By Ed Muniz- Photos by Renee Kaspar
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NEW LENOX- The River Valley Youth Football League moved into its Quarterfinal round of games on November 2 and 3 with four sites once again hosting games at various assigned levels.
Tinley Park, Lincoln-Way, Homer and Homewood-Flossmoor were the host sites.
Among the Lightweights still in contention were Al Krokos’ Orland Park Pioneers.
The 3rd seed Pioneers were playing in their first game of the 2024 RVYFL Playoffs after receiving a opening bye the week earlier.
Some coaches prefer playing every week to continue any momentum established concluding the regular season. For Coach Krokos, it made no difference.
Taking on the Frankfort Square Wildcats, the Pioneers faced an opponent they hadn’t seen since week one of the regular season. In that game to kick start the season, the Pioneers defense held the Wildcats scoreless and won 14-0.
In this Playoff game, the Pioneers used two touchdowns to jump ahead 16-0 and cruised to a 16-6 win, advancing to the Playoff Semi-Finals next Sunday at Sandburg HS.
“We made some personnel changes because of that one injury, the kids stepped up, next man up,” said Krokos. “Some kids that had been working their butts off got some opportunities to play on the weekends which they hadn’t before, so that good to see and we saw them do well. We had a game plan of what we were going to do, and I thought they executed well.”
“We faced couple teams that had good runners like the they had, our defense managed to make some nice plays. We still have not played our best football game, its coming.”
Starting the game defensively, the Pioneers didn’t take long to get the ball to their offense.
Luke Krokos’ interception just three plays in gave him and his offense a short field on their first series.
Going to Michael Oconnor twice quickly moved the ball into a scoring position. Oconnor’ two runs produced 31-yards that saw the Pioneers with a first down at the Wildcats 8-yard-line just two plays in.
After Luke Krokos completed a short pass to Jase Enstrom, Enstrom took the next pitch and raced around the right edge, hit the sideline and scored the open touchdown of the game.
With Andrew Richardson converting the kick after, the Pioneers led 8-0 midway through the opening quarter.
Defense would again create an opportunity for the Pioneers offense on the Wildcats very next series.
Oconnor blasted through the Wildcats line and made a stop that pushed the Wildcats back six yards. Two plays later, Owen Garrity found a loose ball in his grasp on the fumble recovery.
Starting with another short field inside the Red Zone, the Pioneers looked to extend their lead.
After an opening series that saw the Pioneers move the ball easily and score, starting at the Wildcats 18-yard-line seemed like a foregone conclusion.
No one told the Wildcats that, resulting in the Pioneers being unable to gain a first down and stall the golden opportunity at the Wildcats 10-yard-line just four plays later.
Entering the second quarter, the Pioneers defense made short work of the Wildcats next series, Tackles by Enstrom, and a pair by Carter Erwin forced a punt.
The Pioneers didn’t hold on to the ball on their next try giving it right back to the Wildcats after a bad exchange caused a fumble the Wildcats recovered.
The Wildcats did possess a runner that was nearly impossible to tackle one-on-one. His ability to make cuts and jump to elude and accelerate required the Pioneers to counter with multiple defenders to make stops every time the Wildcats called his number.
Still, the Pioneers managed to control the Wildcats offense. Adding to the tackle tally were Oconnor, Richardson, Jason Erwin and Carter Erwin which again, forced Frankfort Square to punt.
Although the Pioneers running attack of Jason Erwin, Oconnor and Enstrom was effective while also used up much of the clock during their possessions, the Pioneers were unable to extend the lead as the first half ended with the same 8-0 advantage.
Coming out for the second half, the Pioneers would receive the football. They made the most of that opportunity.
Taking the ball at midfield, the Pioneers proceeded to use the running abilities of O’connor and Jason Erwin to move the offense down field toward the goal line.
The 10-play drive concluded after a two yard plunge by Cole Baldridge found the endzone. Richardson again booted the conversion kick through the uprights which doubled the Pioneers lead to 16-0.
After the second touchdown, the Pioneers defense picked up where it left off in the first half.
A stifling, swarming defense was creating havoc for the Wildcats offense. Jason Erwin, Jude Morrar and Lucca Morandi led the way with solo tackles and stopped the Wildcats efforts on four downs to end the third quarter.
After the Pioneers punted early in the final quarter, the Wildcats finally broke off a big play. After a couple of missed tackles and some shifty running, the Wildcats runner found a seam, maneuvered to the sideline and was streaking 61-yards for the surprising touchdown, closing the Pioneer lead to 16-6.
The Pioneers countered with a seven-play drive that saw Oconnor power his way through several defenders on runs of 15-, 10- and 3-yards but a couple of incomplete passes saw the Pioneers give up the ball on downs after milking the clock down to the last couple of minutes of the game.
The ensuing Wildcats possession was a mere formality. Carter and Jason Erwin, Lucca Morandi and Michael Galivan, who finished the game with a sack, made sure it was nothing more, closing off the 16-6 victory.
The Pioneers are a tight team. The want to excel and perform at their best is evident. Among those with the strongest desire to help his team win is Quarterback Luke Krokos. He carries his emotions on his sleeve and displays it at times on the field.
“I was just making mistakes, it was tough for me, I didn’t want to fail,” said Luke. “I kinda like leading our team on offense. Throwing the ball for me is the best part of playing quarterback. I feel like I am a leader on the field because I run the team as quarterback, and everybody looks up to me.”
“On offense, when they would blitz, we knew what to do and that was working really well. On defense, when we were blitzing, they didn’t know how to block our blitzes. Our scheme worked really well today. Our next game, I’m just happy to play at our home field.”
Both Michael Oconnor and Jason Erwin stood out offensively in this game. Oconnor may have had his best game of the season offensively while Jason Erwin was at a high level on both sides of the ball in their win.
“I really like what we do when I’m the two back,” said Jason. “On defense, our blitzes worked great when we did them. I think I contain on defense pretty good. I got better each game. I think when I run the ball because I’m fast, it works for me a lot. I think I have done pretty good. I think im a hard tackle because in shifty and run fast.”
In Fifth Quarter play, standing out for the Pioneers was Vito Cangelosi. His play on both sides of the ball was noticeable. Defensively, he was among the leaders in tackles while also assisting on several others. He also managed to snag an interception.
“I was just looking where the ball was and going.,” said Vito. “I got to where it was quick too. I see where the runners are and try to make the tackle. I like making tackles. I also like running the ball, but I need to get better running it. I’m happy how I played today.”
Left Guard’ Scott Gumienny also was formidable in his play. His ability to maintain a block and create running room was eye opening.
The Pioneers will next face a team that defeated them earlier in the year with a chance to advance to the Championship with a win, the Tinley Park Bulldogs.
“We got what we wanted. All the boys wanted Tinley, this is the game that they wanted, at Sandburg, this is what all 43 of the players wanted.”
Other pioneers adding to the victorious day were Gunner McCarthy, Keith Piekarz, Thomas Sutter, Joey Zotto, Will Poore, Bennett Brown, Jackson Biskup, Ryan Lukas, Christopher Medina, Jr., brooks Foster, Tyler Wilkie, Caden Kolodziej, Anthony LaPapa, Christian Paulson, Blake Nance, Laith Hammami, Cody Godlewski, Dominic Gabriele, Nick Pomonis, Samuel Horeluk, James Okrasinski, Dominic Lach, Collin Valan, Bradley Patterson, Jimmy Elsberg, Connor Kvelland, Michael Ordman, Adam Krokos and Rayder Slabenak.
Cheering on the Pioneers and keeping the sidelines entertained and performing through the first half were the Lightweight Pioneers Cheerleaders. Fighting off the elements while still providing support were Alexandra Burda, Morgan Collins, Madison Davis, Nora Dorigan, Emma Evans, Chloe Gaj, Kaylee Gaj, Lila Gavin, Madison Hedger, Quinn Heinze, Ava Janota, Margot Joda, Vera Joda,
