By Pat McGavin-Photos by Jenn-Anne Gledhill
**Additional Photos are available for purchase at justallsports.zenfolio.com/2022pioneers.**
ORLAND PARK—
It was weirdly natural on the greatest rushing day of his young career, Michael O’Connor focused on a tackle. It was not just any run of the mill stop.
The defining play happened late in the fourth quarter with the Orland Park Pioneers staring down a 7-6 deficit.
With less than six minutes to play, the Frankfort Square Wildcats had first down and looked to run out the clock.
They snapped the ball and pitched it wide right. The running back broke through the initial wall of tacklers.
He had open space.
Welcome to my house, Mr. O’Connor, basically said. “Not today,” were his ostensible words. His diving open field tackle limited the gain to just four yards.
“I like to truck people when I run the ball, but my favorite part of the game is playing defense and tackling,” O’Connor said.
His two-way heroics set the stage for a miracle finish.
Two consecutive tackles for loss by Cole Baldridge and Jude Morrar forced the Wildcats to punt.
O’Connor put on his hero cape.
He scored two touchdowns and rushed for 115 yards as the Super Lightweights pulled out the thrilling 13-7 comeback victory in a River Valley Youth League Football game at Sandburg High School on Sunday, October 16.
O’Connor bulldozed behind a wall of blockers the final three yards for the game-winner with 14.8 seconds remaining.
He accounted for all 13 points, punctuating the remarkable performance by also scoring on the conversion run.
“I like to look for my blocks and run outside, noit on the inside where the defense is able to catch me,” O’Connor said.
O’Connor was the headliner, but he was not the only standout for the Pioneers.
Just like the winning performance last week against the Chicago Blitz, Baldridge was a one-man wrecking crew.
He had seven tackles, including four for negative yardage as the Wildcats managed only three first downs, one via penalty.
They were held to negative yardage in the second half.
“On the defensive side, we did pretty well,” Baldridge said. “We made some nice tackles.
“We didn’t let them get any yards except for that crazy play they had.”
With quarterback Luke Krokos orchestrating the attack, the Pioneers dominated time of possession.
Orland Park ran 44 plays from scrimmage compared to just 18 for the Wildcats.
“I just wanted to give it to our running backs who were doing great running out there,” Krokos said.
“We just wanted to keep pushing the ball and moving it.”
The Super Lightweights had a great start and a fantastic finish.
Orland Park opened the game with an 11-play, 50-yard scoring sequence.
Running backs O’Connnor, Carter Erwin and Jase Enstrom did the bulk of the damage.
Their contrasting running styles set the tone.
Enstrom is quick and explosive and utilized his speed to get to the edge. His 18-yard burst was the longest play of the drive.
Erwin ran between the tackles, using his size and power to overpower the Wildcats.
“I think we were just moving the ball well, and giving the ball to the right people at the right time,” Erwin said.
He had three carries for 12 yards during the possession.
O’Connor was the standout, carrying the rock five times for 21 yards.
His three-yard scoring burst around the left edge put the Pioneers up with 4:17 to play in the first quarter.
By contrast, the Wildcats ran six plays from scrimmage on their first two possessions and lost a combined six yards.
Baldridge had three stops, joined by O’Connor with two tackles and another stop by Krokos.
Morrar was the other force. His explosiveness off the line of scrimmage mirrored that of Baldridge.
Taken together, the two simply crushed the Wildcats’ offensive line and stopped their offense before it could even get untracked.
“Cole and I are usually on the opposite side,” Morrar said. “He is not he left tackle, and two or three guys next ot me, and I’m typically on the nose.
“I was just waiting for my chance, and I did whatever I could to get to the other side.”
Football is nothing if not unpredictable.
Just as the Pioneers seemed to take complete control, the momentum switched.
The only Pioneers’ mistake of the game, a fumble, gave the Wildcats the ball at their own 30-yard line late in the second quarter.
A Wildcats’ offense that had been going in only one direction—reverse—was buoyed by the turn of events.
Frankfort Square ripped off a 19-yard run with a tacked on personal foul penalty against the Pioneers.
One play later, a missed tackle resulted in a stunning turn of events, a 31-yard touchdown and conversion run that put the Wildcats up 7-6 at halftime.
Fortunately for the Pioneers, they obliterated the Wildcats’ offense the balance of the game.
Frankfort Square ran just nine plays from scrimmage in the second half. Six of those plays went for no gain or negative yardage.
Baldridge, Morrar and Frank Wilkinson stood tall at the point of impact.
They simply smothered the Wildcats’ offense. Frankfort Square was running in place.
“We were really happy because our coach told us that if we stopped them, our next drive was going to win the game,” Baldridge said.
Midway through the third quarter, Orland Park took the ball at its own 42-yard line.
Enstrom broke free for a crucial fourth down conversion run to keep the drive alive.
O’Connor worked his magic between the tackles, and also flashed his speed to the outside.
Suddenly the drive stalled as Krokos was sacked and O’Connor was denied on fourth down.
“I wasn’t sure we’d have a very chance at winning this game,” Erwin said.
“Then, out of nowhere, we stopped them, and they had to punt.”
Following the spectacular open field tackle by O’Connor, Baldridge and Morrar did their part.
Orland Park covered the 34 yards for the wining touchdown in 11 plays.
The best run of the day by O’Connor yielded 11 yards on third and long.
Krokos sneaked for the fourth and short conversion.
Three plays later, O’Connor hit paydirt.
“I was just trying to get to the first downs, and get out of bounds there,” he said.
Just like the whole day, Michael O’Connor did so much more.
In the Fifth Quarter, Jason Erwin scored on a touchdown run. Defensively, Christopher Medina Jr., Christian Paulson and Cody Godlewski posted sacks.
The Orland Park Pioneers Super Lightweight had many key contributors in the 13-7 victory. The other crucial participants were Thomas Sutter, Jack DuBois, Taylan Morandi, Zane Judeh, Blake Schuler, Austin Flynn, Zachariah Ballouta, Vincent Spizzirri, Wyatt Kipper, Cayden Caldwell, Ellis Hubbard, Lucca Morandi, Noah Cordoba, Shane Sternberg, Andrew Richardson, Jordan Ulaszek, Gavin Garrity, Arthur Slabenak, Anthony LaPapa, Scott Gumienny, Laith Hammami, Nick Pomonis, Yousef Yasin, James Okrasinski, Nolan Burke, Aaron McCarthy, Michael Ordman, Thomas Richardson, Nathan Campos, Rayder Slabenak, Owen Garrity, Maximus Bauer and Adam Krokos.
The cheerleaders also brought a beautiful energy and grace to the game with their passion and routines. They included Juliana Corsi, Madison Davis, Violet Fredin, Brynn Fregeau, Mia Fregeau, Martin Groark, Hadley Hanrahan, Quinn Heinze, Alaina Holoubek, Vera Joda, Margot Joda, Callie Juarez-Radovanovic, Ella Kluever, Gemma Laniosz, Brielle Lenzen, Aubrey Mason, Amanda Mathis, Brailey McDonough, Annabella Milosovic, Ayya Ramadani, Avery Seliga, Peyton Tomasik, and Moira Troy.
