By Pat McGavin- Photos by Kathy Jones
** Additional Phtos are available for purchase at https://justallsports.zenfolio.com/p108078319 **
ORLAND PARK— It began with a gorgeous flourish, everything breaking beautiful and true for a team looking to get on the right side of the scoreboard.
The Lightweight Red program of the Orland Park Pioneers began their victory quest with precision and tenacity. The parts all came together in a wonderful symphony.
“Our line was blocking really well, and everybody was doing really well out there, and the same about our quarterback and our running backs,” Nicholas Vuolo said.
The opening drive was a thing of beauty—patient, efficient and very dramatic. Unfortunately the good times did not last.
The turbo-charged start and a frantic finish by the Lightweight Red program could not offset a 13-6 loss against HF United in Wednesday Night Football League action at Schussler Park on September 16.
United ripped off two long touchdown runs in the second half.
The Pioneers had great bookend pieces, a methodical scoring drive to start and an explosive series of plays on the final possession that only lacked the necessary final scoring sequence.
“I really liked how we were starting the game,” quarterback Sean Johnson said. “We were doing well, and we got into our offense right away. It took us a while to get into the end zone.
“We were blocking and getting gains of almost five yards on every play.”
A converted running back, Johnson is still learning the intricacies of playing quarterback. His raw talent is evident, particularly his speed and cutting in space.
The Red has a strong collection of running backs with RJ Ward, Anthony Lang and Vuolo. The start crystallized an offense operating at peak efficiency.
It featured no negative plays, and a series of darts and pincer actions that propelled the team into scoring position.
A fourth down conversion by Lang set the stage for Ward’s electric 22-yard touchdown burst for the 6-0 Pioneers’ lead.
“The play was designed for the outside, and I was able to get there,” Ward said. “The guys were blocking really well, and all I had to do was run it in.”
So far, so good, and the game confirmed the impressions made by coach Dan Kolodziej of the team’s gradual and steady game to game improvement.
The team provided the concrete evidence to back up its coach.
“The way we started the game, we really needed that opening drive,” Lang said. “We had so much confidence, and we started off so amazingly. We got just about five yards every time we carried.”
The balance of the first half followed a similar script with an opportunistic offense matched by a dialed-in defense.
If the game is often about giving players a chance to succeed, the Red performed that superbly.
The defense was also up to the challenge of containing the athleticism and speed of the HF United attack.
Mohammed Abu Alshaikh anchored a strong defensive line, in tandem with Nicholas Schultz and Amir Haddad. Jonathan Mizera and Austin D’Andrea played brilliantly at linebacker.
Ward, Lang and Johnson are also featured players in the secondary. They were tasked with denying the perimeter to the fast United playmakers.
That effort was highly successful in the first half.
The next stage of the team’s development is matching the two halves together.
The WNFL utilizes a different time format with two 25-minute halves, with the clock continuously until the final two minutes of the game.
All the good things that Pioneers achieved at the start was undone in just seconds at the beginning of the second half.
A United ball carrier broke free on the right edge and went untouched 70 yards on the first play from scrimmage. The confidence and skill of the Pioneers took a harsh blow.
“That runner was good, and he took advantage of our defense and found a hole,” Lang said. “The linebackers were trying to get him.
“He had really good speed.”
Johnson and Ward tried all the right angles and gave a furious chase. The momentum changed, particularly after United ran in the conversion point for the 7-6 lead.
“They got us there, and I think caught us a little bit out of position,” Johnson said. “We were trying to get to them, RJ and me, but we just couldn’t get there fast enough to tackle him.”
If the Pioneers were stunned, the truly backbreaking moment came further into the second half. The Red nearly generated a defensive touchdown, or a possible go-ahead safety.
United saw consecutive snaps to its quarterback go awry, and the Pioneers had defenders come within inches of securing the ball. Even so, the team felt good, having HF pinned so deep in its own end.
Disaster struck a second time with the electric HF runner breaking through the interior and exploding into space for the stunning 96-yard touchdown burst.
“They found areas where we didn’t have as many people, and the times we did get there, we weren’t able to wrap up,” D’Andrea said. “We just didn’t have enough people on that side.”
Jolted a second time, the Pioneers could have simply folded. Instead the team dug in and showed the depth of its character and its own competitive fury.
Quite frankly, the team stood for something.
Lang started the comeback on a gorgeous double handoff action. He broke free down the left sideline for a 49-yard run, the team’s longest play from scrimmage.
“The field opened on the width, and I saw an open spot,” Lang said. “I was just running. I could hear the guy chasing me from behind, and I saw him reaching over and trying to put his arm over the top and get me down.
“I thought I might break free, but he tackled me.”
Johnson made a deft sideways move to elude two tacklers and gain 11 yards, putting the ball in the red zone. The Pioneers reached the 10-yard line.
Royal was bottled up, and Johnson was nailed on a two-yard loss. The Pioneers’ last chance ended on an incomplete Johnson pass.
Lessons were learned.
“I think we have to learn how to wrap up better, or we just have to be able to dive on those tackles,” Haddad said. “We have to do a better job of making stops.”
The team walked off the field disappointed by the final result. The level of play proved more encouraging going forward.
“Losses are hard, but we’re going to continue to work,” D’Andrea said.
Despite the 13-6 WNFL loss, the Lightweight Red program featured many key contributors. The first-team players dressed and vocally supported and encouraged the team. They were Mahmoud Abu Alshaikh, Taylan Morandi, Nicolas Lang, Sean Kikilas, Nicholas Vuolo, Ethan Brandofino, MJ Groark, Zacharia Nofal, Jude Atieh, CJ Hufford, Shane Sternberg, Bennett Kersten, Henry Simons, Taym Nofal, Gavin Garrity, Arthur Slabenak, Henry Wade, Mohammed Abu Alshaikh, William Sraga, William Jordan, Thomas McCann, Jordy Kolodziej, Luke McDoniel, Paul Rylan Davies and Yazen Nijem.
