By Patrick Z. McGavin- Photos by Jenn-Anne Gledhill
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MOKENA— Pride in performance gets at the heart of the offensive lineman’s mentality and approach.
The Jr Celtics 10U program offers a virtual highlight of breathtaking individual talent and gifted playmakers. As good as they are, nobody operates in a vacuum. This is not 7-on-7. The other team also has defensive players. Offensive talent is often only as good as the line that makes their superb play possible.
Liam Kruse is the left tackle who protects the “blind side,” of standout quarterback Rhett Johnson. He takes that job very seriously. “I take a lot of responsibility for the linemen,” Kruse said. “If Rhett gets hurt, we don’t have a quarterback. The whole line plays really well together. We team up, and everyone is plugged in.”
Rhett Johnson took full advantage of the dominant line play with two fantastic first half touchdowns. The Jr Celtics posted their second consecutive elite performance with the 38-0 victory over the Ottawa Wolfpack in Pop Warner League play on Homecoming at Main Park on Saturday, August 31. The Jr Celtics have won their first two games by a combined score of 68-0.
Kruse has been a lynchpin of the dominant line play, joined by right tackle William Mikaitis, guards William Janik and Michael Zanta, and center Camden Dvorak.
“Our offensive line just executes, and opens holes,” Johnson said. “Having that protection and all of these great running backs, it makes me feel comfortable in the pocket and getting the ball running.” The line has the versatility and size to play either a physical, mash up style, and the athleticism to get outside and work the edges.
“We have to make those holes, and move the ball,” Kruse said. “That’s what we’ve been able to do. We never slow down.”
Johnson opened the scoring with a spectacular 25-yard run at the start of the second quarter, the opening salvo in a 24-point first half explosion. “It was supposed to be an inside play, but the hole was blocked and I just busted it outside,” he said.
All-purpose standout Brayden Ruth was 5-of-5 on two-point kicks. He expanded the lead. He was also one of the standouts on a suffocating defensive effort that never allowed the Wolfpack a chance to breathe. Tyson Gagan, Jadyn Brigham, Blake Schuler and Dvorak also stood out with their defensive pressure, and ability to make tackles or create havoc.
“We knew they had some big guys on their team,” Gagan said. “They weren’t the fastest, so we knew we had to gang tackle. Luckily we were able to stop them again.”
Declan Kirk was a force of nature coming off the edge, creating back side pressure on the quarterback or closing down spaces. He had three tackles for loss. The Jr Celtics permitted just one first down. ”I love going fast,” Kirk said. “It takes a lot of pressure off against us when we’re on defense. We always make sure we go as hard as we can. We want to make sure they never score.”
Billy Guinea III closed out the first half scoring with a brilliant 16-yard action where he revered field and got to the edge. His improvisation in the open field is one of the pure delights of the offense.
”The play’s called a 17, and it went to the left, and I got some really good blocks from the leads and the offensive line, and I think that’s what got me going,” Guinea said. “We take a lot of satisfaction from both sides of the ball. Our offense scores a lot of points, and out defense keeps getting stops and shutting out the other team.”
The second half was more of the same, efficient, clinical and overwhelming.
Ruth ripped off a 15-yard burst. Gagan got into the scoring action. His speciality is taking the deep pitch and getting to the left edge. He has a special knack. Gagan completed a six-play, 60-yard drive with his customary action by bursting around the left edge for a 23-yard touchdown run on the opening possession of the third quarter.
“In our first game last week, I said I wanted to score on that play,” he said. “I didn’t, but I knew it was coming today. That definitely helped with that.”
Dominik Brown and Ruth collaborated for another dominant defensive stand that caused a turnover on downs. The one-sided affair allowed the Jr Celtics to get plenty of action for the deep bench. Jake Tompkins, Bryce Szczepaniak and Brigham alternated taking turns running the ball for the final scoring drive. Brigham had two carries for 11 yards, and Szczepaniak broke off a big 12-yard gain. Tompkins had four carries for 16 yards, punctuating the victory with a two-yard touchdown run. Victory is always sweet.
The fact the dominant game took part during Homecoming festivities, with the pageantry and ritual of the team being led on the field by a bagpipe performer and the introduction of the court added to the pleasure and delight. The team always has its eye on the larger prize.
”It just feels great to be in front of a lot of fans, and come out and dominate,” Johnson said. “We’ve all been playing together for a long time, and that actually makes us more confident in each other. We’re going to keep going as hard as we can.”
The Jr Celtics 10U team had many standout contributors in the 38-0 victory. Those other players were Casey Gahan, Dean Copack, Gabriel Glover, Romeo Brooks, Easton Burch, Ryan Ripoli, Vincent Bennett, Knixon Hazdra, Geno Vosholler, Brayden Luczynski, Cameron Richards, Luke Husenger, William Michael Lehnerer III, Brady Lindholm, Anthony Fitzpatrick, Grant Whitchurch, Rex Schultz and Joseph Honkisz.
The Junior PeeWee cheerleaders also brought grace, beauty and enthusiasm with their routines and athletic performance. The members included Mariana Santoro, Harper Kloiber, Ella Pearson, Adrianna Magana, Briella Price, Emmy Holland, McKenna Smith, Lily Gotkowski, Valentina Santoro, Eliana Jones, Maya Varnado, Natalie Mellon, Brynn Kaplan, Reese Erickson, Sophia Eytcheson, Mackenzie Tunney, and Lilly Pearson.
