By Miles Toogo- Phptos by Lauren Gray
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MOKENA— When you’re trading scoring barbs, especially in Football, you want the opportunity to have the final chance at scoring especially in a game where whoever has the ball last could likely come out the victor.
For Coach Peter Franz and his 6U Jr. Celtics, it looked as though that could turn out to be the case when the Humbolt Park Patriots visitied them at Main Park on September 6 in Mokena.
At this level, long touchdown runs are the norm as those with the football head around right or left end with hopes of turning that into a long scoring run; It happens quite a lot. What you can see is several back and forth runs and they dont take long to score after the other.
The Jr. Celtics and visiting Patriots were in the midst of that scenario seen at this level of play.
When the final second expired off the clock, Humboldt Park had secured a 25-21 victory over the Jr. Celtics.
“I’m happy they didn’t quit and didn’t focus too much on the scoreboard,” said Coach Franz. “We started off missing tackles so they started off scoring on their first few plays. That was the start of it. We were sticking on the offense and driving, inching away and the guys getting tired, but at the end of the day, you gotta make the tackles and you gotta stop them.”
“Between the three backs, Jackson (Pell), Roman (Ramos) and Vynn (Holler), they all have their own expertise on what they can do, Jackson is very instinctive, he knows when he needs to turn it up, knows when to get out of bounds and knows when to audible, he has the brains to run the operation; we needed to do something better on defense but Lee Wilson was disrupted and got through a lot, he helped our backers doing that.”
If not for one key play, a play made by the Patriots defense, most likely, this would have been a win for the host. You have to give credit where it’s due, a defender made a stop of the Jr. Celtcs runner and in the process stripped the ball from the Jr. Celtics runner and headed off untouched to the endzone, elevating the game at that point to a 25-14 lead minutes before halftime.
That big play would later turnout to be the difference between winning and losing for both teams..
The game began quick as the Patriots jumped ahead just three runs into the game. A touchdown run on the very first play of the game was called back due to a penalty. The next opportunity saw the Patriots blast off on a long run only to be stopped by Rory Adent. That was followed by a dash up the middle which ended 17-yards later in the endzone to jump the Patriots ahead 6-0 just three plays in.
The Jr. Celtics took their shot and made the most of it after the visitors score. Behind the running-attack of Pell and Ramos, they managed to move downfield quickly, setting up a nifty run by Holler who swept right around the edge, timing the perfect cutback ten yards from the endzone, then continuing into it for the Jr. Celtics touchdown on the 29-yard scamper.
Pell added the extra-point to give the host a 7-6 lead.
It didn’t last long, Exactly one play, as the Patriots responded immediately with a 47-yard touchdown, again running around the right edge. The Jr. Celtics defense seem to be surprised, whiffing on several arm tackle attempts.
The score vaulted the Patriots ahead 12-7. With 20 seconds left, Pell took the next snap from his 35-yardline and streaked around right end for 35-yards to end the first quarter.
The Jr. Cetics retook the lead just two plays later. A 19-yard run by Ramos set up the next score as Holler grabbed his second touchdown of the day on his 11-yard jaunt into the endzone, he too beating everyone to the right edge for the score. Pell again added the extra-point for the 14-12 lead.
On Back-to-Back plays, the Patriots would regain the lead and then add to it. After a couple of stops by Ramos and Benjamin Ramirez push the Patriots back three yards, once again a long run around the end went 68-yards for the go-ahead touchdown. With the point-after, the Patriots led 19-14.
The ensuing possession would turnout the be the difference in the game.
A run by Holler saw him swarmed by several Patriot defenders after gaining several yards, held up as they attempted to make the stop, one defender grabbed at Hollers arms and the football and managed to strip the football free and race untouched the other way for the 40-yard defensive touchdown, upping the lead to 25-14.
The Jr. Celtics quickly moved the ball as time wound down in the first half. Runs of 12-, 3-, 17- and 11-yards by Pell and Ramos pushed the Jr. Celtics within scoring range but time halted the drive with the 5-point deficit for the host as they entered halftime.
Pell, Ramos and Holler kept their running assualt going much of the second half but were unable to cross the goal line in quarter three, as the Jr. Celtics offense used up the entire third stanza.
However, a fumble to start the fourth quarter saw the Jr. Celtics lose the football.
The Patriots looked as though they added another score on the next play but that was called back again on a penalty. Wilson then took over. Back to back penetrating plays saw him make tackles for loss that pushed the Patriots farther back, resulting eventually on a turnover on downs.
The Jr. Celtics were trying to work quickly as not much time remained. Pell went right, then left for 22- and 18-yards on consecutive snaps, then looked stopped on the next play but broke free and added the Jr. Celtics third touchdown of the game from 20-yards out. Holler converted the point-after which saw the score now sitting at 25-21.
The Patriots protected the football on ther next snap with just 14-second remaining and ended the game with the victory.
Althoug the Jr. Celtics came up empty on the win column, they never quit. and played harder as the game moved on. Improvements are what coaches look for and in this game there were sure signs but also things that need to be worked on. Still, the Jr. Celtics showed they are certainly a competitive bunch.
Jackson Pell from his quarterback position showed why his coach belives in him as the right fit to guide the team. Thoughout the competition he provide an exciting offense and kept his team in the game, twice seeing his team ahead in the game.
An emotional leader with tears on his cheeks, was showing the results of wanting to win.
‘I thought we made a comeback but no, we just lost,” said Jackson Pell. “I never get tired in the game. When my runningback couldn’t get the ball, I just ran it because he couldn’t. I think I did that pretty good. Running around the outside is not how I like to run but my dad tells me to run outside then I have a chance of getting a touchdown. I like running inside way more. I could have done better if I didn’t sit out with my hurt ankle but I’m ok. I think we played pretty good today.”
Another on the stellar running attack is Vynn Holler. Not big in stature, he makes for a difficult elusive target. His ability to be elusive gained him a pair of touchdowns to lead the team in scoring.
“They were tackling pretty hard,” said the diminutive Vynn. “We need to do better blocking but we did tackle pretty good. They got lucky on their scores. I liked scoring touchdowns and got two today. I think we played pretty good too. We probably will get better too.
A force on the defensive side was a robust lineman who wreaked havoc against the Patriots offensive line. His quickness on he snap allowed him to make several stops behind the line of scrimmage or just be a nuisance to the Patriots nearly the hole game.
“I was running to the ball carrier every time,” said Lee Wilson. “I just got angry and used quickness to get in the backfield. I like tackling when they get the ball and I think I was tackling good. We can be a little bit better on our tackling. I have to get better at chasing the ball. It was hard sometimes but I did a good job, but I gotta get better running after the guys.”
There were several others that contributed in the teams excellent efforts, they included Kamden Franz, Zachary Stukel, Mack Wilson, Jaxon Cesek, Bassam Hoffman, Oliver Clegg, Ibrahim Matariyeh, Jonathan Zanta, Collin Regan, Karter Moore and Wyatt Harrigan.
