By Patrick McGavin- Photos by Renee Kaspar
** Additional Photos are Available for Purchase at https://justallsports.zenfolio.com/p1014640190 **
NORTHLAKE— Not a single player from the Illinois Jr. Celtics 13U team is going to forget those four minutes.
During that compact and incident-packed string of events, the team found itself and recognized just how far they have come.
“That was probably one of our best, if not the best game we’ve had this season,” receiver Neyland Robinson said. “Everbody was fighting, and we just stayed strong until the last quarter.”
The team did everything the program—from the coaches to players—seek in terms of growth, development and progress. The only off note was the final score.
The Jr. Celtics 13U fell short in the 22-19 loss to Leyden Bears in Chicagoland Pop Warner league play at Grant Park on Saturday, October 3.
The final score only tells one part of the story. A month earlier, on September 6, on the same field, the Jr. Celtics were blown out by the Bears 40-0.
“They ran those same plays against us the last time, and they just ran all over us,” linebacker Kevaughn Robinson. “I was mad, even angry. I couldn’t sleep last night getting ready for this game.”
For about a quarter and a half, the narrative appeared to repeat itself with the Jr. Celtics falling behind 8-0. Then something strange, surreal and beautiful happened.
Facing third and long with just under five minutes to play during the first half, quarterback Garrett Hansen took a chance. He lofted a deep ball down the left sideline that only Robinson had access or a chance to catch. The fast and electric receiver made a diving circus catch of about 19 yards.
In an instant, the atmosphere changed. The Jr. Celtics had momentum and decisiveness.
“I think we were just ready in the beginning of the game,” Hansen said. “After those catches, it really got the team going.”
So began the three-minute stretch that was the most inspired, intense and impressive of the season.
Two plays later, Hansen bought time in the pocket and found a streaking Demarrius Patten Jr. for an eight-yard touchdown catch. Even though the conversion attempted failed, the larger point was made. The Jr. Celtics were embarrassed at how they performed four weeks earlier. They had a statement to make.
“The guys did a great job of blocking for me,” Patten said. “I just tried my best to get open. I never would have scored without them.”
The Jr. Celtics were just getting warmed up. Kadeem Singleton jumped on a loose ball on the ensuing onside kick. This time Hansen and Neyland Robinson worked in some magic, an inventive decoy that helped create another score.
Neyland Robinson went in motion toward the left side, giving the impression he was running to avoid a penalty for 12 players on the field. He stopped just before the sideline, and then bolted uncovered down the left edge for another 28-yard passing play.
“We just put that play into what we’re doing out there,” Robinson said. “We had to get creative. “I was just trying to get open and hope that nobody noticed me. Then I made the catch.”
The outside play of Neyland Robinson and Patten created the necessary dramatic propulsion. Newly energized, Patten again collaborated with Hansen for the 21-yard scoring strike.
The conversion failed. The Jr. Celtics had the 12-8 lead.
Less than a minute remained, and not much could possibly happen, right? Nothing could be more wrong.
On the ensuing Bears’ possession, Kevaughn Robinson generated the revenge plot he had been hopeful for. He jumped the route and returned the interception 54 yards down the left sidelines for the third touchdown in just over three minutes of playing time.
“It was very emotional for me because that was just the second interception of my career,” he said. “It was my first pick-6, and it felt really good. My team was really proud of me. I could see the sideline cheering for me and saying my name.”
Punctuating the three-touchdown burst, Hansen connected over the middle with tight end Ben Amato for the conversion. The Jr. Celtics were suddenly up 19-8, a 51-point swing from last month.
In just over three minutes, the Jr. Celtics showed what the team was capable of when playing at its apex.
Neyland Robinson and Patten created a vertical threat that also opened the inside rushing game of Jaxon Cullum. Not even 12 seconds elapsed from the second Patten touchdown catch and the interception return by Kevaughn Robinson.
Just when it appeared the game had settled down, it went into another overdrive.
The Bears’ elite running back, a big and fearsome athletic talent, broke around the right edge for a 57-yard touchdown run. The wrong kind of history repeated itself when the Bears stunned the Jr. Celtics with an onside kick.
Jaxon Brown, the son of coach Dave Brown, extricated the Jr. Celtics from a jam with a great diving interception in the end zone. The Jr. Celtics went into the intermission up 19-14.
“When we played them the last time, we were able to see what they were really good at, and what their weaknesses were,” Brown said. ”We were able to execute on some of the big plays that they utilized against us.”
The second half was just as unpredictable. For starters, the Jr. Celtics never saw the ball during the third quarter. The Bears had a 13-play drive that took up the entirety of the quarter.
With their backs to the wall, staring at first and goal, the Jr. Celtics delivered an inspired performance. Dayton Jackson and Antwan Weathers dominated the middle interior for the defense.
They helped neutralize the Bears’ elite back, the same player who scored five touchdowns against the Jr. Celtics during the previous meeting.
Outside edge’ John Chucri also made a huge play with a nine-yard sack. That combined with a series of penalties pushed the Bears back nearly to midfield.
Leyden suddenly faced a third and goal from the 35-yard line. The only downside was the offense of the Jr. Celtics had been off the field for so long—nearly 12 minutes of game clock—the team was sluggish and out of rhythm. That led to the only real mistake of the game, an interception.
Combined with a penalty, the Bears had a very short field to work with, and they capitalized with a fourth down score from the one-yard line. The kick provided the final margin.
With one final possession, the Jr. Celtics again went to the passing game.
Patten was denied on fourth down, even though the officials missed a clear face mask penalty. In defeat, the Jr. Celtics showed out and showed up.
“Last week wasn’t our best week,” Weathers said. “We didn’t score any points. I was very glad that we didn’t give up when they scored on us. Today will pay off if we keep practicing hard. I don’t really care if we lose. It’s all about the effort we put on the field.”
Despite the heartbreaking 22-19 loss, the Jr. Celtics had many standout contributors. They were Gavin Collins, Easton Breen, Austen Farmer, Liam Peterson, Elliot Bodine, Nathan Quiroz, Austin Crites, Colin Bailey, Adeyinka Bobade, Moises Yepez, Lorenzo DeCarlo, Jackson Shanahan, Adekunle Bobade, Caleb Jablonski, Broderick Wallace, Yaser Hamzeh, Khalil Morgan, Kristian Willis, Maximus Dukups, Aiden Losieczka and Sten Fleck.
