photo credit: Griffin Takacs
Dusk was falling on the perfect September day over Pioneer field, and football season was rolling: Olentany Orange, two wins into its season, faced district rival Olentangy, up 15-0 in only the first quarter. Quarterback Luke Chilicki of Olentangy threw the ball up, hoping for a chance to even out the score. But, it was tipped up, and a silhouette (senior defensive back Zane Konczak) dove for it, recovering it and winning possession for Orange.
If there had been any doubt around if the Pioneers would let up, that decided it— and less than five minutes later, the team cashed in for another touchdown, making the score 21-0. And never did they let up: the play would become a microcosm of the next three months, both of which could be described in a word as dominance.
It began in the preseason, according to senior offensive linebacker and captain Remley Bowen.
“You could feel it in the air in practice. I’ve been around teams that are 4-7, and I’ve been around teams that are 15-0. It felt different this year; it really did,” Bowen said.
The team lived up to this, setting its standard early in the season, putting up 42 points in each of its first three games and beating opponents by large margins, seemingly effortlessly. Even then, some of the postseason possibilities and excitement had begun to brew.
“When Zane Consak made that play against Olentangy [in the third game], I was like, yeah, Zane’s nice, and we all nice. So we’re going to the state championship,” senior wide receiver MC Walker said.
The team kept on rolling, beating district rivals Olentangy and Berlin along the way. The season became historic after the team’s victory against Liberty in late October.
“[This group was the] first 10-0 team in school history,” Head Coach Wes Schroeder said.
With a perfect regular season behind it, the squad turned its attention to the playoffs, carrying that same electricity and confidence with it.
“Once we got the tournament draw, we felt pretty good about our postseason, who we were gonna play and where we were going,” Schroeder said.
And from there, everything seemed to fall into place for the Pioneers, much as it had all season: explosive offense and debilitating defense, leaving fans unable to help wondering if their team could go all the way.
“I knew we were going to win state when we took the field at Mansfield versus St. Edward’s,” Schroeder said. “Our kids and our crowd were just so locked in, everybody was so emotionally invested and we played so hard. I knew then that there was a good shot that we would win that one and probably the next one, whoever we played.”
So when the title of OHSAA State Champions followed for the Pioneers, leaving them at 15-0 as the district’s first overall undefeated team, it should have seemed only natural. And yet, winning the state tournament could never be understated.
“Our season ended on a win, so [the overall mood is] ecstatic,” Walker said.
But according to the head coach, the team’s achievements went beyond merely decimating opponents and winning out.
“People win state championships every year, but not every team can have the camaraderie, closeness and love that our team had,” Schroeder said. “Our greatest achievement was the way we came together for a common goal, and the winning was a byproduct of the way the kids bought into one another, played hard and made it about the team, not themselves.”
Schroeder also cited the formation of several star players as one of the season’s leading accomplishments. One of said players is Bowen, who recently accepted a partial scholarship to play football at the collegiate level.
“I’m going to Davidson College, and I’m going to go out and see what I can do. I’m going to work my butt off like I did this year, hopefully play football for four years and see what happens,” Bowen said.
But no matter what it was about the team that made it happen, the tone they set, from September nights to snow, cannot be denied, a momentum so powerful it practically permeated the air around the school, putting a buzz in the veins of fans, students, coaches and players.
“The only word I can think of for it is greatness,” Bowen said.
