By Patrick Z McGavin-Photos by Kathy Jones
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CHICAGO- The beginning of any game is not always the best way to think about outcomes.
Just two games into the new season, the offensive players are still getting their timing and rhythm down.
“What is going on out there,” yelled one of the Lightweight Pioneer coaches from the sidelines after a near fumble on the team’s opening possession.
“The coaches gave us some motivation about trying to get the ball back, and trying our hardest and fighting for the ball,” running back Max Streets said.
The Lightweight group of the Orland Park Pioneers was the only team to have a first week victory. They almost seemed to be coasting in their follow up.
Eventually, the talent advantage and big play capability of both sides turned the game around.
An uncertain start gave rise to a fantastic follow up.
Quarterback Luke Krokos accounted for three touchdowns as the Lightweights throttled the Chicago Blitz 29-0 in a River Valley Youth Football League game at St. Rita on Sunday, August 27.
The Pioneers (2-0) posted their second consecutive shutout.
“We have some new guys on the team, and we are still getting used to everybody,” Krokos said.
“This was a lot of fun because the other team wasn’t really able to stop us, or score any touchdowns. We were able to both throw and run the ball.”
Like the dominant performance against Mount Greenwood last week, the Pioneers turned the opposition offense to dust.
The Blitz never had a chance to move the ball effectively. Led by star linebacker Nicholas Peisker, the fast, mobile and athletic defense just overwhelmed the Chicago team.
Only two Blitz plays resulted in positive yardage. The eight plays the team ran from scrimmage in the first half resulted in a negative -26 yards.
“I started playing when I was five or six, and my dad helped me a lot,” Peisker said.
“I just really understand the game of football. I understand it well. I play with anger and fire, not directed at anybody, and I am able to channel that into the game and read every play very well.”
Peisker had seven tackles, all seven resulting in either negative yardage or no gain.
The defense not only provided short fields for the offense to do its own act. The offense had time to make up for the early mistakes that resulted in a loss of downs and negative yardage of four of the first six plays from scrimmage.
“We were able to mix up both the run and play action, and it was good to be able to do both,” Krokos said.
The Pioneers found their rhythm with an eight-play scoring drive on their second possession. The team needed to gain just 30-yards for the opening score.
A 13-yard burst around the left edge by Hudson Doftert set the stage for the first of two one-yard scoring sneaks by Krokos.
“The offensive and defensive lines both did great today,” Doftert said.
“My style is kind of a combination of different types. I like to get outside on the edge, but I can also hit the hole on the inside or run between tackles.”
Doftert has shown excellent vision and the ability to survey the field and find his open spots. He has good quickness, and a clean running style.
After the early sideways actions, he helped get the offense untracked. Now holding the lead, the defense was just unleashed.
Peisker, Doftert, lineman Cole Baldridge and John Sutter collaborated on the further dismantling of the Blitz.
Four plays turned into a negative -19 yards, with Peisker’s four-yard sack on fourth down sealing the deal and giving his team the ball at the seven-yard line.
Already up 6-0, the Pioneers made quick work of the short field.
On first down, Krokos executed a defense play action fake, rolling right and finding Streets open in the flat. The ball was slightly behind Streets, who recovered and made a spectacular shoestring catch that he took into the end zone for the second touchdown.
“We had these short fields, and once we scored, we weren’t losing anything and we could just go back and play defense again,” Streets said.
Streets is the nephew of Tai Streets, the Thornton high school basketball coach who played wide receiver in the NFL with the 49ers and Lions.
The scoring connection of Streets and Krokos put the Pioneers up 14-0 at halftime.
Kicker Andrew Richardson had two two-point kicks in the game.
If the offense was a bit of a work in progress, the defense was a constant, an annihilating and overwhelming force. In addition to Peisker, the leaders were Richardson, Baldridge, Doftert, Sutter and Jude Morrar.
The second half was more of the same. The offense found its big-play groove. At the start of the second half, a fumble recovery by Owen Garrity set up the third touchdown.
A 23-yard pass in the right flat from Krokos to Doftert set up the second one-yard TD plunge by the quarterback.
“We ran that play a couple of times,” Doftert said. “It just depends how the cornerback plays me, and how I work from there.
“The cornerback came up on me, and I was able to do a slant and I was able to run right past him and make the catch for really big yardage.”
The dominant two-way performance enabled the coaches to empty the bench and play the entire roster, which was crucial for experience given the game did not feature the customary Fifth Quarter
Everybody got in on the action. Backup running backs Zackary Salah and Michael Ordman III each carried the ball a couple of times.
Lucca Morandi put the finishing touches on the victory with a fumble recovery in the end zone for the final score. It was the first touchdown of his life.
“Our defensive line did a great job with the pressure, and their quarterback was basically just throwing the ball up into the sky,” Morandi said.
“On the touchdown, I just ran into the backfield, and I saw the ball there. My heart skipped, and I just tried to dive on it.”
The most telling statistic was the -45 yards of offense produced by the Blitz. It was the perfect and glorious end to a near perfect day.
The Orland Park Pioneers Super Lightweight had many key contributors in the 29-0 victory. The other significant players were Kristian Willis, Anthony Baniewicz, Blake Schuler, Vinny Ficaro, Luke Tonra, Jase Enstrom, Vincent Spizzirri, Carter Erwin, Carter Peluso, Karam Olyyan, Noah Cordoba, Nicholas Mase, Gavin Connors, Caden Kolodziej, Bennett Brown, Christian Paulson, Scott Gumienny, Cody Godlewski, Nicholas Dertz, Nick Pomonis, Yousef Yasin, Samuel Horeluk, James Okrasinski, Dominic Lach, Collin Valan, Muhammad Kassel, Dylan Ahmer, Avery Vermilyea, Michael Galivan, Nathan Campos, Raider Slabenak and Brian Curran.
The cheerleaders also brought a beautiful energy and grace to the game with their passion and routines. Gabriela Cabela, Isabella Cartolano, Madison Davis, Eleanor Dorigan, Kaylee Gaj, Paulina Goryl, Madison Hedger, Quinn Heinze, Margot Joda, Vera Joda, Adaline Johnson, Gemma Laniosz, Brielle Lenzen, Brooklyn Loman, Lily Maday, Santina Mannino, Molly McGeever, Emily Okrasinski, Kara O’Meara, Ayya Ramadani, Meryn Rucinski, Sydney Scharpf, Avery Seliga, Peyton Tomasik, Molly Utz and Alivia Zawada.
