By Patrick Z. McGavin- Photos by Renee Kaspar
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ORLAND PARK— What began as a beautiful and thrilling display of effort and achievement turned into a war of attrition that haunted the Orland Park Pioneers Varsity.
The spectacular was offset by a string of unfortunate events and incidents, of injuries and some questionable officiating that conspired against the team.
A seemingly insurmountable three-touchdown lead during the first half was vaporized and turned into an epic struggle.
“Those guys all played great, especially with our depth and guys who stepped in,” coach Andy Rybak said. “We had some pretty key injuries, so for those guys to step in and keep the game competitive was very impressive.
“We had some calls I thought go with us in the first half, and we put up 20. I thought in the second half we had some calls go against us in very crucial spots.”
A four touchdown performance by Enzo Angone was not enough as the Varsity suffered a crushing 34-32 double-overtime loss against the New Lenox Jr. Warriors in River Valley Youth Football league play at Sandburg High School on Sunday, August 31.
The nearly three-hour game featured enough storylines, compelling moments and dramatic reversals for three or four games.
Angone had three first half touchdowns to power the Pioneers to a 20-0 halftime lead. Ben Snider had two interceptions and a fumble recovery.
Quarterback Charlie Enstrom took two massive hits in the second half that forced him out of the game. His departure and the fatigue and time spent on the field by the defense in the second half proved too hard to overcome.
“I felt like once Charlie went down, everybody went down with him,” linebacker Aidan Rios said. “Once they came out for the second half, they were fired up.
“We were also ready and fired up, but I think once Charlie went out, we started losing hope.”
The Pioneers were also missing one crucial link, first-year kicking specialist Yousif Dahdal. He was unavailable due to a competing soccer tournament.
The Pioneers converted just 1-of-5 two-point kicks. After Angone scored on a 10-yard run in the second overtime, the Pioneers’ hope to extend the game ended when the kick attempt hit off the right upright.
The game had multiple parts, with the Pioneers dominating the opening and the Warriors storming back with three touchdowns in the second half of regulation.
The first half was a clinic, and a showcase for the skill and diversity of the attack. On the opening drive, Enstrom made great throws of 11 and 19 yards to Logan Helman.
Enstrom rolled out right and found Angone in the right flat for a 14-yard scoring play.
Snider’s fumble recovery and 22-yard return set the stage for a quick follow up, a one-play scoring possession with Angone motoring around the left edge for a 21-yard score.
Angone set up his own third touchdown after Helman punched out a ball from a Warriors’ runner and he made a diving recovery before sliding out of bounds.
Two plays later, he ran untouched down the left sideline for the 67-yard touchdown gallop. The lead was 20-0, and everything felt exhilarating and right.
“We just ran the ball well, passed the ball well and we had all the momentum,” Enstrom said.
Snider’s late first half interception ended the Warriors’ last threat of the first half. The wrong kind of history repeated itself. A week earlier, the Varsity built a huge cushion only to watch the lead evaporate before they held on.
Angone knew enough not to get overconfident.
“I just felt like our team’s energy was a lot more intense at the start of the game,” he said. “We have all the hype. We have to put a full four quarters together.
“I just had a bad feeling because I knew with their offense they could come back easily.”
The Warriors strung together an efficient and sharp opening drive of the second half to pull within 20-6.
“I think they were more prepared for what we were doing, and their coaches probably told some of their players to keep an eye on it,” Angone said.
The bad omens continued when Enstrom was knocked out of the game the first time during the next sequence. The offense stalled, and the Warriors put together another strong drive for the touchdown and two-point conversion.
With the Pioneers’ lead down to 20-14, Enstrom returned on the ensuing possession only to endure another hard hit that forced him out of the game for good. With the offense suddenly reeling, the defense was asked to protect the dwindling lead.
Snider registered his second interception. He also came in at quarterback.
“The interceptions and the fumble I had was not just me,” Snider said. “It was the whole defense combined. We’ve been practicing with me playing quarterback just in case I had to come in.
“Today was like our last game where we were up 20-some points going into the second half, and we just gave it up, and we couldn’t do anything with the ball. I think we need to adjust to what the other team is doing, and how they adjusted.”
A highly questionable personal foul against the Pioneers turned a fourth and long into first and goal for the Warriors, setting up the tying score at 20-20.
“We tried to fight, but it’s a devastating loss,” defensive tackle Ahmed Ali said. “Everybody played hard. I tried to make some tackles there. I was almost there. It is what it is.
“It’s just one game, and we have a couple of more.”
In the first overtime, Snider lofted the ball to the left corner that Jake Marzullo made a spectacular catch for the nine-yard touchdown. One play away from winning, the Pioneers’ exhausted defense allowed the Warriors to convert on fourth and goal from the four-yard line.
Michael Sraga blocked the kick to set up the fateful second overtime.
“We were up by 20 points, and all of us thought we had this game in the bag,” Marzullo said. “We just lowered our intensity, and the next thing you know we are in overtime.
“At that point anybody could win the game. When everybody went down, our rhythm got messed up. It was just hard to get back. What happened today is not going to happen again.”
Ryan Pempek was a standout during the Fifth Quarter as a runner and receiver. He scored on a touchdown run. Riley Atzman also had a long touchdown run.
“When you play in the Fifth Quarter, nothing’s happened yet, and you’re ready to just knock their teeth out,” Pempek said. “We were psyched up and wanted to show what we could do.
“The Fifth Quarter and Wednesday night games are the chance for us to show off, and make our way up to the white and red teams. We all psych each other up and try to hype each other up and get better.”
Despite the disappointing results of the double overtime loss, the Orland Park Pioneers Varsity had many standout contributors. They included Syncere Preshon, Brock Lenzen, Gavin Loman, Dylan Butler, Cade McNulty, Sean Buer, Liam West, Evan Lavelle, Justin McNamara, Luke Rybak, Finn Redmond, David Burgert, John Werner, Gage Cucci, Drake Ulaszek, Adam Naser, Maverick Vander Veer, Benjamin Schwarz, Ryan Duckhorn, Malcolm McGonegal, Mohammad Abedalrahman, Gianluca Arceo, Brandon Castillo, Diego Aguilar, Steven Mullins, Michael Stefancic, Nicholas Hertzog, Camden Czarnecki, Julian Trevino, Erik Baran, Brian Curran and Qais Naser.
The varsity cheerleaders also brought energy, style and passion to the game. Their members are Oliwia Burda, Aviana Briseno, Aubrey Baran, Brooklyn Richardson, Hailey McDonald, Keira Barrera, Ava Mendoza, Kaelyn Albright, Jordyn Shamma, Brittney Blazys, Brooke Blazys, Gia Parisi, Avery Nugent, Arianna Ramadani, Layla Jeffries, Giulia Cangelosi, Madalyn Marable, Flora Lane, Sofia Castillo, Julia Stekala, Violet Fino, Riley Meekma, Serena Murray and Sofia Murray.
