By Pat Z McGavin- Photos by Lauren Gray
** Additional Photos are Available for Purchase at https://justallsports.zenfolio.com/p369324282 **
CHICAGO— The Jr Celtics 12U created a bookend for the ages, like a great movie that has a slam bang opening and a fantastic ending.
The team has a flair for the dramatic, and knows how to save the very best for the last part.
Carter Bellik returned an interception for a touchdown on the first play from scrimmage and the cumulative defensive pressure forced an incomplete pass on fourth and goal in overtime.
Those rhyming plays were just enough for the 12-6 overtime victory over the Hampshire Whip-Purrs in Pop Warner League play at St. Rita High School on Saturday, September 29.
The defense was spectacular and the offense did just enough as the Jr Celtics captured their third straight victory.
Quarterback Garrett Hansen was the star of overtime with his game-winning two-yard run on second and goal. His opening play went for eight yards.
Even though his conversion attempt on the sneak was stymied, he made his point.
“They were stacking the line, and I wasn’t sure we’d be able to move the ball running, but I got eight yards on that first down,” he said. “The offensive line did a great job.
“We called the same play. Even though they were ready for the play, we still got the TD.”
Defensive linemen Jackson Shanahan and John Chucri were the other dominant stories, of both the game and the extra session.
Shanahan made two tackles, and Bryce Kaplan had another dynamic stop for a one-yard loss that set up the fourth and goal pass from the 10-yard line.
The pressure brought down by Chucri in creating the final errant pass shut the door on Hampshire, producing a victory that was both well earned and exhausting.
“I was able to get to the line, and I saw the runner and I tackled him,” Shanahan said. “We got all the stops and created those turnovers.”
Shanahan provided the interior push that disrupted the Hampshire offensive line at the point of attack.
The amount of time and energy the Whipp-Purrs devoted to shoring up the middle made Chucri virtually unblockable off the edge.
Chucri had seven tackles, including four for losses, in an absolute masterpiece performance. Rangy and skilled, he used his size and leverage to repeatedly blast up plays behind the line of scrimmage.
“I think they got distracted by the other pressure from the defensive line that was going in,” he said. “We got a lot of penetration, and I was able to get in from the outside and get those tackles.
“Their formation also gave it away. They kept working out of the same formation, and we pretty always knew where they were going.”
Chucri ostensibly forced overtime after the Whipp-Purrs’ running back scored on a 29-yard run on the opening play of the fourth quarter.
He broke through and stopped the conversion attempt.
On a hot and very humid day, the defensive players offset an offense that struggled to establish a consistent rhythm or find ways to attack Hampshire.
The dominant performance was evident on the first play of the game. Bellik jumped the route and took the ball away, breaking through a wall of tacklers and going 47-yards down the left sideline for the stunning opening score.
“I saw that the ball was coming right towards me, and I started running,” Bellik said. “I made a play on it, and caught the ball. I probably would have gotten tackled were it not for the great block by Jaxson Brown.
“From that point on, I think we just kept the momentum going.”
Chucri had two tackles on the follow-up drive by the Whipp-Purrs. The defense was locked in, and not willing to concede anything.
Even with the difficulties the Jr Celtics had on offense and special teams, the defense repeatedly found a way to get out of a jam.
The Hampshire special teams blocked two punts by the Jr Celtics.
Elliot Bodine was equally spectacular, flying to the ball and posting four tackles. His fumble recovery off the first blocked punt denied the Whipp-Purrs in the red zone.
“The receiver was actually blocking me on the play, and he didn’t see the ball on the ground and I was able to jump on it,” Bodine said. “They weren’t sure at first whether the runner was already down, or it was a fumble.
“We got the ball back. That’s all that mattered.”
Another near disaster was averted at the end of the first half when a Hansen pass was ruled a backwards lateral recovered by Hampshire at the seven-yard line with 13 seconds to play.
Chucri again rode to the rescue with a stop that closed out the first half.
The Hampshire defense was skilled and stout in its own right, and kept the Jr Celtics repeatedly in third and long plays. Until the frenetic final quarter, the game was largely one of field position.
In a prelude of the overtime, the offense found its spark late with Hansen directing the attack with some authority. The Jr Celtics finally loosed up on offense.
“Our blocking has been really good the last three games, and that has really helped out our running backs and fullbacks pick up the big yards,” Hansen said.
“We also put in a new formation that allowed me to run the ball more.”
Regulation ended with Hansen driving the Jr Celtics to the 12-yard line. More than anything, the offense ran out of time.
Getting the ball first in overtime, the offense redeemed itself. They were motivated by the playmaking of the defense.
“Every time we needed a stop on defense, they came in and got something, even when it was fourth and three,” skill player Neyland Robinson said.
“This whole team is really close, and everything is really clicking together. Everybody knows what they’re doing.”
The Jr Celtics 12U team had many standout contributors in the dramatic 12-6 overtime victory. They were Micah Barnett, Gavin Collins, Easton Breen, Nathan Flynn, Nikko Triolo, Lucas Gravitt, Nathan Quiroz, Austin Crites, Colin Bailey, Colin Guisinger, Adeyinka Bobade, Lorenzo DeCarlo, Broderick Wallace, Charles Fletcher, Matthew Curry, Kristian Willis, Kaleb Kastys, Dayton Jackson, Aiden Losieczka and Sten Fleck.
