By Pat Z McGavin- Photos by Renee Kaspar
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MOKENA—Any thought of the Jr Celtics 6U team struggling with the hangover of their first loss of the season was vanquished early.
Legend Williams opened the game with two consecutive stops for loss, followed by a gang tackle from Jamari Mcdonald Jr.
Taking off their lead Patrick Brennan stepped up with a huge stop on fourth down.
The team was fired up and dialed in. That defeat was motivation to start another streak in the right direction.
“We had a slow start last week, and we got behind by a touchdown and we just really ran out of time,” assistant coach Jaylin Williams said.
The offense took over from there, and it was lights out.
Legend Williams had two long touchdown runs to spark the 30-0 victory over the Kenosha (Wis.) Gremlins in Pop Warner action at Main Park on Saturday, October 11.
The defense was equally spectacular and engaged, flying all over the field to the ball carriers and disrupting any chance the Gremlins had of getting back into the game.
The defense did not permit a first down.
“They kept going for it on fourth down, and we stopped them and that gave us short fields to work with,” Jaylin Williams said.
Both sides fed the other, with the defense giving the offense short fields to work with, and the offense capitalizing with sharp runs and fast starts.
Working in tandem illustrated the benefits of strong team play.
On the second play from scrimmage Kaleb Neylon burst around the right edge for 22 yards.
Like the rest of the team, he was just getting started. He can run between the tackles or get to the outside.
Legend Williams is pure speed.
Legend Williams broke free around the left edge for a 16-yard touchdown run on the final play of the first quarter.
First Legend Williams took away any chance the Gremlins had with his play on defense.
He topped himself by making a statement with his electric running style.
He is quick and fluid. Once he gets a little bit of open space, forget about it.
Nobody on the Gremlins was going to catch him.
“I’m fast, and I like to run past the other players or anybody trying to get me,” Legend Williams said. “We worked really hard throughout the week, and we practiced hard getting ready for this game.”
Legend Williams, Mcdonald, Simon, Brennan, Charles Buche III and Clifford Kouba were in attack mode from the defensive side.
Lineman Benjamin Ramirez was a wrecking crew, blowing up the offensive line and getting pressure into the backfield.
“We practice hard every day, and that lets us get a lot of tackles out there,” Ramirez said.
“I love playing defense because you can just go out there, and make tackles and win the game.”
Mcdonald and Simon repeatedly crashed in from the ends, destabilizing the Gremlins and never letting their offense get into any real rhythm or shape.
“I like to run up to people and make the tackle,” Mcdonald said. “It doesn’t matter who has it. I just go up there, and make that tackle. We went up early, and that lets us win.”
The Wisconsin team had no chance from the start. Seemingly before the Kenosha running back had the ball, Simon was there to blow the play up.
“I like to run straightforward, and take a direct shot at the ball carrier, or whoever is carrying it,” Simon said. “I practice hard at this three times a week. I like destroying people.”
Kouba is the quarterback who makes all the offensive pieces around him connect and flow together. He has a lot of options, and he knows how to utilize every single piece.
Late in the second quarter, Neylon took a direct snap out of the Wildcat and ran untouched 30 yards for the second touchdown.
“We put them on the ground when we blocked them,” Neylon said. “Every time we run, we try to score a touchdown. We have a lot of good runners, and we practice hard all the time. It shows in how we play.”
It only got better from there. On the first play of the second half, Legend Williams took the pitch and ambled down the sideline 65 yards for the third touchdown.
The Kenosha players were literally on the ground and staring in space, knocked there by the offensive line. Williams did the rest by flashing his great speed.
“We took that loss last week, but for the most part, we’ve come out and we’ve worked really very hard and shut everybody down,” Jaylin Williams said.
The father of Legend Williams said the team rallied over its leaders, showing resolve and togetherness to come back after the tough loss. The players did not really need any motivation to come out hard and aggressive and set the right tone.
“The group of guys on this team are very close, and everybody is good together,” Brennan said.
After another strong defensive performance that ended with a turnover on downs, the offense had prime territory. Brennan did the rest with a 28-yard touchdown run around the right edge.
“The offense was doing a great job blocking, and I really like running over people,” he said. “At other times, I like to juke people out.”
It ended how it started in many respects with the quiet leadership and strong play of Kouba, operating at quarterback. He showed his speed around the edge with two separate runs of 11 and 12 yards. Kouba punctuated the victory with an 11-yard touchdown run around the left edge in the closing minutes.
“I got great blocking on that play, and I found the open hole,” he said. “I have good speed,and I love running the ball.”
The five touchdowns and the shutout were the perfect 1-2 knockout punch.
The Jr Celtics 6U team had many standout contributors in the 30-0 victory. They included Oliver Liang, Cody Crites, Liam Mann, Mason Loboz, Lucas Denton, Vincenzo Brunette, Jack Hamstra, Anthony Stazzone III, Liam Regan and Rory Adent.
The sideline cheerleaders also brought energy and passion to their routines and performances. Their members were Peyton Leo-Johnson, Dani Samanich, Vivienne Brunette, Madisyn Singleton, Brooklyn Firlit, Cora Smiley, Caroline Murphy, Kelsey Niemeyer, Mila Cox, Brooke Copack, Juliana Jachymiak and Lucille Nelson.
