By Patrick Z. McGavin- Photos by Jenn-Anne Gledhill
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ORLAND PARK— The Lightweights of the Orland Park Pioneers have thrown their muscle around with a lightning, quick strike offense and an immovable defense. Now throw in some special teams magic, and the team is virtually untouchable.
The Lightweights capitalized on big returns and special teams turnovers for the 18-0 Homecoming victory over Homewood-Flossmoor United in River Valley Youth Football league play at Sandburg High School on Sunday, September 7.
Jackson Biskup illustrated the all-around activity and superb effort. He recovered two H-F United fumbles on kickoff returns. The Pioneers forced four takeaways in the game.
“We were all fired up, and everybody wanted to hit somebody,” Biskup said. “I love the hustle, and I love to get the ball. Everybody is just all over the place, making tackles. We had a lot to celebrate.”
After Arthur Slabanek and Biskup made critical stops to force an early H-F punt, Adam Krokos unleashed the offensive firepower with a 28-yard punt return down the left sideline.
Slabanek was one of the defensive stars with four tackles, including two for losses.
“My dad was really firing me up,” he said. “Once he said don’t let them past you, I just took somebody backwards and didn’t let them go. I just like making those tackles on defense. The coaches teach us really well.”
Orland Park needed just six plays to produce the first touchdown. With top back Michael O’Connor out with injury, Krokos and Jason Erwin again stepped to the forefront.
The strength of the H-F defense was on the outside, where the program was able to utilize its speed and athleticism. Erwin did his greatest damage running off-tackle. He carried the ball three times for 20 yards on the opening drive, culminating by a seven-yard slash through the interior to start the scoring.
On the first play of the follow up drive by H-F, a big hit by Slabanek dislodged the ball and two-way star Connor Kvelland dove on the ball for the recovery.
Kvelland is also the quarterback and orchestrator of the attack. With the versatile running game of Erwin and Krokos, he showed a different side with a beautifully designed play action fake.
With H-F selling out to stop the run, Kvelland threw a gorgeous 22-yard scoring strike to a wide open Erwin for the Pioneers’ 12-0 advantage.
“That was a special moment,” Erwin said. “I went on a go, and the quarterback just threw it and I caught it for a touchdown. We were ready to play, and we were very aggressive in attacking them. There were gaps, and I just ran really hard. I also love catching touchdowns.”
On the ensuing kickoff, Biskup recovered the first of his two fumble recoveries. The subsequent drive stalled out. Scoring off turnovers is important. Denying H-F United an important possession was just as crucial.
On the final play of the half, Sean Kikilis was again a defensive terror from the right edge. Just as he did to start the game with a huge sack, Kikilas made a jarring hit on an H-F runner that caused another fumble. Kikilas picked up the ball for the recovery.
The second half was a mirror image, with the Pioneers deploying their superb ground game to control the clock and push the athletic H-F offense to the sidelines.
With center Gunner McCarthy, the offensive line dictated the tempo and pace of the game. The right side with guard Laith Hammami and tackle Ellis Hubbard opened significant space for Erwin and Krokos to create their damage.
Tackle Jimmy Elsberg was the other standout on the left side.
Hammami was acknowledged by the coaches after the game for his superb work.
“There’s just a really good feeling whenever I can make a pancake or just a lead block that leads to a touchdown,” he said. “We work a lot on moving fast, and get off the play off every 10 seconds. We work on that a lot in our practices. The way we ran just fired everybody up, and probably made the other team feel less motivated.”
Working sharply with Hubbard and McCarthy, the communication and chemistry allowed all the pieces of the attack to connect and flourish.
“I started talking a lot with the center and the other tackle about who are you blocking, or who you got,” Hammami said. “We just said which way to run, and we have to go the other way. We just communicate, and we get along.”
The defense rolled once again. H-F United generated just one first down. The first team defense is unscored upon this season. Krokos and Erwin fly to the ball. Kikilis, Hubbard and Slabanek controlled the line of scrimmage. The three were typically in the backfield at the moment of the exchange between the H-F quarterback and his running backs.
The Pioneers punctuated the dominant performance with a seven-play scoring drive in the closing minutes. Erwin and Krokos alternated carrying the ball.
Krokos motored in from four yards out for the final touchdown.
“We were really good off the ground, and getting those big yards,” Kvelland said. “When they tried to bring pressure, I saw Jason get open, and I threw it. My hand got hit as I threw it, but I was able to get enough on it.”
Fittingly, running back Taylan Morandi closed out the game with a couple of runs on the final possession. He brought everything full circle.
Morandi was also the standout of the Fifth Quarter with a couple of touchdown runs.
“I like getting the ball,” he said. “I’m kind of shifty, and I like to get the ball outside. It felt great to start the day like that, and show what I could do, and then finish the game off at the end.”
The Orland Park Pioneers Lightweights had many standout contributions in the 18-0 Homecoming victory. They were Jaweed Abuzir, Nate Abbs, Keith Piekarz, Thomas Sutter, Joey Zotto, Will Poore, Luke Bosack, Ryan Lukas, Zachariah Ballouta, Martin Groark, Brady Higgins, Alex Kopec, CJ Hufford, Christopher Medina Jr., Shane Sternberg, Luke Holoubek, Bennett Kersten, Brooks Foster, Michael Patterson, Gavin Garrity, Anthony LaPapa, Paxson Leithleiter, Ian Frost, Jonathan Mizera, Dominic Gabriele, Ammar Abdelmuti, William Jordan, Jordy Kolodziej, Luke McDoniel, Paul Rylan Davies, Amari Adigun and Dominic Maurella.
Wearing special tie-dyed peace and love outfits for the Homecoming theme, the cheerleaders also brought beautiful passion and energy to their performances. They are Lucy Bohanek, Kaitlyn Minick, Alexandra Burda, Mabel Lukasiewicz, Elena Schmaling, Adaline Johnson, Zoey France, Emerson Schweikert, Eleanor Koehn, Stella Bristow, Brooklyn Loman, Eila Richter, Aaliyah Medina, Ava Janota, Molly McGeever, Skylar Shlepakov, Makayla Sotelo, Vera Joda, Kara O’Meara, Sophia Molina, Emily Okrasinski, Ainsley Moore, Maevry Harmatys, Marissa Gumuls, Madison Hedger, Morgan Collins, Aleena Badwan, Scarlett Sternberg, Sadie Griffin, Grace Poore, Kennedy Krokos, Olivia Ally, Liliana Holmes, Morgan Burger, Evelyn Byrne, Lillian Fudala, Alaina Holoubek, Anderson Foster, Selena Rios, Gwendolyn Moffatt, Margaret Moffatt, Evelyn Moffatt, Quinn Heinze, Callie Juarez-Radovanovic, Eloise Sarhage, Jenna Michalczewski and Charlotte Dorigan.
