By Francisco Avila- Photos by Renee Kaspar
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FRANKFORT — The postseason brings added pressure, but it also offers a chance to see how much a team has grown throughout the season. Despite a 20-0 loss to Homewood Flossmoor United in the first round of the River Valley Youth Football League playoffs at Frankfort, the Orland Park Pioneers Super Lightweight battled throughout the contest, showing a continuous improvement that defined their season.
Head coach Paul Bertucci reflected on the team’s progress and praised the players for their improvement throughout the year.
“The kids had learned so much this season. It’s a different team than what we started with at the beginning of the year. I am so proud of the way these guys got better at football. We had a lot of fun this year. They really improved throughout the year.”
Coach Bertucci also praised his team’s heart and commitment, not only the players, but the coaches as well.
“The team has had a lot of heart all season. I’m so proud of these guys. I’m proud of our coaches. They’ve come back. They’ve battled every day. Yeah, I’m just really proud of them all.”
The Pioneers opened with an offensive drive, led by Liam McNulty. McNulty used his speed to find running room outside the pocket and worked with the backfield to gain yardage.
As the first quarter progressed, McNulty connected with Suhabib Ballouta on multiple plays, one of which gained four yards. However, after several more attempts to move the chains, the Pioneers turned the ball over on downs.
United took possession and looked to establish its offense, but Michael Maurella and McNulty delivered tackles to limit the gains. The defense held firm through the remainder of the opening quarter, keeping the game scoreless.
United continued its possession in the second quarter, but Ballouta quickly changed the
momentum with a fumble recovery, giving the Pioneers another opportunity to get on the scoreboard.
Ballouta spoke on the situation around the fumble recovery.
“They fumbled, I grabbed the ball, I ran, and they pushed me down, but I got it.”
McNulty worked with Ballouta and Vinny LaPapa to gain yardage, while also trying to find ways on his own to extend plays. The Pioneers moved the ball but could not find the end zone before an interception by United sent the defense back onto the field.
United began building momentum offensively, gaining yardage and threatening to score. Ballouta responded with several tackles, helping prevent them from reaching the end zone on multiple occasions.
Ballouta spoke on his approach to making the tackles.
“You have to keep running and wrap them up and tackle them.”
United eventually broke through in the closing moments of the first half, scoring a
touchdown and converting the extra point to take a 7-0 lead into halftime.
Coach Bertucci spoke about how the Pioneers had remained competitive but needed to eliminate mistakes to give themselves a better chance.
“I think we were a few mistakes away from being in this game. I’m just proud of these guys for the work they put in.”
The Pioneers opened the second half on defense, with Jax Thomas and Elias Joda making tackles to slow United’s offense. However, United found another opening and scored a touchdown before converting the extra point to extend their lead to 14-0.
Midway through the third quarter, McNulty worked with Ballouta and LaPapa to get the offense moving, but United held firm and forced a turnover on downs to preserve its 14-0 lead heading into the final quarter.
United added another touchdown early in the fourth quarter to make it 20-0. The extra-point attempt was stopped by Tyler Duchovitz, who broke through the line to prevent the conversion.
Duchovitz explained that reading the movement was key to making the tackle.
“I broke through the line, and then I stopped because I knew he was going to juke. You want to stop before you get them so you know where they are going. If they go that way, you can easily go, but if you keep running, they can easily just move to the side and you go straight ahead.”
McNulty looked to spark something, but United intercepted another pass. As United advanced, Maurella made key tackles, while Ballouta returned from injury to recover another fumble.
Ballouta spoke about how getting back on the field was important after having to watch his teammates from the sidelines and also spoke about the fumble recovery.
“It feels better when you come back than just sitting down and watching your teammates play. For the fumble, I grabbed the ball, I saw it, and I ran. That’s all, that’s all you need to do.”
The Pioneers continued competing through the closing stages, with McNulty again working with Ballouta in an effort to move the chains. However, time ran out, and United secured the 20-0 victory.
Despite the result, Coach Bertucci emphasized the lessons and the growth the players gained from the season.
“We had a few mistakes, but I think we were right there in the game. I’m really excited to watch these players that are moving up to go through the Pioneers. They’re going to be good football players, and I’m excited to get these guys back.”
Coach Bertucci also emphasized the fun the team experienced and that learning is the most important.
“We learned a lot from them this year. It was a lot of fun. I know these kids had fun. The coaches had fun. These kids learned a lot about football. So that’s what it’s all about.”
The Pioneers also took part in fifth-quarter action, where several players gained valuable experience and made plays on both sides of the ball.
Ben Poore was active offensively, working with Karter Pipkin, Ryker Tyrakowski, Dominic Dronzek, Kenan Ballouta, Nicholas Smurzynski, Jibreel Morrar and Benjamin Ally to look for running room and scoring opportunities.
On defense, Max Kalker delivered several tackles and explained his approach to stopping the ball carrier.
“When you see that running back, you just go for it and try to tackle him.”
Abdallah Hasan also made an impact with a fumble recovery, describing the effort it took to secure the ball.
“I tackled a lot. I was going so fast, trying to get that fumble recovery, wanting that and trying to dive on him, and I was able to get it.”
The Pioneers also received contributions from Jack Bertucci, Matthew O’Shea, Stanley Bielawski, Lakye Peniche, Logan Biskup, John Ordman, Anthony Comiskey, Kirk Valach, Lachlan Glassner, Liam Serafin, Mahmoud Hinnawi, Hudson Glassner, Oliver Skwara, Jamal Jebreal, Shane McDermott, and Zakariya Jaber.
Super Lightweight Pioneers Cheerleaders showcasing ther skills along the sidelines and entertaining the fans at halftime, included Maeve Zelenzek, Morgan Griffin, Emma Grambozov, Olivia Raggio, Addison Theres, Lanie Hermann, Molly LaPapa, Teagan Paluch, Gianna Cruz, Alannah Rossi, Nella Leithleiter, Lydia Babarskis, Kelsey O’Sullivan, Everly Wagner, Madelyn Heidemann, Maura Flanagan, Kaelyn Flanagan, Mila Nikolic, Mia Morandi, Desiree Wilkie, Emery Christensen, Emma Podoreski, Sarah Petraitis, Gabriela Rysiewicz and Maice Hinnawi.
