By Patrick Z. McGavin- Photos by Raj Chavda
** Additional Photos arew Available for Purcahse at https://justallsports.zenfolio.com/p610212 **
NORTHLAKE— At the most critical position, the Leyden Bears 12U team takes a very open and egalitarian approach about who gets to play quarterback.
The team’s innovative offense takes a revolving door mentality where a cast of different players have the opportunity to take a direct snap or action out of the Wildcat.
Marcus Coleman stood out as a critical playmaker and creator.
“I’m pretty fast, and I just try to get yards,” he said. “I do it all, and I like to play running back, wide receiver and quarterback. My linemen did a great job.
“I’ve been playing with this team for about six years, so I’m kind of used to running this system. I like running better than throwing.”
Coleman ran for a touchdown and threw another score in the Bears’ 28-7 victory over the Addison Cowboys Saturday in the Pop Warner Game of the Week at Grant Park on Saturday, September 6.
Tight end Spiros Kampas caught two touchdown passes in the victory.
In a marquee showdown of two unbeaten programs, the Bears (3-0) scored on their first three possessions for the commanding 22-0 halftime lead.
In their rotating system, multiple players alternated at “quarterback,” with Coleman, Tobin Rucks, Emmett Wohlgemuth and Lattrell Robinson operating in shotgun or behind the center.
“A lot of what we do is try to put our kids in situations where they can make plays,” Bears’ coach Mike Olsen said. “For us it’s really important to attack the line as fast as we can, misdirection and other things. We just want to get it and go.
“We have guys on the team who understand hitting, blocking and executing their main assignments.”
The Cowboys (2-1) were left reeling and off rhythm.
“We knew they ran a funky offense, like a wedge,” Addison coach Dino Cardone said. “We pretty much knew what we were going to face. We have a lot of new kids on the team this year. We had to prepare.
“They came out right away and hit us in the mouth. We did a good job of keeping it close, but we had some mistakes.”
Coleman is electric with the ball. His early playmaking set the tone for the fast start that threw the Cowboys off balance.
Up 8-0 after the Coleman touchdown run and a two-point kick by Grant Rodriguez, the Bears’ defense took charge with excellent play from Michael Mazzone, Andrew Boeh, Latrell Robinson, Rucks and Coleman.
Rucks and Coleman made great pass break ups that forced a Cowboys punt. An errant snap yielded a short punt, and great field position for the Bears.
Latrell Robinson took over from there. In the Bears’ offense, the formation is tightly grouped and typically overloaded to one side. Taking several drop snaps out of the Wildcat, Latrell Robinson was at his most explosive getting to the left edge and utilizing his burst and acceleration.
“I love running the ball to the outside where nobody can touch me,” he said. “I love to penetrate. I also love my linemen. They make holes for me. They make sure I don’t get hurt.
“We were all hyped up and ready to play this game today.”
His 14-yard burst around the left edge combined with a personal foul against the Cowboys set up his own three-yard scoring run. Rodriguez’s two-point kick expanded the lead to 16-0.
The Cowboys looked to answer behind the vertical passing of Ayden Mazalewski, and the running of Martel Grant, Gabriel Wesby and Mylo Moore.
Grant injected some life into the Cowboys’ attack with a 36-yard burst down the left edge. He appeared headed for a touchdown when Latrell Robinson chased him down from behind.
“I just don’t think we were very focused at the start of the game,” Grant said. “We’re really good. We are mostly run heavy, but we can also pass the ball really well.
“Our linemen did really well, and they opened the holes and let me get downfield.”
A false start penalty and a fourth down pass break up by Coleman ended the threat.
With the Cowboys again taking over, Latrell Robinson went to work, creating some magic with Josiah Robinson. The two are unrelated by blood.
They’re still deeply connected.
“He’s my best friend on the team, and we have great chemistry out there,” Latrell Robinson said.
One of the Bears’ signature plays has Latrell Robinson taking the ball in a handoff or direct snap and handing it off to Josiah Robinson for the inside counter.
Josiah Robinson broke free on a 34-yard run to set up the Bears’ third touchdown. After a Coleman touchdown burst was nullified by a penalty, he simply went to plan B.
Coleman executed a great play action fake and connected with Kampas for a 13-yard touchdown pass. With teams loaded up to stop the run, the Bears leveraged the passing game.
“The line creates a lot of time for the quarterback to get into space,” Kampas said. “We just throw the ball the way we want. It’s all about the line to start, and we just work off of that.
“Teams are blitzing and trying to stop the run and I’m able to get outside.”
The Cowboys put together their best drive at the start of the third quarter. Wesby broke down the right sideline for a 32-yard run. Working out of the Wildcat, he broke free around the left edge for a 17-yard touchdown run.
He also scored on the conversion run to pull the Cowboys within 22-7.
“We have a great attitude and effort,” Wesby said. “Even if we’re down, we’re going to try and get back up. The comeback obviously didn’t happen.
“Honestly they didn’t really do anything special, I just don’t feel that we were on our game.”
The Cowboys never threatened again. Kampas punctuated the victory with a 12-yard scoring pass from Wohlgemuth in the final minute.
“Leyden’s a great team, and you can’t make those little mistakes that we made,” Cardone said. “The way you win these games is by playing mistake free.
“I tip my hat to them. They did well. They were the better team today. We’ll go back to the drawing board.”
By contrast, the Leyden Bears made a crucial early-season statement.
“This was a week to see where we’re at,” Olsen said. “We know as the season goes on, everybody is going to get better. This was a chance to see where we are in week three, and build off of that.”
Despite the defeat, the Addison Cowboys had many standout contributors. They were Dijon Ellis, Mateo Demito, Jayden Weathersby, Donato Saaby, Jeremy Riley II, James Koehler III, Maximus Mills, MaKayla Johnson, Benjamin Ocono, Lawrence Picardi, Aiden Spillone, Deondre Almond, Cooper Spillone, Giovanni Trujillo, Phoenix Matuszak and Princeton Mercado.
The Leyden Bears received standout support from its entire roster in the victory. They were Richard Kohler, Chase Olsen, Marty Hill, Aidan Arteaga, Timothy Bannister, Arman Solis, Brady Doelling, Elias Giannakopoulos, Armani Perez, Matthew Ackerman, Andrzey Boduch, Andrew Boeh, Elijah Torres, Ivan Villegas Camargo, Louis Early II and Thomas Papadopoulos
The Leyden Bears cheerleaders also brought great passion and energy to their performances. Their members are Layla Alvarez, Adelah Arenas, Jhaila Ascencio, Sophia Ayala, Nicole Azzaretto, Kayla Cabral, Janaya Calderon, Kamiyah Dudley, Victoria Garcia, Elina Garibay, Amina Hernandez, Alexa Juarez, Jayla Liberato, Dayana Lopez, Sophia Lucas, Allison Medina, Alyana Mendoza, Janaliz Mendoza, Sophia Michalak, Mia Pagan, Gizelle Pineda, Alani Plascencia, Sophia Ramirez, Eva Ramos, Ariyah Reynoso, Aaliyah Torres, Faith Torres, Grace Torres and Betzaida Vega-Bravo.
