Plainfield Saints 11U Use Turnover Scores to Impressively Win 2025 Opener

By Patrick Z McGavin- Photos by Renee Kaspar

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JOLIET— Every game has that moment of reckoning where a team is put to the test.

The Plainfield Saints 11U were put on the break just moments into the start of their new season. A lost fumble and a big pass connection put the Rockford Titans right on the shadow of their goal line.

“I just thought about how we are going to bounce back from this against a tough team,” Saints’ coach Chris Rogus said. “We got a couple of plays in the backfield. It showed that we could ride the tide, and turn it on them.

“I think that changed the game right there.”

It was the prelude of things to come, an opportunistic defense and a team that showed the ability to weather difficult terrain.

The Plainfield Saints scored two fumble return touchdowns in the final seconds of the first half to spark the impressive 20-0 victory in the Pop Warner Game of the Week here at Joliet West on Sunday, August 24.

Saints’ two-way star Peyton Green was the catalyst with two touchdowns. He accounted for 14 points, adding two conversion points on passes from quarterback Eli Flores.

His 66-yard touchdown off a fumble return stunned the Titans, and provided a 13-0 halftime lead.

He punctuated the victory with the only offensive touchdown on a gorgeous 15-yard touchdown run with 2:46 remaining.

“I have one idea when I run, and that is don’t get caught,” he said. “My style is shifty and elusive, and I’m hard to bring down.”

A hybrid safety and linebacker, Green blitzed the inside for a three-yard loss that prevented the Titans from scoring at the start of the game.

“We all got off the blocks really well, hit the hole and got to their runners,” he said. “I like to play aggressively so I can go and get to the ball, get the ball and score.”

In a game of elite programs, the first half was as tactical as anything, with both sides trying to find areas to exploit. 

The Titans featured a multipronged attack with quarterback Cruz Murillo-Jimenez and running backs Christopher Mannery-King and Neon Williams.

Defensive tackle Stephone Rogers Jr was a one-man wrecking crew, knifing through the Saints’ interior for a two-yard loss and a eight-yard loss and forced fumble that he recovered.

A 15-yard Williams run, and a 19-yard completion from Murillo-Jimenez to Keesley Crews Jr. set up the first and goal.

A disastrous false start and three plays for loss doomed the Titans, who squandered their best scoring chance of the game.

“It was our first drive of the season, and we did well, but we had some mistakes there,” Murillo-Jimenez said. 

“We just had too many mental mistakes, and that ended up costing us. It’s only the first week, and we didn’t show too many of our plays to them. Maybe we’ll see them again in the playoffs or the championship game.”

The game was seemingly headed to a scoreless first half with the Saints facing fourth-and-long with less than a minute to play. 

Opportunity for the Titans turned into a game-changing series of plays for the Saints.

Crews appeared the hero with an interception deep in the Titans’ territory to close out the half. Instead, disaster struck, as an alert Mason LaFountain, a receiver for the Saints who was trailing the play, stripped the ball and returned the fumble 19 yards for a touchdown.

Green scored on the conversion for the 7-0 lead with 48.7 seconds to play in the first half.

“I saw the ball go up and I saw him take it, but I also saw that it was loose,” LaFountain said. “I saw it, punched it out and took it back for six. 

“After that, I really felt like everything switched, and our team had the momentum. That really shifted the momentum. We all fought there.”

The Titans scrambled for a late first half response of their own. The team toggles between Murillo-Jimenez running traditional offensive sets, and Mannery-King working the Wildcat, where he has the option to run or throw.

Rockford appeared in business following a 12-yard completion from Murillo-Jimenez to Jace Rose.

Green had other ideas. On the ensuing play, he broke through the backfield and dislodged the ball, picking it up and returning it 66 yards for the touchdown.

“My teammate kind of hugged the runner, and I took the ball out of his hands, and I just ran,” Green said.

A game that was just moments tied now had a momentous two touchdown lead for  the Saints.

“We told our team if you want to beat a team like this, it’s all about who makes the most mistakes,” Rockford coach Michael Jass said. “We had to play a mistake-free game. We made a great play on an interception, and I understand my linebacker trying to make a play. 

“On the second fumble, we ran an Oklahoma there, and we were looking for a pitch or a keeper from the quarterback, and he tried to pitch it after contact and that was the second fumble.”

Saints’ defensive back Kevin Wesby III ended the first half with an interception, and Cameron Lamorte added a second half interception. 

Camerin Jackson, a massive two-way tackle and right defensive end, had a huge eight-yard tackle for loss that ended the Titans’ best scoring chance of the second half.

Green is the lightning part of the Saints’ attack who is capable of playing either receiver and getting the ball out of the backfield. 

Robert Hyde Jr. is the perfect complement, a hard-running who slashes and has the size to burst up the middle.

On the Saints’ eight-play, 55-yard scoring drive, Hyde carried the ball four times for 26 yards, setting up the 15-yard gash by Green.

“I got the team started there, and Peyton really finished it,” he said. “We just wanted to finish the drive. We were really motivated at the start of the game, and we really wanted to win this game.”

First games never define a season. The Plainfield Saints achieved their objective.

“I think teams that are going to be playing us now are going to feel worried or scared,” Green said.

The Titans have plenty of room for growth of their own.

“We were just showing off our basic things today, not any of our secret weapons or anything like that,” Mannery-King said. “I felt like I could have done better. I felt like, as a team, we could have done better. 

“We’ll go back to practice, work harder and play harder.”

Chalk one up for the Saints. Jass said the early season test was precisely what his team needed.

“We didn’t earn the victory,” he said. “Our division is really heavy with five or six teams, and these guys are right at the top. It gives us a good indicator on what we need to do, and how physical we have to be as a team. 

“I hate that we had to see them this early, but I also love that they showed us what we need to do.”

Despite the loss, the Rockford Titans 11U team had many standout contributors. They included Lorenzo Jones III, Daniel Cardenas, Amir Lewis, Lashun King Jr., Mason Kelly, Delandrell Leavy, Aumaris Sharp, Antonio Jass, Emiliano Murillo-Jimenez, Henry Mai, Charles Quinn, KyMeir McGrone, Kashton Wright, Knox Gerloff, Carson Cloyd, Ayden Hoffstrom, Cameron Canedy and Cole Newberg.

The Plainfield Saints also featured many key players in their victory. They were Tyler Bernabei, Maximilian Loera, Bennett Towry, Max De La Torre Chiquito, Landen Robertson, Gavin Shannon, Caleb Cooke, Logan Zeleski-Lawell, Umir Henson, Deegan Herman, Cameron Lamorte, Tyler Jerry, Luke Rybczyk, Maxim McBee and Tyler Thompson.

The Saints’ cheerleaders also showed great pride and enthusiasm with their routines and athletic performances. Their members are Liz Briggs, Olivia Fosco, Everly Harter, Audriana James, Meliana James, Kaylei Little, Ava Lynch, Sonali Pillai, Sofia Palacios, Skyler Pocius, Cara Plant, Damaya Reed, Ella Smiley, Maeven Smiley, Maliyah Sluis, Sophia Stehlin, Gracelyn Towsend, Breanna Wilson, Charlotte Wilson, Olivia Gundersen, Paisley Nichols and Payton Breeding-Walsh.