By Bobby Narang- Photos by Jenn-Anne Gledhill
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MOKENA— The 13U Jr. Celtics didn’t let bad weather bring their game down on Sunday afternoon at Main Park.
Before the fourth and final game of the day, the younger Jr. Celtics teams dealt with sun, heat, a torrential downpour, possible lightning in the area and then the return of sunshine. Well, the 13U Jr. Celtics played most of their game against the Oswego Bears in darkness and rain.
But the weather didn’t deter the Jr. Celtics from playing a complete game, overpowering the visiting team in every phase of the game.
The Jr. Celtics scored 16 points in the first quarter to roll to a 38-0 running clock victory over the Oswego Bears.
The Jr. Celtics coaching staff, led by head coach Robert Russell, showed off an excellent week of practices by playing nearly flawless football for four quarters. The home team limited their penalties, took advantage of turnovers and produced numerous big plays to dominate the Bears.
“The kids came out and really played hard and they did a great job,” Russell said. “Everyone of these kids play for each other. I don’t think I’ve seen a team more excited when they saw Caleb get into the end zone. They truly are a family and do a great job of working hard in practice. Every single practice is intense. They want to play together. This is the last year the majority of them will play together after five years. It should be fun.”
“This is actually the last game they will ever play on this field, so this was a great way to end five years. The offensive line and defensive line truly played outstanding and they love when we score and feel like it’s truly a team score and they love to see the guys get into the end zone. I couldn’t be more proud of the entire team.”
Right from the outset, the Jr. Celtics showed they meant business against the Bears. While several fans were watching or listening to the Chicago Bears host the Dallas Cowboys during the game, the Jr. Celtics made a point to dominate this version of the Bears.
Nakahti Thompson was one of the standouts of the game for the Jr. Celtics, opening the first series of the game with a 40-yard touchdown scamper for an 8-0 lead with 8:00 left in the first quarter.
The Bears couldn’t counterattack, going three-and-out on their first series to set up the Jr. Celtics for another quick-strike TD.
It was Bryce Robinson’s turn this time, taking the punt return and gliding to a memorable 65-yard touchdown return to pad the lead to 16-0 with 5:24 left in the opening quarter.
Leading 16-0 to start the second quarter, the Jr. Celtics kept pushing forward behind a dynamic offense, strong defense and flawless special teams. Robinson added a second-quarter interception to his growing highlight-reel, picking off a pass and returning it 27 yards to the Bears’ 15-yard line.
Left tackle Dominic Nemchausky made his presence known throughout the mud-filled game. His improvement from last season is a key reason for the Jr. Celtics playing so well this season. Nemchausky blew up the Bears’ defensive line with his strength and power, helping pave the way for Dominick Bennett’s 15-yard TD run with 8:39 left in the half.
“It was very muddy on the field and hard to get some traction,” Nemchausky said. “It was simply easy to get through their lines.”
The Jr. Celtics picked off another pass late in the quarter, when Nolan Purtill got his hands on an errant pass. Matthew Webb, who plays right tackle, fullback and on the defensive line, was the next player to find the end zone. He burst through for a 5-yard touchdown run to start a running clock, handing the home team a 30-0 lead with 3:52 until halftime.
Webb said the entire team factored into the blowout win.
“It’s a team sport and we all played well and together today,” Webb said. “We all played our part, which made the score 38-0. We had great blocking and defense. The lines had good communication and helped us.”
In the third quarter, Caleb Griffin showed his potential by showcasing tough running, churning his legs for several positive gains. Griffin had a run of 13 yards and added a 10-yarder, then a 3-yard gain before ending the drive with a powerful 3-yard TD run for the first score of his career, according to his coach.
“I just tried to keep on moving my feet and if anyone was holding me back, I still tried to keep going to get a touchdown,” Griffin said. “I was very excited to get a touchdown. It felt great.”
The Jr. Celtics, though, weren’t done. Purtill had a big hit on defense with just over three minutes left, while Nemchausky had his fun, too. He carried the ball on the final series, rumbling 17 yards for a first down.
Nemchausky said he’s happy to play a bigger role for the Jr. Celtics this season.
“Hard work and training has helped me improve,” Nemchausky said. “It was nice to have that run at the end of the game. It felt amazing. I got tripped by one of my teammates on accident.”
Wide receiver and cornerback Caden Russell contributed on both sides of the ball, helping make the visiting team one-dimensional with his play in the secondary.
“The secondary stayed on coverage and did a great job and did the highest point and got interceptions,” Russell said. “It was great to win.”
Right guard Andrew Lowry said it was great to see the offense push the ball down the field at will with big plays in the running game.
“We did great on the offensive line, but we can still do better,” Lowry said. “It was very wet, especially at the beginning. We can play harder. It was a great overall game by our team. It was great to see our offense move the ball, just a great experience to have all your teammates playing strong. It was good execution by everyone and we did everything we needed to do.”
The 13U Jr. Celtics played nearly the entire squad and everyone had a hand in the victory, including Frank Vosholler IV, Christian Taphorn, Thomas Walsh, Michael Brown, Kyle Thompkins, Adrian Friscia, Anthony Stefos, Jack Fletcher, Maximus Dukups, Graham Salvador, Kaiden Alexander and Robert Hauck.
The Jr Celtics varsity cheerleaders were a big part of the victory, which included Vivienne Andresen, Charlotte Fowler, Bevin Scanlan, Anais Nunnally, Eloise Morrison, Brianna Adair, Skyler Guinea, Luciana Kolenko, Gabrielle Migacz, Madison Varnado, Olivia Freyer, Ashlyn Woods, Charlotte Ozinga, Teagan Smith, Anya Stojak, Gianna Ponzi, Penny Oeser, Ella Dobbelhoff, Gianna Picciola, Mia Rhodes, Jessica Short, Chloe DiBennardi and Charlotte Mcdo
