By Ed Muniz-Photos by Morgan Gonzales
Wednesday Night Football League hit the fields on September 27 at several sites.
The WNFL has been a total success since its inception a few years back. It gave inexperienced and similar talent-level players the opportunity to learn the game while experiencing real, Live-Game action they weren’t or wouldn’t receive during regular RVYFL games.
From its beginning, where only a few teams participated and games were sometimes played on poor field conditions, to its current set-u with officials at games, scores and standings being kept, along with Championships now at every level, the WNFL has become quite a favorable addition for many families and players.
On tap for September 27, the Orland Park Pioneers hosted two games at Sandburg High School. Games at Super Lightweight and Varsity levels were on tap.
SLW PIONEERS:
The opening game had the SLW Pioneers hosting the Frankfort Falcons.
The Falcons trailed early, but with quickness to the edge, they managed to use a potent running attack which the Pioneers had difficulty stopping, doubling up the Pioneers, winning 26-12.
Initially, the Pioneers used their ground attack and a Falcons penalty to jump ahead. Runs by Gavin Garrity, Ryan Lukas, Jackson Biskup and Taylan Morandi soon had the Pioneers in the redzone.
Their six-play drive concluded when Biskup started left, cut back and used a nifty spin move to create space and jet to the endzone for the 15-yard Pioneers’ touchdown and a 6-0 lead.
The Falcons countered three plays later but not before tackles by Luke Bosack and Sean Kikilas had them in negative yardage. However, the Falcons third-down play saw their quarterback take the snap and streak to the far edge and race the rest of the way untouched for a Falcons touchdown, tying the game at 6-6.
The Falcons added to their lead shortly thereafter when the Pioneers had trouble handing the snap which was recovered by the Falcons on the ensuing play.
A pair of tackles by Morandi and Kikilas briefly slowed the Falcons, but the next play again saw them score with another run from 17-yards out. With the added point-after, the Falcons now led 13-6 headed into quarter two.
The Pioneers were struggling to get much started with their offense. Runs were quickly snuffed out with tackles for losses. After four tries, the Pioneers were forced to give up the football.
Momentum now securely with the Falcons.
A fumble by Frankfort was the only delay of their third series. Three plays later, they found success through the air, connecting on a 37-yard pass for the touchdown and a 20-6 lead.
It wasn’t taking the Falcons long to score; they used their speed and the ability to throw as an advantage which was catching the Pioneers by surprise. You don’t see much passing at this level so that was understandable.
The following Pioneer series saw Garrity and Lukas giving their all on runs but their five runs produced only 3-yards, forcing Shane Sternberg forced the visitors to punt for the first time in the game.
The Pioneers couldn’t take advantage of their stop and again struggled to move the ball. four plays later, the Falcons received the Pioneer punt.
Defensively, the Pioneers were playing better and making numerous stops. Kikilas was spearheading the defensive play for the Pioneers.
“I was listening to music in the car and our play list really pumped me up today, specially making tackles,” said Kikilas. “It was easy for me because their tight-end was double -teaming another guy so it made it easy for me. Feels good to make the tackle.”
Again, the Pioneers forced the Falcons to punt because of added tackles by Bosack, Garrity, Biskup, Lukas and Zach Ballouta.
The Pioneers did strike gold on the next play after receiving the punt.
The longest play of the day came from Jordy Kolodziej. Jordy took the handoff, headed right, zipped around his right-end and took off down the sidelines untouched for the 77-yard touchdown.
“When I was running, there were people behind me, so I thought they were getting closer to me, so I looked back, but they really weren’t,” said the speedy Jordy. “We run sometimes in practice and sometimes before games we do too, that makes me fast. It feels good to get the touchdowns.”
With a late touchdown, the Pioneers trailed 26-12.
Blake Nance and Biskup added closing tackles, but the Pioneers couldn’t overcome the scoreboard deficit.
Biskup led the Pioneers defensively with his 6-tackle performance with a sack included.
“I was shooting the gap and was able to run right through the wide-open hole,” said Biskup. “I like chasing down guys and making the tackle. I think I’m really good at tackling and running but sometimes I follow the wrong guy, so I probably have to get better at finding the football.”
Other Pioneers contributing to the efforts or supporting their teammates include Peyton Barbee, Jaweed Abuzir, Aaron McCarthy, Natan Abbs, Keith Piekarz, Thomas Sutter, Jack Dubois, Moody and Zakariyeh Jaber, Wyatt Kipper, Vito Cangelosi, Seth Cobbs, Ellis Hubbard, Michael O’Connor, Dominic Sopha, Jason Erwin, Alex Kopec, CJ Hufford, Chris Medina Jr., Arun Mallavarapu, Brooks Foster, Tyler Wilkie, Arthur Slabenak, Anthny LaPapa, Dean Kassem, Laith Hammami, Jonathan Mizera, Domnic Gabriele, Jimmy Elsberg, Connor Kvelland, Thomas Richardson, Logan Cohen, Dominic Muralla and Adam Krokos.
VARSITY PIONEERS:
The late game on the schedule saw the Varsity Pioneers Taking on the Falcons as well.
This game would turn out to be one where the Pioneers had several opportunities but failed to execute when really needed.
The 19-12 loss by the Pioneers could have easily been the other way around. In many ways, the Pioneers outplayed the visiting Frankfort Falcons, but key stops eluded them at the most critical times with penalties also extending drives. Big plays were also a culprit for the Pioneers defense.
The end result was a winnable game that could come back and hurt the Pioneers playoff hopes.
Much like the previous game, the Pioneers jumped ahead early. A Thomas Elliott pass to Logan Kondziolka went 49 yards for the touchdown to open the scoring just a few minutes into the game.
“You always have to hit the gap strong,” said Kondziolka. “You have to run hard, follow your blockers and if you get to the outside one on one, you should be good. I’m in the moment when I’m running, sometimes having long strides doesn’t work for me, a lot of guys go low on me and I can’t power run like other guys can, but as a receiver, it does help me out.”
Kondziolka mentioned he needs to bulk up his frame.
The 6-0 Pioneers’ lead stood throughout the opening quarter helped by tough defensive play by Dominic Rizza, Athanasios Gatses, Mohammad Ghadban, and Shafik Yasin.
Hard tackles abounded for the Pioneers but three times on the Falcons opening drive, the Pioneers couldn’t get off the field on third down. The last time resulted in a touchdown pass for the Falcons that tied the score at 6-6 early in quarter two.
The first half saw Elliott’s quarterback play being instrumental in the offense’s success. He ran several times gaining positive yards nearly every attempt and had the right touch on his passes, completing 5 of 8 passes in the opening half.
His main target, Kondziolka did his part too, helping move the offense with runs after the catch and occasionally taking an Elliott handoff. His lanky frame and long strides with his elusive running style made him a difficult stop one on one.
The Falcons took the lead after converting on a long pass-play on third down then following it up with a short run into the endzone midway through quarter two. Converting the extra-point, the Falcons led 13-6.
Elliott’s two short passes to Nathaniel Owei and Kondziolka gained them short yards on the ensuing series, but the Pioneers couldn’t convert and decided to from their own 39-yardline, hoping to flip the field for its defense.
Unfortunately, the Pioneers couldn’t get the ball back to their offense. Again, the Falcons were able to convert another third down despite the tackling of Ryan Almasri, Kondziolka, Yasin, Cash Phillips and Will Beeler.
The first half came to an end on Beelers tackle.
The Pioneers opened the second half with a three and out by their defense. Key were tackles by Yasin and Rizza. Forcing a Falcons punt.
The Pioneers wanted to carry the defensive stop momentum over to their offense trailing by a score. Initially, it looked like the offense would respond after Kondziolka ran for 16-yards, but the next four plays produced just nine yards, thus ending the promising second half start at the Falcons’ 38-yardline.
Things got worse for the home team; the Falcons took just three plays to increase their lead. A long touchdown run put the Falcons up 19-6.
The Pioneers were struggling to sustain a drive. After their initial score, it was a demonstration of frustration for the offense. They had occasional big plays but would stall after each and give up the ball. The Falcon’s defense was decent, but it was more the lack of execution that troubled the Pioneers offense.
On the ensuing drive after the Frankfort score, Kondziolka ran for 13-yards. The Pioneers then went to a screen pass. Elliott timed it perfectly to his receiver Owei, who went right, made cut back left and then hit the sidelines, scoring on the 57-yard play, cutting the lead down to 19-12 at the end of three quarters.
“I almost dropped the screen pass,” said Owei. “I thought I was going to get tackled, I broke a couple tackles, I just wasn’t sure. I was glad to be in the open and score. It was great, I was excited and really happy, but we need to improve our communication and be in the right spots. Even I need some direction at times.”
The final quarter saw both teams’ defenses upping their level of play.
For the Falcons, they looked to maintain the lead while the Pioneers couldn’t give up another score if they had plans of winning the game.
The Pioneers again forced a Falcon punt early in the fourth quarter behind the tackles by Almasri and Owei but a costly turnover had the Falcons offense back at it after the fumble by the Pioneers’ Kondziolka.
The Falcons used another long pass to maintain possession, also converting a fourth down, eating away at the time.
The Pioneers managed to get the ball back at their own 1-yard line with a stop by Raymond Arrendondo.
With little time left, the Pioneers were 99-yards from possibly tying the game. A 14-yard completion from Elliott to Kondziolka moved the ball to the 15 but an incompletion followed by an interception sealed the win for the Falcons.
The Pioneers’ Shafik Yasin was a standout on the defensive side. His ability to alter plays, especially in the second half, kept the Falcons scoreless. He led the Pioneers in tackles and seemed to be near every run play, assisting on several tackles too.
“You gotta do your job, be in the right place at the right time and know your assignment,” said Yasin. “You won’t make any plays if you aren’t doing that. Working as a team is important. If we all execute together, we will have more success. We all make mistakes; we just need to make fewer. If we do that, I know we will be good. We all try our best, but like me, we can always be better.”
Several other Pioneers were adding to the effort or there for support. They include Ayden Murphy, Mason Marable, Taylor McDoniel, Ethan Vinson, Vinnie Annel, Adrian Maldonado, Ayden Toth, Sam Basiorka, Christian Czerwonka, Jack Bullington, Dominic Gigliotti, Kyree Gills, Rocco McCarthy, Joshua McNeil, Eli Citlau. Adam Hoak, John Murray, Casper Piskurewicz, Mark Grech-Lisula, Adam Danko, Keegan Kirk, Rami Agha, Andrew Wojtanowicz, Nimer Alamawi, David Klimaszka, Blake Wagner, Conner Ward, Ibrahim Jaffal, Mostafa Mostafa, Nick Shamma, Brady Straka and Stephen Caxton-Idowu.