By Patrick Z. McGavin- Photos by Jenn-Anne Gledhill
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The margin of error for Bryce Kaplan and Lucas Gravitt was less than zero.
About a yard separated the two standout defenders of the Jr Celtics 10U their end zone.
Getting pushed in the wrong direction meant certain defeat.
“It was really easy to get past their line today,” Gravitt said.
Gravitt blasted inside for the sack as time expired in preserving the 7-6 victory over the Algonquin Argonauts in a Pop Warner league game at Main Park on Saturday, September 16.
On a day where the Jr Celtics won six of their seven Homecoming games, the 10U victory was the most dramatic and consequential.
Kaplan made two game-changing stops.
After the Argonauts scored on an eight-yard run with 4:05 remaining, he broke through and tackled the running back on the conversion attempt.
“I pushed the kid blocking hard down, and he fell,” Kaplan said. “I saw one of the running backs running to the right, where I was.
“I got past him and I made the tackle.”
The Jr Celtics appeared in serious jeopardy after the Argonauts mounted a drive in the closing seconds.
After being gashed for gains of 13 and seven yards, Kaplan took the game over.
On second and goal from the one-yard line, crashed through the line and sacked the quarterback for a two-yard loss.
“Overall, I think we did pretty good,” Kaplan said.
“The defense did a great job of not giving up very much. We stopped them, and didn’t let them.”
The Argonauts used their final time out with 2.7 seconds remaining for a last chance at the end zone.
Gravitt and Gavin Collins broke through for the game-clinching sack.
“We got really hyped up after Bryce stopped them on the conversion, and they couldn’t tie up the game,” Collins said.
“That’s why we ended the game like this.”
We have a lot more hype. We’ve been coaching a lot more.
Defensively, the effort was sustained and deeply involved as the Jr Celtics had multiple players step up.
Kaleb Kastys, Asher Kokolus, Nathan Quiroz, Adeline Bobade, Matthew Curry and Easten Breen created havoc from multiple angles.
“We never gave up, and we just kept on fighting,” Kokolus said.
Offensively, the Jr Celtics did just enough to pull out the victory. Just as he did last week with two touchdown runs, Neyland Robinson was the difference maker at the end.
His 35-yard touchdown run with 2;07 to play in the second quarter staked the Jr Celtics to the 7-0 halftime lead.
“I was supposed to go to the outside, but the two defenders were there,” Robinson said.
“Then I broke a tackle, and I saw that another player got tripped by their teammate. I had a ton of free space towards the end zone.”
In what turned out to be the margin of separation, Robinson also scored on the conversion run.
“I was just trying to get through a hole, and get in there,” he said.
“I ended up doing just that.”
The Robinson touchdown was set up by a couple of sharp runs by Colin Bailey.
His 17-yard burst was the second longest play from scrimmage for the Jr Celtics. Blake Jacobson also got into the mix, with a terrific two-yard run on the scoring drive.
Quarterback Thomas Johnson showed terrific energy and toughness under pressure.
“It’s fun being a leader, throwing blocks or even handing off and stuff,” he said.
“On that drive, I was just making sure that we could get a touchdown.”
After not holding a lead in either of their first two games, the Jr Celtics have now pulled off two consecutive impressive victories.
“Our blocking has really improved,” Johnson said. “If you block, you can get a lot of touchdowns by running outside.”
The Jr Celtics 10U team featured excellent contributions from a number of players in the dramatic 7-6 Homecoming win. They included Carter Bellik, Micah Barnett, Gavin Collins, Elliot Bodine, Nikko Triolo, Ethan Kozola, Austin Crites, Lorenzo Decarlo, Grant Smith, Grant Whitchurch, Broderick Wallace and Travis Delisle.
Three different cheerleading groups also took part in the nail-biting finish.
During the first half, the Jr. Pee Wee cheerleaders brought great style and flair to the game with their beautiful routines and high energy. They included Elizabeth Costello, Angel Delgau, Reese Erickson, Olivia Gonzalez, Brooklyn Gorenstein, Ava Gorman, Liliana Gotkowski, Emmy Holland, Brooke Jacobson, Brynn Kaplan, Charlotte Kelly, Harper Kloiber, Adriannna Magana, Natalie Mellon, Ella Pearson, Briella Price, Mariana Santoro, Valentina Santoro, Valentino Santoro, Josselyn Smith, Mckenna Smith, Mackenzie Tunney, Maya Varnado and Lillian White.
The second half featured a combined group with the Tiny-Mites, including Brooke Copack, Mila Fox, Jayde Dorosz, Brooklyn Firlit, Calrleigh Gill, Ella Koschnitzki, Maggie Lepore, Sloane Ludwig, Ellie Mahalik, Hayden Neal, Kelsey Niemeyer, Nicole Pflug and June Smith.
The Junior Varsity joined in the second half fun, including Raelynn Anderson, Vivienne Andresen, Kalista Balenciaga, Mia Calleros, Maleah Capadona, Grace Crowhurst, Ella Dobbelhoff, Alexis Firlit, Skyler Guinea, Emma Hamstra, Riley Hoffman, Audrey Larson, Roe Lubovich, Gracelyn Marienllo, Charlotte McDonald, Charlotte Ozinga, Giulianna Ramus and Elle Taylor.