By Patrick Z. McGavin-Photos by Jenn-Anne Gledhill
** Additional Photos are Available for Purchase at https://justallsports.zenfolio.com/p852160109 **
The ball floated into the beautiful night sky on the left sideline as Enzo Angone made his read.
The defensive back of the Orland Park Pioneers leapt into the air and made a spectacular interception as the full weight of his momentum threw his body crashing to the ground.
He did not immediately get up. After the trainer attended to him, he walked off the field under his own power.
A couple of plays later, he was back on the field, despite the score and the nonexistent hope for a victory.
“I just didn’t want to quit, and I wanted to fight until the end,” Angone said.
His spirit animated the rest of the Junior Varsity players from the Pioneers. Even a bit broken and beaten up, the team never lost the desire or will to compete.
The Orland Park Pioneers showed tremendous passion and toughness in the face of a quality adversary.
The Junior Varsity suffered the 22-0 loss against the Homer Stallions in a River Valley Youth Football League game at Killmer Field on Saturday, September 23.
“They were big, and they were strong,” two-way standout Ben Snider said. “We needed to block a little more, and give us some more time to get where we were going. The linemen needed to open up some holes.”
The improving Pioneers offense struggled to develop any consistent offensive rhythms against the physical and talented Stallions.
In the first half, the team had just one play go for more than 10 yards, a pass hook up from quarterback Ashton Brennan to Jude Doftert.
The typically sharp and fluid rushing attack of Angone and Snider was too often stymied by the lack of open space, or the pressure generated by the Stallions’ defensive interior.
“They were just big,” Angone said. “They knew how to play. They were a really good team. It was tough for the linemen to push, and it was tough for the backs to push through. I struggled against them. You could see they had very good chemistry. They tackled together, and they were a very good team.”
The Pioneers’ defense was the equal of the Stallions throughout the first half. In the interior, Doftert, Terrin Lovitt, Michael Sraga, William Reilly and Mason Overmyer flowed to the ball, and worked effectively in creating group tackles.
Overmyer, Lovitt and Reilly combined for consecutive stops that forced a turnover on downs on the Stallions’ opening possession.
The Pioneers seemingly were always against the odds with regard to field position. Eventually the math caught up against them.
Homer’s top running back, who scored all three touchdowns, broke on a 50-yard run down the right sideline near the end of the first half for the 6-0 Stallions’ lead.
“I feel like we played very well in stopping them from the big drive, but they had a couple of really big plays,” Lovitt said.
The speed and athleticism of the Stallions’ running backs created undue pressure on the defense to slow them down.
“I feel like we couldn’t wrap around them. They were running through us. We were diving, and they were dodging us,” Lovitt said. “We really need to work on our containment. All of the touchdowns against us this year have mostly been either pass plays, or runs to the outside.”
Angone, Snider and Ryan Duckhorn stepped up and made some strong individual plays. The defense showed strong signs despite playing without standout Caden Votteler, out with an arm injury.
Doftert had a terrific seven-yard sack.
The offense could never fully get untracked. Brennan has improved in the pocket, and demonstrated increased mobility. Homer broke the game open with big touchdown runs at the start and end of the third quarter.
A fumbled exchange on the Pioneers’ second drive of the third quarter did not help matters. The team was also unlucky. A big pass play to Angone in the right flat was called back by an illegal hold.
With his team down 22-0, Angone had a big kickoff return that provided the PIoneers’ best starting position at their own 45-yard line on the opening possession of the fourth quarter.
A Snider 12-yard swing pass created a burst of optimism. It was unfortunately followed by four consecutive incomplete passes. Instead, the Pioneers had to find whatever solace they could, and simply play for pride and purpose.
“Towards the end, when we were down three touchdowns and we knew we probably were not going to win, I think we felt this great pride to not let them score on us again and make it even a greater loss,” Reilly said. “Their backs were faster than the linebackers, and they were bigger and stronger. Their offensive line held their blocks really well.”
The most tantalizing offensive moment came when Snider got free in the secondary only for the ball to just elude him.
“I think we might have won that game had we been able to stay in it until the very end,” Doftert said. “We had some bad injuries that really hurt us. We had some breakdowns. We might have stopped them from getting outside if we did a better job with containment.”
The Stallions were playing for their own pride with their Homecoming night, like the Pioneers of the week earlier when the Junior Varsity defeated the Steger Storm.
“They were motivated,” Sraga said. “Their linemen were fast, and stronger. They were all like seventh graders. In our next game, we have to come out and play like 110 percent.”
The Pioneers have responded sharply to their only previous loss.
“We just have to move on from this game, and keep going hard,” Angone said.
During the 25-minute Fifth Quarter, younger and developing players like Aidan Rios, Qais Naser, Justin McNamara, Charlie Enstrom and John Werner played well.
Despite the setback against the Homer Stallions, the Junior Varsity of the Orland Park Pioneers featured many significant contributors. Those players included Ryan Beeler, Gavin Loman, Colin Kluever, David Kopec, Dylan Butler, Cade McNulty, Evan Lavelle, Wyatt Heinze, Luke Rybak, Henry Byrne, Redmond Finnish, Logan Helman, Keegan Fogarty, Drake Ulaszek, Layth Zughayer, Nicholas Davis, Dylan Gavin, Nicholas Baniewicz, Luke O’Reilly, Ryan Marek, Brock Lenzen, Steven Mullins, Nicholas Hertzog, Jack Bordelon, Justin McNamara, Erik Baran and Rhett Capps.
The cheerleaders also demonstrated great artistry and passion with their choreographed routines. They are Carys Atraje, Aubrey Baran, Keira Barrera, Brittney Blazys, Brooke Blazys, Annabelle Briseno, Hayden Campbell, Giulia Cangelosi, Avery Carroll, Ellyana 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.