By Ed Muniz-Photos by Lauren Gray
** Additional Photos are Available for Purchase at https://justallsports.zenfolio.com/p678204534 **
ORLAND PARK—The Nightcap of the Duo Semi-Final games hosted by the Orland Park Pioneer featured the Varisty taking on the Frankfort Falcons on October 14 at Schussler Park.
Both Falcons and Pioneers were vying for a shot at capturing the 2026 Wednesday Night League Championship which will be held one week later.
When you reach this point of the season, in particular, the playoffs, you recognize it’s win or your done. The pressure mounts and sometimes it gets the best of you and performances are way below the standard you have previously demonstrated.
While some may fail at “Crunch Time”, others welcome the sense of needing to be clutch and play above their normalcy, excelling when it’s needed the most.
One Pioneer performed at his best when asked to.
Making a change at quarterback, Max Streets-Pruitt was now asked to lead his team in an upset of the Frankfort Falcons after a previous meeting went the Falcons way. What he did was keep the Falcons defense on its heels, threatening to run for big yards or pass while being elusive and on the move. Max brought a different look to the Pioneers offense which gave momentum and the upper-hand to his team enroute to a 12-0 shutout victory over Frankfort.
“I was nervous before the game but I gotta show up for my teammates.” said Max. “The mentality and confidence we had coming into this game, that was a big difference for us. We came in thinking we were going to beat this team by a hundred. We played them once during the regular season so we had to get our revenge. Our offense was working well too, we were getting passes out, giving it to our runningbacks, he was getting space, me getting space, my teammates catching the ball, it was because were were working as one. Our defense came to play too. They shut them out, our defense was awesome. I’ll definitely be nervous next week but still, we want to go in next week and win; Dominate.”
The first half of the game was mostly about defenses not wilting or giving up the big play. It was mostly error-free from a defensive stand point. The Pioneers and Falcons exchanged punts or turnovers on downs, with each possessing the ball twice and being turned away.
The Pioneers aggressive defensive play saw several big stops coming from Edward Follis, Panos Kyros, Leonardo Luciano, Nick Mase, Mohammad Ashkar, Jon Sutter and Alek Tosev especially on the Falcons second drive.
The Falcons managed to move from their own 46-yard line to the Pioneers 2-yard line, just outside the endzone using a running attack that picked up several first downs, advancing the ball and maintaining control.
A big sack by Tosev, pushed them back 5-yards, then stellar pass defense and another stop by Sutter saw a fourth down try fall incomplete as elation came from the Pioneers fans and sideline after the big defensive stance.
Just outside their own endzone, the Pioneers had little time left in the opening half but went to work. Three staright runs by Rodney Vincent picked up 20-yards then a pass from Streets-Pruitt to Zackary Salah picked up 13 more. On the last play before halftime, Streets-Pruitt took off, eluding several Falcons, dodging his way through their out-stretched arms before finally being stopped after what seemed like 45-yards but in actuallity, gained 18 as the half came to an end.
The scoreless first half saw outstanding play not only on offense but also on the Pioneers defense. Among those that were determined to prevent a Falcon score was Alek Tosev. Tosev’s line play stood out as he managed to seek the ball-carrier for the stop or being there to assist. His quickness off the snap allowed him to put a lot of pressure in the Falcons backfield and disrupt plays but he also came through with the tackle at the most critical time to keep Frankfort off the board.
“Using my moves from practice was working well for me,” said Alek. “Coach Nate, he really taught me a lot. Swim move around guys has worked well for me especially when we are in tight. I was quick off the ball that got me in the backfield fast. We had a few bad games before but we got it all fixed at practice and played great today like we know we can. I’m ready for next time. We were really good but we can get better.”
The Pioneers defense continued its commanding play, forcing a three and out to open the second half. Mase, Tosev and Kyros picked up where they left off to force a punt.
After a short run by Vincent, Streets-Pruitt took the snap, picked his way up the middle, cut right and was off on the 63-yard touchdown run, putting the Pioneers up 6-0 five minutes in.
The Falcons woes continued not only because of the defensive play of the Pioneers but also their inabilities to avoid penalties. Again, after Luke Tonra came away with a tackle for loss, the Falcons punted.
Although a Street-Pruits to Tonra connection picked up 13-yards and a first down, the Pioneers weren’t able to do much after that as the Falcons defense revved up the pressure and they too forced a turnover on downs after Streets-Pruitt picked up several yards but fell just short of the yard to gain.
Two run plays by the Frankfort followed, they gained four yards after tackles by Tosev and Kyros which was followed by a pass attempt that failed. Once again, the Falcons were forced to punt by the stout Pioneers defense.
The ensuing Pioneer play showed why Vincent is called the “Rocket” by his teammates and coaches. Blessed with speed above many, he took a handoff, went slightly left off tackle, broke several tackle attempts, turned on the after-burners and flashed into the endzone on the 66-yard touchdown run.
The Pioneers now looked to have an insurmountable lead at 12-0 with just over three minutes left in the game.
Two plays later, the Pioneers sealed the game when John Sutter came away with an interception.
Sutter wasn’t done.
After the Sutter interception, the Pioneers ran four additional offensive plays then punted. Two plays later, the Falcons again tried going via the pass only to see Sutter again intercept the pass for his second of the game, finally concluding the game and giving the Pioneers the 12-0 victory and the road to the WNFL Varsity Championship game.
“One the first interception, my coach told me to stay back, I saw the ball in the air, looked to see if I was going to have to contest for the ball, but saw no one around me, so I just put my hands up and caught it,” said Sutter. “The second pick, we were playing prevent and I knew they were going to try to throw, so I again saw it coming towards me and just read it and caught it. I think I still have to get better at reading a play. One time I thought they were going to throw it so I moved that way and they ran it instead, so I want to improve that. Our team over all did really great, those two TD runs, we block really well.”
Several other Pioneers helped secure the win with their play or simply there supporting their teammates, They included Rayan Ghabayen, Hudson Doftert, Louai Suleiman, Cade Judeh, Anderson Matthews, NIcholas Peisker, Vinniy Ficaro, Jude Daghlawi, Nolan Byrne, Dylan Enriquez, Marquise McMorris, Jacob Hyla, Thomas Lynch, Karam Olyyan,Muhammaed Kassem, Aws Khalil, Gavin Connors, Ryan Kenny, Daniel Malacina, Faris Hussein, Abdelkarem Shuaibi, Julian Mika, Noah Maslowiec, James Okrasinski, Nicholas Hertzog, Dylan Ahmer, Avery Vermilyea, Joseph McCann, Brian Curran and Issam Abulaban.
