By Patrick Z McGavin-Photos by Kathy Jones
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CHICAGO- The best young players have a knack for learning about the game instinctively, and letting their talent follow. The game is a blast, a joy to take part in, and let everything just go.
As a visiting player, Laith Hammami wore the white colors of the Orland Park Pioneers.
He toggled between worlds, spending so much time in the backfield of the Chicago Blitz their players no doubt wondered if he was a member of their own team.
“I didn’t feel great about the way that I played last week, and I just wanted to come out today and push myself through their line,” he said.
Hammami was the lead character in a dominant two-way performance for the Super Lightweights. He posted four sacks and six tackles for loss as the Blitz was held to a negative -19 yards of total yards.
“I feel great and really good when I am able to come out and do what I did today,” Hammami said.
Michael O’Connor powered the offensive attack in the Pioneers’ 21-0 victory in a River Valley Youth Football League game at St. Rita on Sunday, August 27.
Orland Park scored on all three of its first half possessions to put the game out of reach. The team was able to play its entire roster. It was the equivalent of a beach party that everybody was invited to take part in. The collective joy rang out.
O’Connor utilized his jet speed and elusive quickness to score all three touchdowns. He broke off scoring runs of 33, 11 and 25 yards. He finished with six carries for 83 yards. Jason Erwin added 32 yards on three carries. He also scored two point-after conversion runs.
“The toss sweep was really good today, and I was able to get the ball and find my blockers or get outside,” O’Connor said. “The linemen did great today.”
His 25-yard scoring burst around the right edge on the opening drive initiated the rout.
The Blitz quarterback gained four yards on their first play from scrimmage on a keeper around the right edge. That play should have been framed. It was the last positive result of the half. The next eight Blitz plays from scrimmage resulted in negative yardage.
Hammami was the catalyst. He had help, in the form of another defensive lineman, tackle Ellis Hubbard, in addition to some standout plays from Christopher Medina Jr., Jimmy Elsberg and Connor Kvelland.
Those players created pressure at the point of attack, and never allowed the Blitz offense to breathe.
Hammami effectively lived in their backfield, often arriving at the exchange between the quarterback and running back. The game echoed itself. All three first half Pioneers’ possessions ended in touchdowns.
All three Blitz possessions ended with a loss of downs.
The Pioneers utilized the short field with surgical precision. Erwin and Gavin Garrity alternated at quarterback. Sometimes Erwin called his own number in the form of the wildcat, making a hard charge around the right side of the line.
“When I have the ball, my job is to make sure we are hitting the right holes, and we are going to the right places,” Garrity said. “Somebody like Michael, he is really good at making those fakes, or getting the toss sweeps and just taking it to the house.”
After a five-yard sack by Hammami gave the Pioneers possession at the Blitz 25-yard line, O’Connor went to work.
He carried the ball three straight times, culminating in his 11-yard scoring burst. O’Connor is the ideal running back, blessed with the speed and elusiveness to get outside.
He has an ornery side to him, a willingness to throw his body around. He is not afraid to run between the tackles and bounce in the middle of the line and survey the next opening.
“We were able to catch them off guard a lot today, and I don’t think they were ready for us,” O’Connor said.
He gets better with each game, more dynamic and fluid.
“I am older now and know what to look for when I am out there playing,” he said. “I’m also a little bigger and stronger.”
His final carry of the first half put the punctuation mark of a dominant performance with a 25-yard touchdown run.
“I am just excited to play more games,” O’Connor said. “Every game is a new chance to show something.”
O’Connor accounted for 19 of the Pioneers’ points. He added a conversion run following his first touchdown. Erwin added the second and third conversion points. Best of all, the one-sided affair allowed the coaches to play the entire roster, on both sides of the ball.
Taylan Morandi, Luke Bosack and Vito Cangelosi each had a chance to run the ball from scrimmage in the second half.
No matter which group was in the game, the defense just throttled the Blitz. The depth proved especially important given the game was played without a Fifth Quarter.
The first team unit of Hammami, Garrity and Erwin shut down the Blitz at the start of the third quarter. Emerging players Sean Kikilas, Brooks Foster and Anthony LaPapa took part in the action. Each was credited with a tackle that underscored the superb all-around play.
The Blitz finished with just three plays of positive yardage. The game was a great way to get on the right side of the winning column.
“We did a great job of finding the lowest part of their offensive line, or the gaps,” Hubbard said. “The defense did a great job of tackling. It felt great to be out there.”
The Orland Park Pioneers Super Lightweight had many key contributors in the 21-0 victory. The other crucial participants were Peyton Barbee, Jaweed Abuzir, Aaron McCarthy, Nathan Abbs, Keith Piekarz, Thomas Sutter, Jack DuBois, Moody Jaber, Ryan Lukas, Zachariah Ballouta, Wyatt Kipper, Seth Cobbs, Dominic Sopha, Jackson Biskup, Zakariyeh Jaber, Alex Kopec, CJ Hufford, Shane Sternberg, Arun Mallavarapu, Tyler Wilkie, Arthur Slabenak, Blake Nance, Dean Kassem, Jonathan Mizera, Dominic Gabriele, Jordy Kolodziej, Jimmy Elsberg, Thomas Richardson, Logan Cohen, Dominic Maurella and Adam Krokos
The cheerleaders also brought a beautiful energy and grace to the game with their passion and routines. Lea Barbee, Charlotte Dorigan, Anderson Foster, Alaina Holoubek, Clarke Jones, Callie Juarez-Radovanovic, Gianna Kipper, Grace Kvelland, Mia Mizera, Grace Poore, Elena Schmaling and Scarlett Sternberg.
