By Bobby Narang- Photos by Lauren Gray
**Additional Photos are Available for Purchase at https://justallsports.zenfolio.com/p101648995 **
ORLAND PARK— Positive signs come in many forms.
But football coaches, in particular, often point to the opening minutes of a game often as a good sign of momentum.
On Sunday morning, the Orland Park Pioneers varsity football team picked up an ideal time to build some goodwill for their first-round playoff game against the New Lenox Junior Warriors.
On the first play of the fifth-quarter game, Orland Park’s defense came up with a memorable play to add to the highlight feel.
Justin McNamara was one of two players to break up the play, busting through the offensive line for a 5-yard loss for the Warriors. From that moment, the Pioneers dominated the fifth-quarter game and the varsity contest.
In the varsity game, the Pioneers rode the fast and elusive legs of Enzo Angone to a thrilling 24-6 victory over the Warriors at Homewood-Flossmoor High School. Angone fueled the victory, scoring three touchdowns to help the Pioneers advance to the second round of the playoffs.
The Pioneers dominated the game, winning all three phases of the game. They intercepted two passes, deflected five passes, easily won the time of possession battle, aided by two extensive drives, and got the normal big-play production from Angone.
“We set the tone in the fifth-quarter game,” Orland Park coach Andy Rybak said. “That’s always the message we’re trying to send, just about getting off to a good start and building on that.”
“We knew we would have to run the ball today, probably inside and partly because of the conditions and control the clock and run the ball inside just because of the wet conditions. We had good ball control. It worked perfectly. We ate up a lot of clock in the first drive and the third quarter drive.
“The line dominated both sides of the ball today and we ran the ball well. It was great to see our guys not cough up the ball in these conditions. That was really impressive. The defense played great.”
With the team gathered just past the end zone, as another playoff game was in full gear, the Pioneers enjoyed a quick postgame talk amid the cold, wind and rain at H-F’s home stadium. All the players couldn’t help but smiling, but the rough conditions did lead to a quick exit.
“It was a nice win for us to get our first win of the playoffs,” quarterback Charlie Engstrom said. “It felt good to win and move onto the next round. The ball was pretty slippery because it rained a lot. We just had to hold onto the ball.”
“Every time they would line up, we would run it up the middle and pound on them. The first drive was pretty good. We scored right away and we had the momentum right away.”
Indeed, the Pioneers set the tone with their first drive of the game. They endured the wet conditions and slippery football for a four-play drive that ended with Angone darting to the left side, breaking two tackles and scoring on an 8-yard run for an 8-0 lead.
Angone said it was a great day for the offense.
“I’m happy we were able to control the ball with our runs and happy that we beat this team,” Angone said.
It was the Pioneers’ defense that took centerstage next on the Warriors’ possession, when Jake Marzullo had a big tackle on fourth down at the one-yard line. The Pioneers took advantage of the excellent field position as Angone bulldozed his way up the middle for a 1-yard TD run to pad the lead to 16-0.
“We had so many big plays on defense,” Rybak said. “We have a great kicker. All three phases came out to play and the fifth-quarter as well. It was great.”
On the next drive by the Warriors, Ali Ahmed had a tackle for a three-yard loss, then Angone deflected a pass and Ahmed tallied a sack to end the possession.
“My first playoff game in my first year of football was great,” Ahmed said. “I was happy how I did on defense. It was a beautiful game and we all played together.”
Leading 16-0 at halftime, the Pioneers did something unusual by eating up the entire clock in the fourth quarter with a 12-play drive. Angone had several runs, including a 10-yard run on a pitch and a 13-yard on the eighth play on fourth down to extend the drive. Four plays later, on fourth and 21 at the 30-yard line, Angone was stopped following a 12-yard run that ended the quarter.
Orland Park’s defense came to life by saving the day with an interception by Ryan Duckhorn on the second play of the fourth quarter.
A steady diet of Angone runs cured the offense, ending with a 16-yard run by their star tailback on fourth down for a 24-0 lead. Angone burst through the middle and broke two tackles for his third TD. Duckhorn stepped up again with another sterling play on defense, jostling the ball away from a Warriors offensive player for an interception late in the fourth quarter to secure the 18-point playoff victory.
“The hole was wide open on my third (TD),” Angone said. “The line blocked great. This win gives us so much momentum going into our next game. Hopefully, we can perform just as good if not better. Everyone had a good game.”
Running back Ben Snider was a central piece of the victory, playing quarterback on several snaps and helping prolong numerous drives with his shifty running.
“We started out great on offense,” Snider said. “We found the holes and Enzo ran great and so tough. Our coaches told us it was about the tougher team today. It’s great to move on in the playoffs and I can’t wait to see what we can do.”
The entire varsity team celebrated in the win, which included Syncere Preshon, Riley Atzman, Brock Lenzen, Gavin Loman, Dylan Butler, Cade McNulty, Sean Buer, Liam West, Evan Lavelle, Justin McNamara, Luke Rybak, Finn Redmond, David Burgert, Logan Helman, John Werner, Gage Cucci, Drake Ulaszek, Adam Naser, Maverick Vander Veer, Benjamin Schwarz, Ryan Duckhorn, Malcolm McGonegal, Michael Sraga, Mohammad Abedalrahman, Gianluca Arceo, Brandon Castillo, Aidan Rios, Diego Aguilar, Steven Mullins, Michael Stefancic, Nicholas Hertzog, Camden Czarnecki, Yousif Dahdal, Julian Trevino, Ryan Pempek, Erik Baran, Brian Curran and Qais Naser.
