By Ed Muniz-Photos by Kathy Jones
** Additional Photos are Available for Purchase at https://justallsports.zenfolio.com/p193498516 **
After starting the season with a pair of losses, the 10U Jr. Celtics have righted what plagued them early.
Excellent defense and finishing off drives will produce wins.
Currently the Jr. Celtics have found a formula that has worked to their advantage as they enter their contest against the Humboldt Park Patriots.
Their three-game win streak featured timely stops and precise execution in key spots.
October 1, the Patriots were front row guest of the Christopher Robinson Show.
Robinson put on quite a performance to the delight of the seated guests and the dismay of the Patriots.
Like the Galloping Ghost of yester years, the small-framed running back is as elusive and speedy as they come.
His four-touchdown barrage left some in awe and gave headaches to his opposing Patriot foes as they simply had no answer for his talent.
You could say he single-handedly was determined to win this game for his Jr. Celtics teammates.
“My speed and quick movements and plants are really working for me,’ said modest Robinson. “What works against a big team like them is that I’m smaller than them so its harder to tackle me plus I’m faster than them, so I use that to get into the endzone.”
“I think all of us were playing really well. Maybe we can work on a little bit of blocking and hitting the hole a little harder but overall, I think we played really good.”
Robinson was surely the star on the offensive side, defensively, Bryce Kaplan led the Jr. Celtics effort.
“Playing defense is fun and I like making tackles and stopping teams, but I think I would rather play on offense more,” said the defensive standout. “I think I just like running the ball and hitting guys when I run. As a team, we had an average game on defense, there are a few things we can work on. We still had a pretty good game.”
The Jr. Celtics started the game defensively. Tackles by Bryce Kaplan, Eaton Breen, Gavin Collins and an interception by Adekunle Bobade stopped the Patriots first efforts.
Robinsons first run on the ensuing play foretold what was instore for the visitors.
Racing around his left end, he outpaced the Patriot defenders to the endzone on the 15-yard score. He also added the extra-point for the 7-0 lead.
The Patriots countered the Mokena score with one of their own on their next possession. A 39-yard run ended in the endzone, but they failed the conversion which left them trailing 7-6.
A pair of Robinson runs netted 9-yards, but the sole yard needed to extend their drive eluded Mokena on their next two tries, resulting in a turnover on downs near midfield.
Playing hard, not wanting to relinquish the lead, Lucas Gravitt and Kaleb Kastys greeted the Patriots second quarter drive with tackles and two stops from Kaleb, forcing a turnover on downs after four tries.
Robinson once again found the edge and raced 68-yards two plays later for his second touchdown of the day. He once again added the extra-point to extend the Mokena lead to 14-6.
The Patriots were deceiving in their play. They had size but also had a speedy back in their arsenal.
Their next possession saw them meticulously advance the football. Tackles by Collins, Gravitt, Matthew Curry, Travis Delisle and Lorenzo Decarlo slowed the Patriot march but didn’t stop them.
They added their second score on a 16-yard run late in the first half. Again they failed to convert and trailed 14-12
With an injury to Robinson, Colin Bailey took over in the back field. Three straight runs saw him pick up 13-yards to conclude the first half.
The rest did Robinson some good, he returned to start the second half and proceeded to score once again, going 61-yards for his third touchdown just two plays into the second half.
The touchdown saw the Mokena lead grow to 20-12.
The Patriots were treated the rest of the game with a dose of hard-hitting, gang-tackling defense from the Jr. Celtics. Turning up the pressure resulted in stops by Bobade, Blake Jacobson, Gravitt and Decarlo.
Forced to give up possession, the Patriots looked for the defense to step up.
It answered the call and forced a Mokena punt on the tree and out.
Unfortunately for the Darien guest, on the punt, a bounding football was inadvertently touched by a Swarm player and pounced on by Kaplan for the recovery, giving another chance to the Mokena offense.
A horse collar penalty on a Mokena run shortened the field even more. From there the Jr. Celtics offense worked its way closer and closer to extending their lead , but a fumble at the 5-yard line stopped the host and gave the ball back to the Patriots.
The Mokena defense stepped up again and produced its second interception, this time by Delisle. He timed and stepped in for the grab midway through the final quarter.
Robinson opened with a 12-yard burst which was followed by runs from Kaplan, Bailey and finished with his fourth score of the day by Robinson on the 16-yard sprint. The score was now at 26-12 with just a couple minutes to play.
The ensuing Patriot drive saw tackles by Decarlo and Collins on the first three tries and was closed out by Gravitt for the 26-12 win.
Other Jr. Celtics helping in the win were Carter Bellik, Micah Barnett, Elliot Bodine, Nikko Triolo, Ethan Kozola, Nathan Quiroz, Austin Crites, Thomas Johnson, Grant Smith, Grant Whitchurch, Asher Kokolus and Broderick Wallace.
Note: an interview with the Jr. Celtics’ Center was conducted but the recorded interview was corrupt and unusable. We will repeat the interview in our next coverage. Our apologies.
The Junior Pee Wee cheerleaders showed a bundle of energy in their halftime performance. Their members are Elizabeth Costello, Angel Delgau, Reese Erickson, Olivia Gonzalez, Brooklyn Gorenstein, Ava Gorman, Liliana Gotkowski, Emmy Holland, Brooke Jacobson, Brynn Kaplan, Charlotte Kelly, Harper Kloiber, Adrianna Magana, Natalie Mellon, Ella Pearson, Briella Price, Mariana Santoro, Valentina Santoro, Valentino Santoro, Josselyn Smith, Mckenna Smith, Mackenzie Tunney, Maya Varnado and Lillian White.
