By Ed Muniz- Photos by Jenn-Anne Gledhill
** Additional Photos are available for purchase at https://justallsports.zenfolio.com/p1051595071 **
MOKENA— When you qualify for the Playoffs in any sport, you want to head into them on a positive note, that means a winning effort in your final regular season game.
Regardless of the amount of victories that eared you a spot in the Championship tournament, you’d like to start them after completing a successful season with a positive heading into it.
Coach Dave Brown and his 11U Jr. Celtics knew they had clinched a playoff berth heading into the regular season finale against the Argonauts. For them, it was getting through the game injury free and headed in the right direction after the game with a win.
After a tough game featuring two teams that used their defensive prowess, put on full display, the Jr. Celtics would prepare for the upcoming second season with a come-from-behind 8-7 victory in Mokena on October 12.
“I was happy with the win but disappointed in our conduct. It’s unacceptable. We know better how to act,” said Coach Dave Brown. “We knew coming in we were fighting for seeding. Algonquin has been one of those year to year tough teams. The games against them are usually “Knock Out-Drag Out” brawls. I felt we were a little bit intmidated coming out of the gate. They were extremely intense and aggressive right off the bat, very physical, I thought we were a little bit shell-shocked by that. I think we thought we were going to walk in there and have an easy game, but complacency took over.”
After a quick three and out to begin the game, the Jr. Celtics defense got the ball back to their offense when Kadeem Singleton recovered a Argos loose ball. The fumble recovery saw the Jr. Celtics start their second series with a short field from the Argos’ 48-yard-line.
Unfortunately, a golden opportunity to take a lead was squandered after the six-play drive stalled on a fourth down incomplete pass to begin the second quarter.
It took the Argonauts just one play to jump ahead. Taking a pitch, the Argos running-back got to the right edge quickly, used some blocking and raced 63-yards untouched down the near sideline into the endzome for the opening score and a 7-0 lead after a successful point-after.
The Jr. Celtics looked to respond. They proceeded to work their way downfield beginning at their own 38-yard-line, using initially a running attack of Ryan Ripoli, Brayden Simon, Camden Dvorak and Tyson Gagan, but it was a big pass-play completion by Quarterback’ Rhett Johnson to William Guinea III that went 43-yards and got the Jr. Celtics on the scoreboard midway through the second quarter.
The Jr. Celtics chose to kick the point-after. If successful, they would jump ahead with the two-point kick.
Lining up for the try was Brayden Ruth. He took his time, got ready, the snap went well, the placement was good and Ruth kicked the football through the uprights for the 8-7 Jr. Celtic lead.
With confidence beaming, the Jr. Celtics took to the field for the Argos next series with momentum on their side. Tackles by Guinea and a pair from Jaxon Cullum forced a fourth and five. The Argos went to the air and connected with Jr. Celtics’ Dominik Brown for the interception.
A few plays later, the Jr. Celtics went to halftime leading 8-7.
The 8-7 Jr. Celtics lead as it turned out, would hold up the rest of the game with both defenses dominating play in the second half.
Turnovers were also key in the second half and assisted in keeping the game at a one-point difference.
The Jr. Celtics defense opened the second half stopping the Argos first drive after seven tries. Tackles by Vincent Bennett, Guinea, Singleton, Cordero Barry and Michael Lehnerer III all force a turnover on downs.
Now on offense, Coach Browns’ team again went to their ground game with Johnson and Simon getting the calls, moving from their 40 to the Argo 33. A pass completion by Johnson to Ripoli went 16-yards and it looked as if the Jr. Celtics were marching towards another score.
One play later, the Jr. Celtics coughed up the ball and saw the Argos come up with the fumble to end the threat. Now the Argonauts had a chance to jump back ahead possessing the football headed to the final quarter.
When late game turnovers happen, the usual outcome after that is that the recovering team will go on to score more likely than not. Not sure why but it happens often. Now the Jr. Celtics were trying to prevent that from happening but they made it difficult for themselves.
Grinding away yard by yard, the Argos kept moving forward. The Jr. Celtics were making tackles but they also were giving up yards on every Argo run. It also didnt help that penalties came into play. A facemask penalty and a late hit penalty soon saw the Argos just seven yards from taking the lead after beginning at their own 32-yard-line.
Even the best of the best teams depend on some luck during certain situations. The Argos elected to run a toss play instead of a straight hand off, that turned out to be a terrible decision as the pitch from quarterback to runner was mishandled and Jr. Celtic Ballhawk’ Jadyn Brigham was there to pounce on the loose to maintain the lead.
The host Jr. Celtics took over at their own 12 after the fumbled and ate some crucial time off the clock. A big 28-yard pass completion from Johnson to Guinea being the key play, keeping the clock ticking away.
Having a smooth, calm and collective field leader like Rhett Johnson at quarterback can comfort any coach. His seasoned play shows off his field leadership and works well for the 11U Jr. Celtics.
“I feel like I’m the leader and I got cotrol of other stuff,” said Johnson. “I feel i have control of mostly the offense but also some control of the defense too. I like to just stay positive at quarterback and keep my teammates staying high no matter if we are winning or losing.”
When asked if he feels playig quarterback is a big responsibility, Johnson added;
“Yes, kinda because if you do good, all the stuff goes to you and if you do bad, all the blame will go to you too. I just like throwing the ball and watching our receivers make plays. I like running the ball when I have to but I dont like running the ball too much though. I’m trying to develope my arm before high school too, I think I’m developing at a good pace.”
The Jr. Celtocs did end up turing the ball over on downs but left little time on the clock. A desperate pass-play by the Argos was intercepted by Brigham, his second turnover of the game, which sealed the 8-7 win for the challenged Jr. Celtics, propelling them into next weeks playoffs on a winning note.
Brigham had a knack in this game of somehow always being near or at the ball. Players like him just have an instinct, but also have great vision and reactionary time. He certainly showcased that. He didn’t have a lot of tackles but when it counted, he was there.
“I was always running to the ball,” said Brigham. “I’m always going for the ball; I see that ball in the air or on the ground, I’m going for it. That ball that was fumbled, I saw that and I just knew that I’d jump on that ball. I would say I excel at defense, I think I do pretty good. I think I do well in coverage. I have good vision too, when I see a ball, I’m going straight to it. I think shedding off blocks is something I can do better. Sometimes guys are just bigger than me and it’s hard to get around them sometimes, but if do get around them then I’m fine.”
Several other players also assisted in the finale victory. They include Blake Schuler, Jake Tompkins, William Mikaitis, Geno Vosholler, Kaiden Powell, Liam Kruse, MIchael Zanta and Rex Schultz.
The Pee Wee Jr. Celtics Cheerleaders were also in attendance and were once again as entertaining as usual. They cheered throughout the home game and worked the fans along the sideline. They included Mackenzie Tunney, McKenna Smith, Haper Kloiber, Lily Blake, Eliana Jones, Maya Varnado, Briella Price and Liliana Gotkowski.
