By Ed Muniz- Photos by Jenn-Anne Gledhill
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Flossmoor–After the Varsity Pioneers lost to the Jr. Knights on October 15, the consensus by coaches and even players was that they should have won that game.
The 20-8 score was not representative of how that game was played but that loss left a very bitter taste of futility due to a victory that wasn’t there.
Assistant coach Todd Shelton addressed his team and told them what a difficult loss it was especially when he felt, along with all the coaches, that they were the better team.
He advised them to remember the loss.
Fast forward to October 29 and the opening round of the River Valley Youth Football League varsity Playoffs at Homewood-Flossmoor HS.
Game tied at 8-8, a minute and five seconds left in the game, the Pioneers sitting at the Jr. Knight 29-yardline after beginning a drive at their own 34-yardline.
Pioneers Quarterback’ Jack Bullington drops back, looks right then quickly left, spots receiver Kyree Gills clear his defender, Bullington lofts a perfect pass only Gills can catch as he cradles the ball and gallops into the endzone for the go-ahead touchdown, his second of the game.
The sidelines erupt along with the Pioneer fans. With just 58.9 seconds left, the Pioneers look to be headed to a hard-fought victory, avenging the loss two weeks ago and proving mostly to themselves, they were the better team.
Quite dramatic ending huh?…
Guess again!
Playing stellar defense throughout the game and holding the Jr. Knights to a single score, it would be silly to think the Pioneers defense would falter when it hadn’t nearly all game.
But before that, the Pioneers needed to kick-off after their score.
“We decided we weren’t going to let their playmaker beat us,” said Coach Vince Annel.
“We were supposed to do a hard, line-drive to the second level, a 20-yard kick, we didn’t call for an onside kick, our kicker just mis-kicked it.”
The kick-off went 8-yards with the Pioneers jumping on it, thus downing the ball at their own 48, giving the Jr. Knights a short field and a chance to tie the game.
Playoff teams are there for a reason and most will take advantage of mistakes at crucial times. They did exactly that, two pass plays later, the Jr. Knights were just 10-yards from the Pioneers endzone.
After a couple incompletions, the Jr. Knights found the endzone after a scramble left, biding time for a receiver to clear. The 10-yard touchdown pass with 15 seconds left, switched the momentum with the touchdown. The score now stood at 16-16.
After converting the kick, Overtime loomed ahead for the Pioneers. The elation of the go-ahead touchdown was a distant pass for them now after taking a knee.
The Pioneers would start the overtime on offense. It took them just two plays to jump ahead again.
A run by Vinnie Annel of 4-yards was followed by a determined Mason Marable 6-yard blast into the endzone. It was apparent he wouldn’t be denied that score.
“I knew we needed to score and obviously then stop them afterwards,” said Marable. “The first step was scoring so I just had to make sure I got in. After they scored, I was thinking block the kick, we came really close, we just had to score and win Overtime.”
“Vinnie (Annel) had a great run got us around the 5-yardline, we knew at the 5, we’re pretty dangerous. I Just had to score.”
Marable also spoke how difficult it is to maintain his level of play.
“Energy, getting tired, playing both sides of the ball are hard sometimes. I think we should have won by more; it shouldn’t have been that close but they are a pretty good team.”
Now up 24-16, it was up to the Pioneers defense to bring this game to a closure.
They did just that.
The Pioneer defense would allow just a single yard to the Jr. Knight offense, stifling any thoughts of a double overtime.
Two runs amounted to one yard while two pass attempts were well defended by Annel and Taylor McDoniel to secure the win and advance to the Semi-finals of the Varsity division next weekend.
All game, McDoniel was good on the corner during runs and defending the pass. Although shorter than most of the receivers, he still was formidable against the run and pass.
“I was trying to anticipate where they were about to throw and where they’re going to run and make a play,” said McDoniel. “When I see the ball in the air heading my way, my initial thought is to get a pick but if I can’t, I just slap it away. This win shows us that we can compete with a lot of people and if we play our game, we can win a lot.”
From the onset, the Pioneers defense was playing at an increase effort level. Tackles by Adam Danko, Dominic Gigliotti and Marable forced a punt on the Jr. Knights opening series.
The Pioneers running game showed its capabilities on their initials first two runs by Annel and Marable but a penalty stalled their drive and they too punted.
Picking up where it left off, the Pioneers defense again made things difficult for their opponent. Ayden Toth and Marable made stops. Forcing another Jr. Knights punt, pressure from the inside was strong enough for Keegan Kirk to block a punt and give the Pioneers a short field on offense.
Kirk was an aggressive foe for the Jr. Knights. His thick, fireplug stature was troublesome for anyone across from his. He caused disruptions at the line and occasionally chased down a runner with his hidden speed.
“When (Adam) Danko got hurt, I got mad and picked up my game. I thought they might have gone for his knees,” said Kirk. “I was using the swim move over and playing hard, that was working for me. This game meant a lot to me, I didn’t want our season to end, especially being an eighth grader. I’m looking forward to next week’s game. I’ll give it my all again. “
The Pioneers hit paydirt early in the second quarter.
Bullington was finding his receivers and connecting on passes to Annel for 12-yards, Ayden Toth for 17-yards and finally with Gills who scored on the 17-yard touchdown pass. David Klimaszka added the kick-after for the 8-0 lead.
Annel was giving his all. On a pass play, he leaped backwards to make the reception of the game, landing hard on his back on the turf surface. He was committing to giving his all for the team without regards to possible injury.
He also ran that way as well. Every rush was a scene of not wanting to go down, reaching for every inch he could. Fortunately, his offensive line was having a good game.
“The whole week of practice, our O-line has been working on their R/X blocks and pulling and stuff, they really showed that because there was wide open hole every time and I took off,” said Annel. “I knew today could be our last game if we lost, so I don’t want it to end, we are eighth graders and gave it my all today. We keep practicing and working hard, we can win the next game.”
The Jr, Knights countered right away, scoring the next time they had the ball on a 31-yard pass-play that surprised Gills. With their kick-after, the game went into halftime knotted at 8-8.
The Pioneers came out of half and proceeded to move the ball using the teams’ rushing skills.
Marable opened with an 18-yard burst up the middle, but a few plays later, a mishandled exchange was fumbled and recovered by the Jr. Knights.
Hard tackling by Kirk and Annel stopped the Jr. Knights on runs but a crunching tackle by Marable on a scrambling Jr. Knights quarterback popped the football loose which was recovered by McDoniel to end their drive.
The remainder of the second half saw both defenses control much of the play eventually leading to the drama at the end.
For the Pioneers, bend but don’t break was how they played defensively for the most part. Tackles by Rocco McCarthy, McDoniel, Sam Basiorka, Shamma, Joshua McNeil, Annel and Marable kept the Knights reeling.
Fifth Quarter action was also on full display prior to the playoff game.
It was hard to miss the effort put forth by Dominic Rizza. Celebrating his birthday, Rizza went out and his effort made sure you’d hear his name throughout the contest.
His five solo tackles and several assists was the standout performance of the Fifth Quarter.
“I think I was reading the running-backs really well today, I was just there making tackles,” said Rizza. “I knew possibly this could be my last game, so I put my all into it. I think playing with my teammates well and working hard, getting stronger and bigger and not just sitting around, will make me a better player, I plan on doing that.”
Offensively, Thomas Elliott was the offensive star. He completed four passes to Connor Ward for 41-yards, a pass to Christian Czerwonka for 18-yards and four passes to Logan Kondziolka for 92-yards, including a 40-yard touchdown pass.
“Guys got knock down, guys got knocked out of the game, the next man stepped up,’ said Coach Annel. “Nate Owei was phenomenal, he hasn’t played right tackle all year, he came in stepped in for Danko, defensively, guys stepped up when it mattered most. We got more fun to go. Our kids will be ready who ever we play, we just have to come out and play our game.”
Other Pioneers adding to the Fifth Quarter and Playoff victory include Ayden Murphy, Ethan Vinson, Adrian Maldonado, Cash Phillips, Ryan Almasri who scored a fifth quarter touchdown from 20-yards, Athansios Gatses, Adam Hoak, John Murray, Casper Piskurewicz, Will Beeler, Mark Grech-Lisula, Mohammad Ghadban, Nathaniel Owei, Shafik Yasin, Rami Agha, Andrew Wojtanowicz, Nimer Alamawi, Raymond Arrendondo, Blake Wagner, Ibrahim Jaffal, Mostafa Mostafa, Brady Straka and Stephen Caxton-Idowu.
Cheering on the Players and entertaining the fans throughout the game were the Varsity Pioneers Cheerleaders, they include Alyssa Abed, Tahani Alzamareeh, Madeleine Carrier, Lily Carroll, Sophia Gasior, Erica Gonsowski, Natalie Gruszka, Lily Jacquez, Layla Jeffries, Emilia Kos, Madalyn Marable, Ghazal Masadmasad, Lily Masino, Hailey McDonald, Liliana Minard, Rain Murphy, Avery Nugent, Maeve O’Connor, Paige Pomonis, Arianna Ramadani, Taylor Ruisz, Fiona Sejud, Jordyn Shamma, Kiera Ulaszek, Summer Vahl, Lila Vitale, Kylee Votteler, Klaudia Willis and Anna Woloszy.
Other Photos.
