By Pat McGavin-Photos by Jenn-Anne Gledhill
**Additional Photos are available for purchase at justallsports.zenfolio.com/2022pioneers.**
FLOSSMOOR—The nature of sports is contentious and argumentative.
Consensus is rare to the point of nonexistent. Results are binary—that is one way or the other, with little in between, except maybe for soccer.
No parenthetical or asterisk surrounds the name, or game, of Quinn Durkin.
From the last man on the bench to the coaching staff, rivals, and the leading executive of the program, Quinn Durkin is the player all others are typically measured against.
“Quinn being Quinn,” is the cheat code, or telling expression, among the players. It’s what he does, and who he is.
The Orland Park Pioneers Varsity team was dealt the ultimate bad card after quarterback Sean Ruisz was injured in their previous game. Barret Siegel, emergency starter and normal standout wide receiver, was pressed into service.
The narrative, monopolized by his extraordinary gifts, was again about Quinn Durkin. It was impossible not to be.
“That’s why I call him our blue chip,” President Jenny Czerwonka said.
With Ruisz unavailable to play and Siegel thrown into the mix with just a couple of days of practice, Quinn Durkin took over as only he is capable.
The running back went out wide and played tight end and wide receiver to optimize the attack.
“I love catching passes, so getting into space is what I do the best,” Quinn Durkin said.
Durkin had a spectacular touchdown catch and added two rushing touchdowns in the Pioneers’ 36-8 thrashing of New Lenox Jr. Knights in a first-round playoff game of the River Valley Youth Football League game at Homewood-Flossmoor on Sunday, October 30.
Durkin had more than 200 yards of combined offense, rushing for 121 yards on 11 carries. He also caught three passes for 82 yards.
As if that weren’t enough, Durkin forced and recovered a fumble and posted an interception.
“I just wanted to play the best I possibly could, so Barret didn’t have to do that much,” Durkin said.
After a crucial 15-yard swing pass on fourth down extended the Pioneers’ opening drive, Durkin lined out wide right. Siegel dropped back and floated a ball.
It was a dangerous pass given two Jr. Knights were chasing down Durkin.
“I could have thrown it anywhere over there, and he’d have gotten it,” Siegel said.
Durkin used his size, speed, and presence to get the first touch on the ball.
“We play a lot of backyard football, so I just tell Barret to throw the ball up, and I will get it,” Durkin said.
During the pandemic-reduced spring season in 2021, Siegel had some snaps as a backup to Ruisz.
“I realized I’d be playing quarterback last Wednesday, when my coach started implementing plays with me,” Siegel said. “I started getting the gist of the offense.”
The specifics of the position are not entirely foreign to him. As a standout receiver, Siegel understands placement and where his receivers are meant to be.
“I feel like I had a connection with the receivers,” he said. “Being a receiver, I know where I’d be if I was there.”
Durkin’s rushing game set up the passing attack. His first two carries went for 13 and 15 yards, respectively. Five of his 11 carries went for double-digit runs.
His 21-yard touchdown run on fourth down pushed the lead out to 16-0.
Durkin’s positional flexibility extends to all sides. With Ruisz also missing his normal safety position, Durkin seamlessly took his spot.
Brody Wantroba also played more in the secondary from his typical linebacker role. Briggs Corona, Adam Danko and Keegan Kirk dominated the interior, and Toddy Shelton controlled the middle.
The Jr. Knights had little operating space. Their first two possessions featured just one first down, and no significant yardage.
Wantroba broke through the interior and blocked the punt. The Pioneers turned the ball over on an interception.
It hardly mattered, nor did a trick play with the punter of the Jr. Knights throwing out of formation for an apparent first down. The ball hawking Durkin came from behind and dislodged the ball, making the recovery.
One play later, Siegel executed a perfect play option pass and found the streaking Wantroba in stride for a beautiful 31-yard touchdown connection.
“Barret made a perfect throw, and it was right in my breadbasket,” Wantroba said. “We all wanted to do our best to help Barret out. I wanted to run crisp routes, and also get my exchanges better when I was a running back.”
Up 22-0 to start the third quarter, the Pioneers never let up, never wanting to give the Jr. Knights any false impressions. Even without their starting quarterback, the Pioneers were focused on the task at hand.
“The mentality was to go right at them, and never let up,” Siegel said. “Don’t give up, and don’t ever give them any hope in thinking they could win it.”
Sure enough, on the first play of the second half, Corona broke through and deflected a pass.
“We spent a lot of time coordinating the defense, and getting pressure in those situations,” Corona said. “We wanted to get those tips and deflections at the line of scrimmage.”
Toddy Shelton snatched the ball out of the air for the interception.
“We had to fill in kids from the second team Blue group because Sean was out, so we were rotating in kids play after play,” Toddy Shelton said.
“It helped because we were getting fresh guys in, and our energy was up.”
Ruisz was not on the playing field. He was a clear presence on the sideline. The group of Ruisz, Durkin, the injured Jordan Masino, Siegel and Toddy Shelton have come together.
They are close and comfortable with each other. With the leader out, they banded together.
“We’re all together in it,” Toddy Shelton said. “If someone goes down, somebody else comes up. If Sean was hurt, we all stepped up. Somebody was always there for each other. Every guy has a job, and they needed to step up even more, with Sean’s injury.”
Siegel finished passing 8 out of 12 for 135 yards and the two touchdowns. Jake Tomczak also caught two passes.
Durkin closed out the game with two signature acts, a 31-yard touchdown run and an interception.
The final forced turnover helped his cousin Matthew Durkin score on a 15-yard touchdown catch from Taylor McDoniel on the final play of the game.
Jack Clifton added six points on three successful kicks.
“I thought Barret did a great job of filling in for Sean with only three days’ notice,” Quinn Durkin said. “Brody and I both had to play different positions on defense. Our defense is really good. If they don’t score any points, they can’t win.”
In the Fifth Quarter, Jad Jaber had a couple of nice runs punctuated by a touchdown burst.
Matthew Durkin also caught a couple of touch passes from McDoniel. Zayne Salah had a nice run.
The Varsity of the Orland Park Pioneers had many different contributors in the 36-8 playoff win. The other crucial players were Jake Drew, Henry Selof, Devin Stefanos, Logan Kondziolka, Ethan Krueger, Cash Phillips, Nolan Rodriguez, Carson Conrad, Egan Kelly, Chase Czerwonka, Othman Mizyed, Kendall McDowell, Adam Hoak, Luke Kruszynski, Will Beeler, Mohammad Ghadban, Ibrahim Jaffal, Rami Agha, Nolan Torgerson (injured), David Klimaszka, Cade Koehler, Jax Arocho, Blake Wagner, Rocco McCarthy, Jake Buechele and Stephen Caxton-Idowu.
The cheerleaders also brought passion, style and conviction to their routines. They included Ava Brennan, Madeline Carrier, Mia Franzese, Emery Gasa, Sophia Gasior, Ella Groark, Chloe Havens, Tayla Lovitt, Lily Masino, Audrey Mitchell, Rain Murphy, Fiona Sejud, Bella Senese, Kiera Ulaszek, Summer Vahl, Giselle Velasco, Kylee Votteler, Julia Werner and Anna Woloszyk.
