By Bobby Narang- Photos by Jenn-Anne Gledhill
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Just as the sunshine started to slightly fadeaway at Mike Navarro Stadium on Sunday afternoon, the Orland Park Pioneers started heating up.
Although the outcome was all but decided, the Pioneers fought until the final whistle in their Junior Varsity game against the New Lenox Warriors in a River Valley Youth Football League game.
The Pioneers failed to score in the first three quarters, but they saved their best drive of the intense and action-packed game for the fourth quarter. Quarterback Ashton Brennan tossed a beautiful pass that sailed high in the air, landing in the arms of a wide-open Jude Doftert. Sensing nothing but open turf in front of him, Doftert glided into the end zone for a touchdown with 8:26 left in the game.
The Pioneers couldn’t find the end zone the rest of the game, dropping a 26-7 decision to the New Lenox Warriors in the third of four youth football games.
Brennan said he hopes the late score motivates the team for their next game.
“That touchdown felt pretty good,” Brennan said. “I saw him wide open, but I didn’t want to overthrow him or underthrow me, so I just hit him in stride. It felt good to score. The line blocked really well. We also really work on the fake handoff.”
Brennan had a prolific game, leading the Pioneers with his precision running and leadership at quarterback despite his team falling into a 26-0 deficit late in the third quarter. Brennan completed three passes for 77 yards and a touchdown. Brennan showed off his strong arm by tossing a 32-yard pass to Enzo Angone in the first quarter.
Running back Ben Snider was a standout on offense, gashing the Warriors for 49 yards in six carries. Snider had one of the best plays in the game, busting free for a 32-yard run late in the third quarter. Snider also played strong on defense, leading the secondary with his spirited play, especially with some key tackles in the second half.
“On offense, I think the offensive line blocked really well,” Snider said. “They blocked great and they opened up some big holes and I just kept running. We had some key turnovers that hurt us. I felt good about my running. I thought we played a lot better in the second half, but we needed to play better in the first half to win the game.”
Terrin Lovitt, who plays middle linebacker and right tackle on offense, said the Pioneers played inspired football in the final two quarters. The Warriors were held scoreless in the second half, mainly due to solid defense aided by gang-tackling, sticking to their angles and playing strong at the line of scrimmage.
“We adjusted to what they were doing,” Lovitt said. “They were doing a lot of quarterback sneaks and other (good) plays. We stepped it up in the second half, but sadly we lost the game. Their quarterback was fast, strong and there was nothing we could do about it.”
Mason Overmyer, a linebacker, was a sparkplug throughout the physical game. Overmyer was a key factor in why the Warriors couldn’t sustain any long drives after halftime. Overmyer made several key stops to not allow New Lenox to extend its lead.
“I feel pretty upset about the loss, but I think we did good on some sides during the game,” Overmyer said. “I was happy with my tackles, but also I think we all started to figure out their plays in the second half and everything started clicking for the defense. I was trying to fly around because our coach really motivated us at halftime to play better in the second half.”
Defensively, the Pioneers had several big-time plays to impress the crowd. Ryan Duckhorn showed off his athleticism and anticipation skills by stopping a possible big play with a deflection on a passing attempt on fourth down late in the third quarter.
The Pioneers might have suffered a tough loss, but the entire team played with tenacity and everyone cheered for the team throughout the game. The team — Ryan Beeler, Jude Doftert, Gavin Loman, Colin Kluever, David Kopec, Dylan Butler, Colin McElligott, Cade McNulty, Kyle Krokos, Charlie Enstrom, Ashton Brennan, Caden Votteler, Evan Lavelle, Mason Overmyer, Wyatt Heinze, Luke Rybak, Henry Byrne, Ben SNider, Finnian Redmond, Logan Helman, John Werner, Keegan Fogarty, Drake Ulaszek, Layth Zughayer, Nicholas Davis, Luke Makuch, Enzo Angone, Terrin Lovitt, Dylan Gavin, Nicholas Baniewicz, Michael Sraga, Luke O’Reilly, Ryan Marek, Brock Lenzen, William Reilly, Aidan Rios, Qais Naser, Steven Mullins, Ryan Duckhorn, Nicholas Hertzog, Jack Borelon, Justin McNamara, Erik Baran and Rhett Capps – was all in good spirits following the game due to giving full effort in all four quarters.
Also, the Junior Varsity cheerleading team helped keep everyone happy with a memorable routine mix of several songs that led to a number of fans standing up and clapping. The team is comprised of Carys Atraje, Aubrey Baran, Keira Barrera, Brittney Blazys, Brooke Blazys, Annabelle Briseno, Hayden Campbell, Giulia Cangelosi, Avery Carroll, Elliyana Connors, Charlotte Day, Annabelle Deloya, Darcy Dorigan, Frankie Ficaro, Emma Golonka, Delaney Grenda, Arabella Hernandez, Ariana Hinton, Leah Janota, Bianca Kapusciarz, Ella Kluever, Brinley Laniosz, Malayna Marable, Emily Minard, Natalie Ocon, Emma Overman, Gia Parisi, Emily Pastiak, Makayla Roman, Emma Ruisz, Luciana Rupp, Alyse Sparacino, Kamilla Ulaszek and Nora Velez.