By Ed Muniz- Photos by Renee Kaspar
** Additional Photos are Available for Purchase at https://justallsports.zenfolio.com/p129461014 **
The second game of the Saturday Night Lights on September 30 featured the 7U Jr. Celtics hosting the Aurora Gators.
For Coach Tommy Comise and staff, it’s been a difficult season for their squad of Jr. Celtics. Struggling to score can be frustrating when you know you have enough talent in your midst.
What’s plagued this Jr. Celtics team is their own undoing with mistakes. Some mental, some physical. It seems they keep stepping on their own foot at a key moment in the game, which becomes a negative for them.
As mentioned, this is a team with too much talent to warrant their current standings in the league.
Host the Gators, a team that had won only one of its previous 5 games, things were hopeful for Jr. Celtics. Could this be the day they get their first win of the season?
Entering the game, the Jr. Celtics had lost 4 of 5 games with one tie in week two so spirits were high in front of the large home crowd at Main Park.
After taking an early lead, one they hadn’t had all season, the Jr. Celtics couldn’t maintain that and succumb to the speedy visitors 18-13 in the close match.
When the teams took to the field, Mokena would go to their offense first. The very first play of the game had the large home crowd exploding with cheers.
Running back Ashton Bradshaw took a handoff and got to the sideline and raced 65-yards for the touchdown. Vincent Venegas added the point-after, and just like that, the Jr. Celtics were up 7-0.
“We did a jet sweep and I ran as fast as I could,“ said Bradshaw. “I was thinking I was going to score a touchdown. I was very happy.”
With the adrenaline still flowing, the amped up Mokena defense went out a put up a three and out behind the two tackles by Venegas including a sack, and a tackle by Caleb Partin that loss the Gators 6-yards.
Everything was going Mokena’s way early on. Their next possession started with Michael Comise finding an open Partin who hauled in the pass, gaining 37-yards on the pass play.
After flipping the field on the pass connection, disaster struck. That unavoidable mistake of this season made its presence known when the Jr. Celtics lost a fumble on a second down run.
The defense didn’t flinch but what could have been, was now a past. The Mokena defense grabbed another stop of the Gators with Venegas and John Skuzinski leading the effort.
Now entering the second quarter, the host looked to up their lead. After a fumble on his last carry, Bradshaw rushed hard on his next try and gained 20-yards t take his Jr. Celtics team inside the redzone at the Gator 12-yard line.
The next play saw a little luck shine down on the home team. After running just outside of the endzone, Venegas fumbled the football which bound into the endzone, there to recover it was teammate Hendrix Benard for the touchdown.
The score moved the Jr. Celtics lead up to 13-0 midway through the second quarter.
Two tries by the Gators on their ensuing possession gather them negative 3-yards with tackles for loss by Ryder Dow and Venegas.
The Gators third attempt showed the speed of their tailback as he quickly got to the outside, leaving the Mokena defense trailing him for 68-yards and the visitors touchdown.
After stopping the point-after attempt, the Jr. Celtics now led 13-6.
Finally getting on the scoreboard, the Gator defense had the same momentum the Jr. Celtics experienced after their initial score and quickly stopped the Mokena offense after four downs, forcing a punt as tie wound down in the first half.
Two fumbles later for the Gators, saw the time expire as teams head to half.
The gators opened the second half going on a 9-play drive which culminated with an 11-yard touchdown run. With the score, the game was now even at 13-13.
Along the Gators second half series, tackles by Jack Mackiney, Benrad, Venegas and Skuzinski slowed the Gators but didn’t stop them on three third down opportunities.
Skuzinski was key for the Mokena defense. His ability to get to the ball was evident as he had a knack for being around it.
“Getting into my stride stance helps me a lot,” said the defensive star. “It keeps me from over running a play. I use my wrap to bring guys down, but I think I do better at that. I think we need to block better and get faster to make a tackle.”
The Gators used the entire third quarter on their scoring drive.
Entering the fourth stanza, the Jr. Celtics offense looked at regaining the lead. Runs by Venegas and Finn Ward produced short gains and a pass play to Partin gained just seven yards. It didn’t help that they also fumbled on one try losing coveted yards.
A fourth down try went for no yards, forcing the Jr. Celtics to give up the football on downs.
Beginning near midfield, the Gators had a strong run that gained several yards on their first try. Add on a facemask penalty, the Gators were now sitting 25-yards shy of the goal line and the lead.
Tackles by Partin, Bradshaw and Benard couldn’t stave off the Gator offense. They would score on a 24-yard jaunt and complete the comeback to take an 18-13 lead they wouldn’t relinquish the rest of the game.
Try as they might, the Jr. Celtics just couldn’t find the formula to retake the lead in the time they had. A 15-yard run by Bradshaw and a Comise to Partin 26-yard completion did get them to the Gator 29, but a penalty and two fumbles hurt their efforts, it didn’t help that Bradshaw was injured on one of his runs thus leaving a big void for the offense.
Time ran out on Mokena after a valiant effort, handing the Gators their second win and keeping the Jr. Celtics winless on the season.
The all-around play from Vincent Venagas led the Mokena effort. His running abilities and his defensive prowess led his team.
“I was running fast to get to the ball, I can d that all the time. Maybe I could be better running the ball, but we had a hard time blocking, maybe we are a little slow. If we block better and run the ball better, I think we can win a game for sure.”
Several other 7U players gave their all for Mokena, they included James Short, Timothy Gena, Owen Miller, William Fitzgerald, Joseph Paciorek, John Drabeck, Iacovos Christou, Rocco Macaluso and Corbin Caine.
Cheering on the Pioneers were the Tiny Mites Cheerleaders. They included Brooke Copack, Mila Fox, Jayde Dorosz, Brooklyn Firlit, Calrleigh Gill, Ella Koschnitzki, Maggie Lepore, Sloane Ludwig, Ellie Mahalik, Hayden Neal, Kelsey Niemeyer, Nicole Pflug and June Smith.
