By Francisco Avila- Photos by Renee Kaspar
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CHICAGO— When everything clicks, from defense to offense and every play in between, you get a performance like the one the Jr Celtics 6U team delivered on Sunday.
The young squad secured an impressive 30-18 win over a tough Yorkville Foxes team, showing grit, teamwork, and playmaking brilliance on both sides of the ball.
After the game, Celtics assistant coach David Brunette credited the win to the team’s collective effort.
“We play as a team. It’s not about ‘I’, it’s about ‘us’,” said Coach Brunette. “Once we overcame some early mistakes, we got our heads out of our butts, got back to Celtics football, and showed them who we were.”
The Celtics set the tone early, with Liam Mann making a standout defensive tackle just three minutes into the game.
“Just wanted to get in the backfield, make plays, and start strong,” said Mann.
With four minutes left in the opening quarter, Legend Williams added to the momentum with a powerful sack.
“I was in the backfield and made a play for that big sack.”
Liam Reagan followed with a solid tackle and recorded a sack of his own, showing the defense was locked in.
Despite the early dominance, a defensive lapse allowed the Foxes to break free for a 45-yard touchdown with just a minute left in the quarter, taking a 6-0 lead.
But the Celtics didn’t waste time answering back.
With 40 seconds remaining, Kaleb Neylon hauled in a 40-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Oliver Liang to tie the game at 6-6.
“Excellent blocking. My teammates helped me out, and I was able to hit the gaps to score,” said Neylon.
The Celtics kept the energy up in the second quarter. Neylon opened the frame with a strong tackle, followed by another huge stop from Anthony Stazzone III.
Then, with four minutes left in the half, Liang connected with Williams on a 20-yard touchdown to give the Celtics their first lead at 12-6.
“I kept running and was able to score to help my team lead,” said Williams.
Just when it looked like the Celtics would take that lead into halftime, the Foxes responded again, tying it 12-12 with a 40-yard touchdown in the final minute of the half.
The Liang-Williams duo picked up where they left off, connecting for a 5-yard touchdown three minutes into the third quarter. The score put the Celtics up 18-12.
“Good blocking, my teammates helped me score,” said Williams.
Clifford Kouba and Liang followed with solid defensive plays, but once again, the Foxes tied the game, this time with another long 40-yard touchdown, evening the score at 18-18 with just 50 seconds left in the quarter.
But the Celtics answered in stunning fashion. Just 20 seconds later, Liang fired a perfect 40-yard strike to Neylon, who broke through defenders to reach the end zone and make it 24-18.
“I kept driving my feet and was determined to get to the end zone,” said Neylon.
The Celtics were determined to seal the win in the final quarter. Benjamin Ramirez opened with a strong tackle that signaled the team’s defensive intent.
Then, in a pivotal moment, Williams made a game-changing interception, flipping the field and giving the offense a chance to put the game away.
And they did just that.
Liang once again found Williams, this time for a 10-yard touchdown, to cap off a standout performance and lock in the 30-18 win.
“I thought I was going to get tackled, but I juked them, got off a lot of people, and just scored,” said Williams.
It was a full-team effort from start to finish, and with this big win under their belt, the Jr Celtics 6U now look to keep the momentum going in their next matchup.
Key contributors in the game included Rory Adent, Jack Hamstra, Cody Crites, Liam Regan, Mack Simon, Vincenzo Brunette, Patrick Brennan, Charles Buche III, Mason Loboz, Jamari Mcdonald Jr, Lucas Denton, and Benson Hanahan
