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Quarterback Jack Bullington waited all game long to finally get the chance to execute his favorite play.
With running backs Mason Marable, Vincent Annel and Kyree Gills all standing a few feet behind him early Sunday evening, Bullington strolled up to the offensive line. Looking over the defense, Bullington remained focused on the play, making sure not to make a costly mistake in the River Valley Youth Football League game at Mike Navarro Stadium.
Then, in a flash, Bullington took the snap from center and calmly took a step away from the line of scrimmage and put his knee to the ground. Known throughout football circles on every level as “Victory Formation,” Bullington and his teammates then celebrated a thrilling 8-6 victory over the New Lenox Warriors in a River Valley Football varsity game.
As the last game of the four-game youth football league schedule between the two local rivals, the Orland Park Pioneers helped soothe some wounds with their victory on the varsity level. The Pioneers lost to the Warriors in the previous three lower level youth games earlier that day.
“That last drive was ground and pound,” Bullington said. “Our offensive line made that happen. I believe we have the best offensive line in the league. That final play was so satisfying. It was such a hard fought game and we were all comfortable with each other and played great at the end.”
Marable showed that he’s a player in watch in the Southland area following a big effort carrying the ball. He carried the ball 10 times for 41 yards, helping the Pioneers pull away on their final 16-play drive that ended with Victory Formation. Marable had three straight rushing attempts midway through the drive to keep the chains moving. A few plays later, Marable added a 2-yard run on fourth down with 1:27 left to seal the victory.
“We kept the ball for almost 10 minutes,” Marable said. “The offensive line emptied their tank on that final drive. We had a great drive, almost five yards every carry. We all played great. The defense worked together. We knew on the final drive to not breaking anything, just to get a few yards to keep the drive going.”
Annel was also a big reason for the time-consuming drive that ended the game, not allowing the Warriors a chance to score a potential tying touchdown. Annel finished with 10 carries for 18 yards, but his tough running on the last drive was instrumental in the victory. Annel showed off his two-way skills as well, catching an 11-yard pass from Bullington on the third play of the drive. Faced with a third down and 11, Annel hauled in an 11-yard pass to move the chains. Three plays later, on third down and seven, Annel was back at it again ready to make a game-changing play. He thrilled the crowd with a 23-yard reception on the final drive for a first down.
The do-it-all Annel caught three passes for 37 yards.
From that point, the Marable and Annel running back duo handled the bulk of the drive.
“The whole time I was telling the offensive line to keep pushing,” Annel said of his running. “We didn’t try and have any deep runs and just tried to hold onto the ball and have some short gains. We really wanted to win this game. I knew the game was over after we got that last first down.”
Joshua McNeil, a defensive tackle and running back, said the defense buckled down, not allowing New Lenox to score a touchdown in the first three quarters. McNeil broke through the offensive line for a key sack in the second quarter on third down to stop a long drive by the Warriors.
The Warriors concluded a lengthy drive in the fourth quarter with a touchdown run to cut the deficit to 8-6 with 9:05 remaining on the clock, but the visitors missed on the point-after-attempt. The Pioneers’ offense took over and closed out the game with their 16-play drive.
“We were aggressive and playing tough,” McNeil said. “We wanted to win this game. This is our field. We had some good plays on defense.”
Early in the first quarter, the Pioneers capped a well-called drive by their coaches to score their lone touchdown. Bullington ran the huddle to perfection, taking his time between plays and not letting the pressure bother him. Bullington fueled the offense throughout the game, completing 8-of-10 passes for 114 yards and one touchdown. Despite a strong pass rush by the Warriors, Bullington avoided making any critical turnovers and forcing the issue by attempting to make a big play.
The crafty and athletic Bullington showed off his arm on the lone scoring play for the Pioneers, lofting a 58-yard touchdown pass to Ayden Toth with 2:58 left in the first quarter.
Bullington said the offense improvised due to a broken play on the touchdown pass.
“We actually messed up the play calling at the huddle because it was only supposed to be one guy, but two guys actually ran go patterns,” Bullington said of his touchdown pass. “Thankfully, their safety wasn’t in the area, so I just read the play, just threw it and he was open.”
Orland Park two-way lineman Stephen Caxton-Idowu, a strong and imposing player who led the charge on both sides of the ball, called it a team victory.
“It felt great holding my blocks and pancaking them,” Caxton-Idowu said. “I was also happy with my play on defense. I had a few tackles and a sack. That felt amazing. We practiced hard. That was the key.”
Orland Park’s Samuel Basiorka, a tight end/outside linebacker, was also a physical presence. His tackle on fourth down stopped a drive by the Warriors in the first quarter at the 5:34 mark.
“This felt good because we knew they were going to be a really physical team but we came out and played strong against them,” Basiorka said. “I was happy with my big stop in the fourth quarter and think that changed the momentum of the game. By the end of the game, I was so happy we were able to keep getting those first downs to win the game.”
In the captivating victory against the New Lenox Warriors, the varsity team of the Orland Park Pioneers picked up several key contributors. Those players included Ayden Murphy, Mason Marable, Taylor McDoniel, Thomas Elliott, Ethan Vinson, Vinnie Annel, Adrian Maldonado, Cash Phillips, Ayden Toth, Samuel Basiorka, Christian Czerwonka, Jack Bullington, Dominic Gigliotti, Kyree Gills, Rocco McCarthy, Ryan Almasri, Athanasios Gatses, Joshua McNeil, Eli Citlali, Adam Hoak, John Murray, Casper Piskurewicz, Will Beeler, Mark Grech-Lisula, Adam Danko, Mohammad Ghadban, Keegan Kirk, Nathan Owei, Yasin Shafik, Rami Agha, Andrew Wojtanowicz, Nimer Alamawi, David Klimaszka, Raymond Arredondo, Dominic Rizza, Blake Wagner, Connor Ward, Ibrahim Jaffal, Mostafa Mostafa, Nick Shamma, Logan Kondziolka, and Brady Straka.
The varsity cheerleaders had an uplifting routine during halftime, which was filled with passion and impressive footwork and choreography. The members of the cheerleading team include Alyssa Abed, Tahani Alzamareeh, Madeleine Carrier, Lily Carroll, Sophia Gasior, Erica Gonsowski, Natalie Gruszka, Lily Jacquez, Layla Jeffries, Emilia Kos, Madalyn Marable, Ghazal Masadmasad, Lily Masino, Hailey McDonald, Liliana Minard, Rain Murphy, Avery Nugent, Maeve O’Connor, Paige Pomonis, Arianna Ramadani, Taylor Ruisz, Fiona Sejud, Jordyn Shamma, Kiera Ulaszek, Summer Vahl, Lila Vitale, Kylee Votteler, Klaudia Willis and Anna Woloszy.