By Patrick Z. McGavin- Photos by Jenn-Anne Gledhill
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ORLAND PARK— Enzo Angone woke up feeling dialed in, connected and just believing that the day existed for him to conquer.
As a two-way performer for the Junior Varsity of the Orland Park Pioneers, he had the opposite of nervousness or butterflies. He was up to the challenge.
“I was just excited because I told my dad this morning I’d get a touchdown and an interception,” he said. “What kids dream about is one thing. Making it happen deepens the pleasure.”
Agone had a 31-yard touchdown run and made a late-game interception for the Pioneers’ 8-6 Homecoming victory over the New Lenox Jr Warriors in River Valley Youth Football League play on Sunday, September 7 at Sandburg High School.
The game had a fascinating turn of events as what seemingly began as an offensive shootout turned into a private battle of wills between two exceptional defenses. Each team scored on their opening possession.
The difference turned out to be the two-point kick by Brian Curran after the Agone touchdown burst.
With the running of Angone and Ben Snider, quarterback Charlie Enstrom orchestrated a nine-play, 58-yard drive on the opening series.
“We had a run up the middle and we got a few yards off of that, and then we ran a hitch and we also got a few yards from that,” Enstrom said. “We just kept running plays back and forth and getting yards. We’re getting back from the first week. I think we’ve made a huge improvement offensively. We’ve been practicing our plays, and starting to get better at them.”
Angone showed quickness, explosion and unpredictability on the touchdown run. Taking the pitch, he veered quickly to his left, danced past a couple of defenders and tightroped down the left sideline for the score.
“We were kind of running the same play over and over again, but they started to catch onto that,” Enzone said. “The hole was kind of small, so I decided to go outside. I just outran their cornerback. I always like when the first drive we get we end up scoring. It’s a great feeling out there. It gives us momentum on defense, and we’re really hyped to play.”
Offensive lineman Qais Naser was part of the impressive opening drive. “It felt really good because we didn’t have any penalties or holding calls,” he said. “We’re improving rapidly. Now we want to win every single game, and win by a lot.”
The only early surprise was the response of the Jr Warriors. Showing a deft combination of inside and outside run, the New Lenox team answered with its own 11-play, 51-yard drive.
Pioneers’ linebacker Nicholas Peisker, the team’s emotional and strategic leader, was not happy.
“I think after we scored, we didn’t think they’d respond like that,” Peisker said. “We were a little off. They brought it to us, and we didn’t bring it to them on their first drive. They were pounding on us, but we knew we couldn’t let that happen. We started bringing it to them, making holes and making plays.”
The defense immediately responded with outside pressure that forced an incomplete pass on the conversion attempt by the Jr Warriors. The balance of the game played out that way. The defenses tightened, and the offenses had little room to operate or maneuver.
Peisker had seven tackles, and was capably joined by Agone, Snider, Evan Lavelle, Dylan Butler, Ryan Duckworth, Dylan Ahmer and Justin McNamara.
Hudson Doftert registered an interception at the end of the first half.
The aggressive and punishing play of Butler played a critical factor, in each half. He finished with two sacks, strategically positioned at the end of each half that helped secure the victory.
Butler’s 6-yard sack preceded the Doftert interception to close out the first half.
“They called me on a blitz, and I’d just delay it and run it up on the line,” Butler said. “When the quarterback started to say down and he got set, I ran in and they didn’t have a chance to touch me. The quarterback was free, and I was able to sack him.”
During the second half, the Jr Warriors had intermittent success with the trap. Peisker and Duckworth closed down the gaps, and limited the damage.
“We did a great job of following the ball and tackling their runners,” Butler said. “They never really got loose.”
The only disappointing part was the inability of the offense to match the success of the first offensive series. The Junior Varsity played efficient and mistake-free football. In the end, the defense made more plays than what the offense of the Jr Warriors could handle.
After stopping the Pioneers on fourth down, the New Lenox took its final possession at its own 41-yard line. Butler stood tall on a third down and one, crashing from the blind side for the 10-yard sack.
Lovelle got into the mix with his own sack one play later. On fourth down and the Jr Warriors increasingly desperate, Angone ended the game as he started it with another big play, rising up for the interception in the left flat.
“It’s just awesome to pull out a really close game like this that went down to the wire,” Angone said. “It was a perfect game for Homecoming.”
The Fifth Quarter also featured some spirited and excellent play from a range of different players, including Max Streets-Pruitt, Maverick Vander Veer, Anthony Baniewicz directing the offense at quarterback, and Gavin Loman running hard with the ball.
Panos Kyros earned the highest marks from the coaching staff. “We all cheer for each other and do well,” Kyros said. “We keep on persevering through the obstacles that are in our way. We all know each other, and we’re all good friends.”
The Junior Varsity of the Orland Park Pioneers had many significant contributors in the 8-6 victory over the Jr Warriors. Those players included Marco Orozco, Cade McNulty, Vinny Ficaro, Luke Tonra, John Sweis, Finn Redmond, Carter Peluso, Logan Helman, John Werner, Karam Olyyan, Drake Ulaszek (injured), Nick Mase, Zackary Salah, Gavin Connors, Dylan Gavin, Jacob Hyla, Noah Maslowiec, Brock Lenzen, Nicholas Dertz, Steven Mullins, Nicholas Hertzog, Charlie Miele, Dylan Ahmer, Avery Vermilyea, Adam Naser, Erik Baran, Jayden Spiotto and John Sutter.
The cheerleaders brought energy, pride and style to their routines and enthusiasm. They included Kaelyn Albright, Aubrey Baran, Brittney Blazys, Brooke Blazys, Aviana Briseno, Annabelle Briseno, Oliwia Burda, Hayden Campbell, Giulia Cangelosi, Avery Carroll, Ellyana Connors, Charlotte Day, Annabelle Deloya, Darcy Dorigan, Frankie Ficaro, Emma Golonka, Arabella Hernandez, Ariana Hinton, Leah Janota, Bianca Kapusciarz, Flora Lane, Brinley Laniosz, Malayna Marable, Addison Meyers, Serena Murray, Sofia Murray, Emma Overman, Gia Parisi, Emily Pastiak, Charlotte Raubolt, Maklaya Roman, Emma Ruisz, Luciana Rupp, Alyse Sparacino, Kamilla Ulaszek, Kassandra Vazquez-Gutierrez, Nora Velez.
