By Bobby Narang- Photos by Gary Larson
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NEW LENOX— Westin White wasted little time making his imprint on Sunday afternoon’s 8U football game.
The Illinois Jr. Celtics came into their home game against the Algonquin Argos on a hot streak, winning five of their first games of the season. The Jr. Celtics have won games via many ways, but the main avenue is riding the legs of White. Any football team would love to have a player capable of scoring a touchdown on any play.
The Jr. Celtics attack defenses with a steady diet of carries by White, mostly to the outside to utilize his back to his talents.
So naturally, the speedy and cutback sensation, White, was at the epic center of the Jr. Celtics’ fast start on Sunday.
Midway through the first quarter, White darted around right end, going into the end zone untouched for the first of four touchdowns to power the Jr. Celtics to a 34-0 romp over the Argos at Senffner Field.
Sparked by White, the Jr. Celtics (6-1) added another big win to their season, overpowering the visiting team in all three phases of the game.
The Jr. Celtics ran the ball up and down the field, limited the Argos to under 25 yards of total offense and played near error-free on special teams. Jr. Celtics 8U Dave Cercone.
“Everyone got a chance to run the ball and the offensive did their job and blocked until the whistle sounded,” Cercone said. “The defense played lights-out and posted our second shutout of the season. Everyone is hitting on all cylinders. We’re getting ready for the playoffs.”
Indeed, Sunday’s game was a good indicator that the Jr. Celtics are primed for a solid showing in the playoffs later this month.
White added a 41-yard touchdown scamper late in the first quarter, a 12-yard TD run in the second quarter and a 31-yard TD burst in the second half to round out a stellar highlight-filled day.
White’s speed and stunning moves were too much for the visiting team to handle, almost like White was playing at a different level. White credited his offensive line for stellar blocking for him.
It was very fun,” White said. “I loved scoring the touchdowns and breaking all the tackles. I tried to run fast and strong. I followed my blockers on the touchdowns. The line did great blocking but we all did good.”
Cercone said White is an elite player who affects the game with his superior speed and next-level moves that often leaves defenders gasping for air attempting to tackle him in space.
“Westin is a coaches’ dream, almost like a remote control when you want to play Playstation 5 or Madden,” Cerconesaid. “He’s a gamechanger and is electric. Whenever he gets the ball, you have to watch out because some stuff is going to happen.”
“The whole offensive line played outstanding including our subs. They are the reason Westin makes those plays and the reason the offense is moving the ball. The coaches also have done so much from everything they’ve done all week to help us get prepared for the playoffs.”
Sebastian Diaz said he enjoys blocking for White, especially since he never knows what the star running back will do on the field, ala former Detroit Lions’ Hall of Famer runner Barry Sanders.
“Today was very fun,” Diaz said. “The offensive played great. Everyone blocked very good and we ran the ball so good. It was great to see all those touchdowns we scored.”
Throughout the game, the Jr. Celtics had numerous players step up to lead the team to a resounding victory. Landon Brown scored on a point-after-attempt run for the 16-0 lead. Maximus Lepore was a big part of the offense, rumbling 24 yards on first down on the Jr. Celtics’ fourth drive. Two days later, Lepore scored on a 7-yard TD run, dragging several defenders with him into the end zone for a 27-0 advantage.
The second half featured more highlights for the home team. White added his 31-yard TD for a 34-0 edge, while the defense also had their share of moments.
The visiting team did not have a play longer than five yards the entire game. The Jr. Celtics’ defense played out, error-free football, dominating the line of scrimmage and overwhelming the Argos’ offensive line with speed and moves.
Nicholas Petrcelli was in the middle of the action for most of the game, recording numerous tackles to keep the visiting team from scoring. Lepore had a key stop on fourth down on the Argos first second-half possession, and Ronan Laney also halted a drive with a solid tackle in the third quarter.
Linebacker Jaxton Yaeger said the defense played stellar for the entire game to notch the shutout.
“The defense shut them down,” Yaeger said. “They couldn’t move the ball at all against us.”
Cornerback Braxton Bellik said the defense did a solid job reading the Argos offense and keeping them from making chain-moving drives.
“The defense did a good job of watching them on offense,” Bellik said. “We gang-tackled well and did not let them get outside. We also made a lot of tackles before the line of scrimmage.”
Laney said the game was a great showing by all sides of the ball, but he did note the outstanding performance by the defense.
“It was really fun,” Lahey said. “The defense did amazing. I even played linebacker for a few plays today, but that was scary.”
The Jr. Celtics rode the total-team effort bus for the abundance of points and solid play on defense, including receiving help from Francis Zalud, Mason Comise, James Mellon, Soren Fleck, Emmett Jukeveviceus, Landon Brown, Oliver Bogle, Calvin White, Camden Kokolus, Jackson Paul, Rory Brennan, Michael Ruth, Jacob Palacios, Thomas Fletcher and Marlo Williams.
