By Patrick McGavin- Photos by Renee Kaspar
** Additional Photos are Available for Purchase at https://justallsports.zenfolio.com/p236253860 **
NEW LENOX— The game is the ultimate blank slate, with nothing ever written in ink or likely to stay the same.
Momentum is often the hardest part to pin down.
The Jr. Celtics 11U White squad discovered the wrong way that leads are both hard to come by, and even more difficult to maintain—especially going up against an elite quarterback.
The Ottawa Wolfpack had a dangerous vertical game. The Jr. Celtics got burned.
“I think we underestimated them as far as their passing game,” coach Mike Denton said. “We played them last year. They passed some, but I think we underestimated just how much they’d throw the ball this year.”
Just as the team started to feel good about its chances with a go-ahead touchdown, the door slammed shut.
The Jr. Celtics never recovered from a stunning late first half touchdown pass in their 25-20 loss in Pop Warner League play at Providence High School on Sunday, August 23.
Dominik Brown intercepted a deflected pass inside a minute to play in the second quarter that set up a one-yard touchdown dive by Steven Green Jr.
With just 29.6 seconds remaining, the 12-7 lead felt safe—until it wasn’t. The Wolfpack caught the Jr. Celtics out of rhythm for the stunning 64-yard touchdown catch off a slant in the closing seconds.
In the blink of an eye, fortunes changed, and the carryover to the second half was unmistakable.
“I think it changed the momentum of the game because all of our players had their heads down, and we had to lift our spirits and try to play with more effort,” Brown said.
“I thought we did a good job hyping our team up. In the first half we did a good job of blitzing, and we did a good job with our coverages.”
The game featured three lead changes just in the first half, underscoring the topsy-turvy nature. Turnovers generated both of the first half touchdowns by the Jr. Celtics.
Standout running back Brayden Simon also showed out on defense by leaping in the air and coming down with a contested fourth down pass attempt on the Wolfpack’s opening drive.
The defensive play ignited his offense, as he ripped off runs of 13 and 15 yards to push the ball into Wolfpack territory. He had five carries for 45 yards on the opening drive.
He flashed speed and elusiveness.
“I like to run through whichever hole I can see,” he said. “I usually prefer to juke, and if I have to, I’ll run through them.”
Simon set the table. His opposite number, Austin Boyer, a pounding back, took it from there by knocking down three tacklers for the commanding 10-yard touchdown run.
Green scored on the conversion run for the 7-0 lead.
The outside speed of the Wolfpack receivers and the strong arm and presence of its quarterback quickly became evident. Pass completions of 15 and 31 yards put the Jr. Celtics on their heels.
Ottawa scored on a three-yard pass. Boyer stopped the conversion run.
The 7-6 advantage of the Jr. Celtics was also brief. Disaster struck on the ensuing kickoff, a perfectly designed pooch kick that the Wolfpack jumped on the 35-yard line of the Jr. Celtics.
Following a false start, Ottawa again went to its aerial attack for the 40-yard touchdown pass.
“We came up a little short,” Boyer said. “As you move up in age, the competition gets a lot tougher, and their quarterback was really good. He had a great arm, and he could really skip the pocket.
“It was tough to bring him down on defense.”
The most effective passing action of the day by the Jr. Celtics, a 23-yard catch by Green from quarterback Elijah Bogle, restored their confidence, and put them in the red zone.
A botched snap resulted in a lost fumble. The Brown interception breathed new life, and the subsequent Green touchdown dive.
Again, the glory was just temporary.
The accuracy of the Wolfpack quarterback’s touch and the speed of his outside receiver put repeated pressure on the defensive backfield of the Jr. Celtics.
The 64-yard touchdown pass by the Wolfpack put the Jr. Celtics down 18-13 at halftime.
“We tried to make adjustments, but that’s really tough to do in a 40-second period late in the first half,” Denton said. “They definitely beat us with the pass.”
The Jr. Celtics seemed shocked and deflated in giving up the late touchdown. Their first two drives of the second half ended with a lost fumble and an interception.
“We just can’t afford to lose those possessions, like the onside kick, or the fumbles,” Denton said.
To their credit, the Jr. Celtics could easily have folded. Most encouraging, the team fought back and staged a late rally just as the chance for victory appeared very bleak.
Down 25-13 in the fourth quarter, all appeared lost for the Jr. Celtics following their second turnover of the second half. The Wolfpack appeared on the verge of another touchdown.
Defensive stalwarts Caesar Kanu and Boyer led the resistance. Boyer smashed through the line for a 10-yard loss. On fourth and goal from the 15-yard line, Kanu made a great athletic play for another nine-yard loss.
“We were still going on,” Kanu said. “It was just one thing we could go back on again. I thought we played really hard, and we never gave up.
“We had some picks on defense, and that was good. On the fourth down play, I really wanted to make a play in that situation. I saw the opportunity, and I took it.”
One play later, Simon broke free on the left edge for the exhilarating 76-yard touchdown run. He finished the game with 132 yards rushing.
“I just saw the open field,” Simon said. “We saw that we could stop them. We had to come back and make some big plays. I’m pretty happy with the way we competed.
“We played the hardest we could.”
Boyer completed the scoring with a conversion run.
The Jr. Celtics had a final chance to force a change of possession. The Wolfpack converted two third downs, including a crucial fourth and short. The team never saw the ball again.
Despite the loss, the positives were clear, in the versatile running game, and a passing game that has a chance to do damage farther into the season.
The strong and imposing offensive line of Liam Kruse, Angelo Cameo and Zachary Bal-Denton is another strong foundation piece for the team.
“We’re very good at blocking, and now I think we just need to make improvements on throwing the ball,” Bogle said. “That was a big factor of what we could do.
“We have big guys like Liam upfront who have the power to make plays happen. I thought pretty much everything we did worked out well.”
Despite the 25-20 defeat, the Jr. Celtics 11uW team received many standout contributors. They were Aiden Cecek, Zakai Obeng, Zachary Obeng, Finnian McDonnell, Quinn Collins, Grayson Tadin, Leo Blythe, Collin Freeman, Brock Walsh, Chase Cummens and Henry Bass.
