Jr. Celtics 6U Out-Muscle Saints in 25-13 Season Opening Victory

By Patrick McGavin- Photos by Renee Kaspar

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NEW LENOX— The most creative players have a knack for making something out of nothing.

Failing that, they know the art of deception, or the act of making those around them miss.

Jackson Pell is too young and raw to know all of the ins and outs of the game. Everything is a trial by fire, going with instinct and whatever feels right.

“If I feel somebody really close behind me, I just start running even harder and faster.

“I do whatever I have to get away.”

That is the glory of youth, the unpredictable mixed with the sense that anything is possible.

The Jr. Celtics 6U needed every part of his escapability. 

Pell rushed for three touchdowns to power the Jr. Celtics’ 25-13 victory over the Shabonna Saints in Pop Warner League play at Providence High School on Sunday, August 23.

In their season opener the Jr. Celtics fought off two separate deficits.

Pell changed everything on the final play of the third quarter, altering the momentum and swinging the action decisively in the favor of the Jr. Celtics.

Just to show that the game is rarely linear and follows a normal path. The series could not have started out any less promising. First down was a fumbled snap. Second down resulted in a three-yard loss.

Then Pell found pay dirt.

“My favorite touchdown today was the third one, where there was a guy near, but I just juked him and ran as fast as I could,” he said.

Pell started right and broke inside the defensive end, utilizing a stutter step to create the necessary breathing space.

He cut outside and was off to the races, scampering 68 yards untouched down the right sideline for the 18-13 lead. That play was the backbreaker—just what the Jr. Celtics needed to alter the calculus of the game. 

Up until then, the stubborn Saints refused to yield.

Every time it appeared the Jr. Celtics would take command, the Shabonna program made a couple of nifty plays of their own. For three quarters, they gave the Jr. Celtics a taste of their own medicine.

The momentum swings are to be expected given the make up of the Jr. Celtics team. This version of 6U is practically brand new, with just two returning players having any type of experience playing tackle.

“It’s been a roller coaster,” coach Pete Franz said. “Except for those two returners, everybody else is new to football.

”Fortunately we do have some wrestlers on the team, and that helps. They have the balance and the footwork.”

Most significantly, this next generation Jr. Celtics team has two standout playmakers in Pell, the quarterback, and top running back, Roman Ramos.

Those two acted like lightning bolts for the offense, and they had capable and strong support from the role players.

“I think I’m pretty fast, and I love getting those touchdowns,” Ramos said.

With the Saints increasingly looking to shut down Pell, he stepped into the spotlight and shared the moment. Running back Vynn Holler completes the electric backfield with Pell and Ramos.

Late in the second quarter, Holler helped string together a strong sequence with two separate eight-yard runs.

That set the stage for Pell’s opening touchdown—a 23-yard burst around the right edge for the 6-0 lead.

“I like to use my speed to get to the outside,” he said. “Once I do that, just run.

“My favorite part about playing quarterback is how you get to help your team score a touchdown.”

If Pell was the offensive highlight, the defensive star was clearly outside linebacker Wyatt Harrigan.

He established the tone with a four-yard tackle for loss on the opening play from scrimmage. Harrigan ran from sideline to sideline, chasing down whatever Saints’ runner had the ball.

“I love making tackles,” he said. “I was going to tackle whoever had the ball.”

In the most impressive play of the first half, he chased down a Saints’ runner from behind for a touchdown-saving tackle. He was nearly 30 yards behind the ball when the play started.

“He came up with some huge tackles today,” Franz said. “We also created turnovers, and made the plays we had to make out there.

“We have a lot of work to do, but I’m very excited about this team.”

In the lead up to the opening game, the 6U team had a live scrimmage with the 7U program. It was a bit rough, an expected outcome given the older ages and bigger bodies of the 7U team.

It was also just the preparation the team needed.

Despite Harrigan’s great tackle, the Saints scored on the final play from scrimmage of the first half. They also slammed in the conversion point for the 7-6 halftime lead.

The Jr. Celtics were unfazed by the halftime deficit. On the first play of the third quarter, Ramos ripped off a 24-yard run.

Two plays later, Pell again broke wide right for the 38-yard touchdown run with 5:32 to play in the quarter.

The Saints quickly countered by grabbing their final lead. Despite a heroic chase down tackle by Ramos, the Shabonna back gained 64 yards. A play later, the team scored on a 13-yard run.

It was back to the drawing table. Fortunately for the Jr. Celtics, Pell and Ramos were up to the challenge.

“They’re probably two of the smartest kids, as far as football IQ, that I’ve ever coached,” Franz said. “They get it, and they know what their responsibilities are, and what their job is. 

“I’m excited to see how they continue to grow and develop.”

The Jr. Celtics closed out in sharp style. 

Defensive tackle Ibrahim Matariyeh jumped on a loose ball for a fumble recovery at the 41-yard line of the Jr. Celtics.

“I just wanted it to be our ball,” Matariyeh said. “I saw it come loose, and I jumped on it. We did a good job of getting them down.”

One play later, Ramos broke down the left sideline for the 59-yard touchdown scamper. Holler ran in the conversion for the final margin.

The game had all the hallmarks of a first game, raw and unsettling at times, but the promise and the possibilities were very much in evidence.

At this age, coaches must always negotiate the desire to be competitive with teaching the proper fundamentals and technique of the game, and allow the kids the opportunity to learn and grow.

“I was cautiously optimistic, but I didn’t know what to expect,” Franz said. “It’s discipline, development and fun. I tell them if you have the discipline and you start to develop, the fun will come. They’re learning.

“They have to stay disciplined. As long as they listen, they will get to where they need to be.”

The Jr. Celtics 6U team had many standout contributors in the 25-13 victory. They included Kamden Franz, Zachary Stukel, Mack Wilson, Jaxon Cesek, Bassam Hoffman, Rory Adent, Benjamin Ramirez, Oliver Clegg, Lee Wilson, Jonathan Zanta, Collin Regan and Karter Moore.