By Bobby Narang- Photos by Renee Kaspar
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TINLEY PARK— Complete domination.
The Orland Park Pioneers Varsity team put a full team effort in cap a four-game youth football extravaganza at Walker Intermediate School on Sunday.
The Pioneers controlled the game from the opening kickoff, displaying an offense full of numerous playmakers, showcased a gritty and physical defense and produced many big plays on special teams.
The Pioneers scored 13 points in the first quarter in a 37-0 road victory over the Frankfort Square Wildcats in Tinley Park.
The running-clock game led to an early finish to a long day of football, which included the first week of the NFL regular season. The Pioneers attempted to match the Chicago Bears’ high-scoring game with their own version of an explosive offense.
Even the defense benefitted from some luck, securing the shutout via a fumbled play by the Wildcats nnear the goal line on the final play of the game.
Orland Park Varsity coach Adam Sutter said the team needed a win badly in their fourth game of the season. The Pioneers (1-3) also won the game in grand fashion, Sutter said. Nicholas Peisker was the unquestionable star of the game, scoring three touchdowns and intercepting a pass and returning it for a touchdown.
In fact, Peisker did it all for the Pioneers. Varsity coach Adam Sutter joked he couldn’t even recall all of Peisker’s exploits on offense and defense because he was all over the field. Peisker set the stage for a memorable day for himself — and the Pioneers.
An athletic and tough runner, Peisker scored on a four-yard TD to open up the scoring on Orland Park’s first drive. Once his foot crossed the goal line, Peisker rose up and yelled to his teammates “let’s go.” The Pioneers showed their powerful offense on the first drive, riding a long kickoff return to start the game to score the first touchdown. Quarterback Hudson Doftert extended the drive with a 11-yard keeper on third down to set up Peisker’s TD.
The Pioneers heard his Peisker’s words loud and clear, overpowering the home team with big plays on offense and a stout defense. The Pioneers played a complete game, even converting their PAT kicks by two different kickers. The Pioneers controlled the line of scrimmage, plus they rode several big plays on both sides of the ball to allow the entire team to get quality reps in the game.
“It all came together today,” Varsity coach Adam Sutter said. “They executed everywhere. It was a great team win. Everything went right. That’s what we are looking for. We haven’t showed it, but it’s starting to come together. Nic Piesker is an animal. He did so much. A great game, great to see the boys getting after it well and executing. This is what we are looking for. It was a great team win.
After a long kickoff return to start the game, the Pioneers punched the ball into the end zone on Peisker’s four-yard touchdown.
Second later, Peisker intercepted a pass on the right side and raced 16 yards for a touchdown to put the lead at 15-0 just a few minutes into the game.
Defensively, Hudson Doftert had a bone-crushing hit on the Wildcats’ first drive which caused a fumble which the home team recovered. Peisker added his second TD of the game with a 27-yard jaunt into the end zone for a 21-0 lead with 54 ticks left until halftime.
Peisker praised his teammates for helping him find the holes throughout the game.
“Dylan had cracked the outside linebacker, which gave is wide open on the outside,” Peisker said. “I just had to make the cornerback miss and I was gone. Our offense got rolling. We have a lot of good guys and got the momentum. I was ready and hydrated before the game and it helped me stay powerful.”
Doftert lofted a picture-perfect pass to Maximus Streets-Pruitt for a 14-yard TD to start the second half to build the advantage to 29-0.
Doftert said the offense was clicking all game long, mainly due to Peisker’s hard running.
“We got our first touchdown on the board right away and were feeling good and the defense was looking good,” Doffert said. “We had a shutout and kept battling and staying strong and didn’t let up and got our backups in at the end of the game.
“We got our momentum going from that first drive and scored and our momentum kept getting higher and higher and just kept going. (Nic) got three touchdowns and made it easy for me. He kept doing all the work.”
Leading 29-0, the Pioneers put in several new faces in the fourth quarter. Luke Tonra benefitted from the extra playing time, finishing with an interception to stop a scoring threat deep in the red zone and adding a TD reception.
Vinny Ficaro’s 45-yard TD pass to Tonra was the final points in the four-game series on Sunday.
Ficaro said it was great for his development to get some extra reps on Sunday.
“We did a switch up, where both receivers go criss cross and it was kind of a blur to me, but I just heaved it up and I wasn’t sure he would get it but he did,” Ficaro said of his TD loss. “For me, it was a change from playing on Wednesdays and the coaches were there.
“Today, I had to run to the sidelines to talk to the coaches and memorize the playcall and tell it to the huddle. I learned a lot today, from getting through all the sounds of the fans.”
Tonra said he gained valuable insight playing heavy minutes in the second half.
“It was a switch route and the safety and cornerback were all on that side and they all went to the other wide receiver, so I was just left open,” Tonra said of his TD grab. “It was a straight up ball and I caught it and sprinted up the field. I don’t usually get much time as a wide receiver, so I’m really happy about it, especially scoring a touchdown.
The Pioneers played as a team in the final game of the day, which also included Rayan Ghabayen, Louai Suleiman, Zackary Salah, Cade Judeh, Anderson Matthews, Mohammad Ashkar, Jude Daghlawi, Panos Kyros, John Sutter, Nolan Byrne, Dylan Enriquez, Aleksandar Tosev, Marquise McMorris, Jacob Hyla, Carter Peluso, Leonardo Luciano, Thomas Lynch, Karam Olyyan, Daniel Ramirez, Nick Mase, Muhammad Kassem, Aws Khalil, Edward Follis, Gavin Connors, Ryan Kenny, Daniel Malacina, Faris Hussein, Abdelkarem Shuaibi, Julian Mika, Noah Maslowiec, Rodney Vincent, James Okrasinski, Nicholas Hertzog, Dylan Ahmer, Avery Vermilyea, Joseph McCann, Brian Curran and Issam Abulaban
The Pioneers Varsity Cheerleaders once again showed their talents along the sidelines throughout the game and at their halftime performance. They include Oliwia Burda, Charlotte Day, Gia Parisi, Brinley Laniosz, Leah Janota, Addison Meyers, Violet Fino, Giulia Cangelosi, Natalie Brown, Aviana Briseno, Annabelle Briseno, Frankie Ficaro, Aubrey Baran, Natalie Kehoe, Ellyana Connors, Aviana Martinez, Keira Barrera, Annabelle Deloya, Brittney Blazys, Brooke Blazys, Kaelyn Albright, Luciana Rupp, Nora Velez, Giuliana Bertucci, Lily Hahn, Perla Boulus, Gabriela Alonso, Sonia Carlan, Hailey Camargo and Marguerite Ryan.
