By Ed Muniz-Photos by Renee Kaspar
** Additional Photos are Available for Purchase at https://justallsports.zenfolio.com/p76694773 **
Some might think Coach Mike Vita has a problem among his 13U Jr. Celtic team.
Bet most coaches would love to have that problem if he has one!
He heads a team loaded with so much talent, in fact, he might have too many superstars!
For Coach Vita, It’s no problem.
No, he is a strict, drill sergeant-type head coach, where is word is the law and no funny business is even thought of.
There might not be a better eighth grade team in the state.
At every position, many high school coaches would covet what he has in place. Even back-up players could easily start and shine on other teams.
Its difficult to describe the amount of talent he has on his 19-man roster.
Among his players, he has several receivers that have speed and sure hands. Throw the ball anywhere near them, they’re making the catch; a quarterback who doesn’t panic and leads by example with a strong arm with pin-point accuracy and the physical attributes and talent that gets him noticed.
He has slippery, fast, explosive running backs that can cut on a dime or accelerate by you.
As for the interior, he has a stout set of linemen that aren’t easily moved or passed and can power by you or prevent you from getting through.
As good as they are offensively, they could easily be as formidable defensively.
This is a team geared not for winning local conference titles but for winning National Titles! That’s quite a problem to have huh?
In their week six matchup, the Jr. Celtics hosted the Plainfield Saints.
In a matter of minutes, the Plainfield players and coaches knew they were in a world of trouble. Expressions on their faces spoke loudly of the fate that awaited them and they accepted it.
The Saints took the opening possession and ran a set of downs, they used approximately three minutes on their three running plays and punted.
At the 7:03 mark, Mokena took over, at the 6:17 mark, the Jr. Celtics were up 16-0.
Quarterback Dominic Vita took his first snap and lofted a perfect pass to Marshaun Thornton, which he hauled in and took 45-yards for the touchdown. “Super Toe” Colin Slaney converted the kick-after for the 8-0 lead.
One play later, a Saints fumble was recovered by Ryan Studenroth.
On the following play, Vita again dropped back and tossed another pass downfield that was caught by Kameron McGee, who strolled into the endzone on the 30-yard completion. Laney added the kick after and just like that, the Jr. Celtics were up two scores.
It just kept adding up for the hosts. Defensively, the Jr. Celtics kept giving their offense more chances to increase their lead. On the next Saint series, the Mokena defense allowed just two tries before it got the ball back to Vita and the offense.
A tackle by Shea Wells and a pick by Thornton ended the Saints efforts. From there, Vita for the third consecutive time, looked down field, found his target and let it go. His pass was caught by DeAngelo Coates for the 26-yard touchdown and a 24-0 lead after Slaney converted his kick.
“We know we are bigger, stronger, faster than everyone, but we still prepare like they could beat us,” said the Stellar Quarterback Vita. “What I’m thinking before a game is I know my linemen, my wide receivers and my tight end are way bigger than them, so it’s just easier for us to succeed.”
“I wouldn’t say things are too easy for us, we know we could play a really bad game, and someone could be us then. We have good and bad plays but most of the time we are locked in on good plays. I think I have to improve my ball placement when I’m throwing to my wide receivers.”
At this point, the question of who would win this game was a foregone conclusion still in the first quarter. The faces of Saints players showed how much they didn’t want to be there and realized they still had more than three quarters to play.
It got worse, after tackles by Wells and Kallan Breen, the Saints coughed up the football again, McGee picked up the football and returned it 35-yards for the Jr. Celtics defensive score.
“Playing defensive end is easy when you have technique and fundamentals, you get past others when plus you put in the work to get strength,” said McGee. “Most of the time we try to stay discipline but sometimes you can become complacent out there. We mostly try to go 100% every play. On my touchdown catch, I was bigger, faster, stronger and just caught the ball. I put in hour at receiver and end, so when you work, it’s going to come easy.”
Slaney added another kick which saw the High-Octane Jr. Celtics put 32-point on the board in less than one quarter of play.
Entering the second quarter, once again the Mokena defense was troubling the Saints, eventually forcing a punt behind the tackling of Wells and Paul DeRosa.
With a running clock now in effect, time would continue counting down with only timeouts or injuries stopping it.
The Jr. Celtics added another score when running back Adam Studenroth took his turn in the backfield, grabbed a handoff, started right the cut back left and streaked 61-yards down the far sideline for the touchdown and a 38-0 halftime lead.
“Today I was running a different position, I still put my best into it,” said Adam. “The only hard thing for me is gap wise, where to go when I’m playing a new position like today. Its like a family here, we are all a family. For me, I have to get more aggressive, more dominant when I play. I put my all into my score, I needed a touchdown.”
By this time, the Saints players had had enough. It wasn’t fun for them or their fans, talking as they gathered into the endzone during the break.
With the start of the second half and the game in hand, both teams recognize the situation. Several starters were out for Mokena with the task at hand being to finish the game.
Wells was still making tackles gathering three on the Saints second half series with Kareem Crosby picking up a solo one along with Nicolas Flores.
Now under center, Wells would add one last touchdown for Mokena, he took a snap and took off up the middle with very little resistance, raced 67-yards for the last tally of the game With the Slaney kick, the score rose to 46-0 with seconds left. The game ended a few tics later.
Know for the Pink gloves, Wells explained.
“I wear then for my aunt; she had cancer ten years ago. I think I’m the best at receiver, they put me in the backfield because I can lower my shoulder and get through kids. I play more as a receiver but depends on the formation. I think I’m going to get much bigger. “
“I feel like I’m aggressive but feel like I can max out to another level. I’ve only been with this team a year, but all these guys are like my family, we hang out on the side all the time.”
Other Jr. Celtics giving their all were Jayden Richter, Anthony Carter, Thomas Brown, Donte Brooks, Jonathan Beaver, Chris Santori and Jonathan Osborne.
Cheering on the players and showing their talents at halftime were the Junior Varsity Cheerleaders. Among them were Raelynn Anderson, Vivienne Andresen, Kalista Balenciaga, Mia Calleros, Maleah Capadona, Grace Crowhurst, Ella Dobbelhoff, Alexis Firlit, Skyler Guinea, Emma Hamstra, Riley Hoffman, Audrey Larson, Roe Lubovich, Gracelyn Marienllo, Charlotte McDonald, Charlotte Ozinga, Giulianna Ramus and Elle Taylor.
