Jr. wowed the crowd with a five-yard touchdown run and Wren Rucinski added a solid carry on offense.
The Lightweights Blue roster relied on the entire team in the thrilling victory, which includes Jaweed Abuzir, Paul Bertucci, Harrison Ramirez, Quinn McCarthy, Zachariah Ballouta, Isiah Holmes, Lawson Capps, Sean Mendoza, Brady Higgins, Luke Holoubek, Lorcan Redmond, Paxson Leithleiter, Noah Radzikowski, Ian Frost, Cade Rucinski, William Speck, Moody Jaber and Noah Hall and Amari Adigun.
