By Pat Z McGavin- Photos by Lauren Gray
** Additional Photos are Available for Purchase at https://justallsports.zenfolio.com/p1065775546 **
MOKENA— The Jr Celtics 8U program took a hit to the jaw, and they did not like the feel or impression made.
“It made us mad, and we just started playing hard,” lineman Jackson Paul said. “Bam, we just did it.
“When they scored, we just went out hard, and everybody went nuts and we got fired up.”
The team dialed in and played ball, from the playmakers on the skill side to the power of the interior linemen.
The Jr Celtics dominated every phase in the 37-6 victory over the Elmhurst Bears in Pop Warner league action at Main Park on Saturday, October 11.
With quarterback Landon Brown directing the multi-pronged attack, running backs Westin White and Maximus Lepore showed their superb ability to play together.
Each has their own unique skill set. Taken together, the two runners proved unstoppable.
White is the explosive and athletic runner in space, Lepore the powerful inside back who pounds the middle of the line.
Call it the Lightning and Thunder effect.
On the opening possession, the two alternated doing what they do best, with Lepore smashing through for a 10-yard run and White getting to the edge for a 15-yard burst.
White used his jittery moves and athletic ability to post another 10-yard run.
With Lepore pounding the middle for a two-yard run, White created the opening touchdown with the five-yard burst around the left edge.
Up 6-0 right off the jump, the Jr Celtics felt proud, but perhaps a little cocky and overconfident.
The Bears responded with their own punch to the mouth.
On its opening series, Elmhurst caught a vulnerability in the middle defense of the Jr Celtics and broke free for a 53-yard touchdown run.
All of that good work by the Jr Celtics went for naught in one play.
“That usually wakes me up, the first time we get scored on, and I start to explode,” Lepore said.
“I wanted to get a couple of sacks today. We had some really fast defensive players, and we realized we needed to stop them. Everybody got fired up, and we started playing right.”
Up and down the lineup, every player said a variation of the same thing. The Bears’ easy touchdown was a wake up call. The tie did not last very long. It was a prelude to the one-sided effort that followed.
This time the Bears did not quite know what hit them. It was a knock to the system.
On the ensuing play from scrimmage, White motored down the right sideline for the 65-yard touchdown run. Brown made a spectacular diving leap into the end zone for the conversion that restored the lead to 13-6.
“They couldn’t really catch me,” White said. “I had great blocking, like we usually do. I don’t know what else to say. I’m fast, and I really like scoring those touchdowns.”
The Bears made their statement, and the Jr Celtics did what any good team does. They answered with authority and conviction.
The offense was never a question mark. The defense had to answer. The team was up to the challenge. For the rest of the game, the Bears felt under siege, their offense never allowed any breathing space.
Lepore was an absolute force of nature. He finished with nine tackles, including three sacks.
“I love running with the ball, but tackling is my favorite part about the game,” he said.
The sharper effort was on view on the Bears’ first plus of their second drive, with Lepore and Francis Zalud teaming up for a tackle for loss.
Showing they play both sides of the ball, Lepore and White collaborated on another five-yard loss. The excellent defensive stand forced a short punt that gave the Jr Celtics the ball at the Bears’ 32-yard line.
White broke through for back-to-back six-yard runs that put the team on the shadow of the goal line. Nicholas Petrocelli took the honors with the three-yard touchdown run for the 19-6 lead.
The three parts of the team—offense, defense and special teams—were perfectly aligned. The offense punished the Bears with their varied offense, and the defense smothered them. Special teams also played their role.
“The way they scored on us to start the gmae, we knew to stop them,” Mason Comise said. “We have to make sure that we can win. The offensive line was blocking, and the coaches really fired us up. Westin had a great game, and so did Max.”
If Westin and Lepore did exceptional work to put their stamp on the game, Thomas Fletcher was the jack of all trades. His superb all-around play turned the game into a rout.
With the Bears trying to get anything going before the halftime break, Fletcher shut the door on any possible comeback. His interception and 30-yard return gave the Jr Celtics another golden opportunity.
The team was not about to waste it.
“I think the quarterback got hit, and the ball didn’t go where he wanted it,” Fletcher said. “I saw the ball, and I just wanted it. Getting scored on at the start was a huge wake up call.”
Even a false start could not slow the Jr Celtics down.
White again showed his magic with his elusiveness and intuitive ability to make plays out of seemingly nothing. With the Bears intent on stopping him, he escaped the group of tacklers and got to the left edge for the 20-yard touchdown run in the closing seconds of the first half.
The three consecutive touchdowns pushed the lead to 25-6 at the intermission.
“I think our tackling really picked up,” Brown said. “We started to get a little mad after their first touchdown, so we started closing in on them after that.”
Lepore turned the game into his own showcase of athleticism, power and the ability to make plays at the moment of impact. It was lights out as he made three consecutive tackles to generate another loss of downs that put the Jr Celtics’ lethal back on the field.
Fletcher showed off his own versatility with a 41-yard option pass to White that took the ball to the four-yard line.
Jacob Palacios pounded home the touchdown from the one-yard line for the 31-6 lead.
Fletcher, White and Brown put the finishing touches on the victory with another textbook drive. A Fletcher option pass to White on third and long extended the drive.
Brown found White on a beautiful 12-yard scoring pass. The colors matched brilliantly with White making a spectacular leaping catch.
“That got our attention how they scored,” lineman Jaxton Yaeger said. “We just kept blocking, scoring touchdowns, and making tackles. We have great blocking, and great runners.”
The Jr Celtics had many standouts in the 37-6 victory. They were James Mellon, Soren Fleck, Ronan Lahey, Emmett Juknevicius, Landon Brown, Jaxon Franz, Sebastian Diaz, Oliver Bogle, Calvin Wilson, Camden Kokolus, Jackson Paul, Rory Brennan, Michael Ruth, Mario Williams and Braxton Bellik.
