Rockford 10U Titans take 19-8 Playoff Win over Jr Celtics

By Bobby Narang- Photos by Renee Kaspar

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ADDISON— Everything about Rockford Titans’ running back Christopher Mannery-King is easier said than done.

The Illinois Jr Celtics were the latest to find out that every time a defender thought they had Mannery-King in their grasp, he had other ideas. 

The end zone inevitably followed

“We planned for what they like to do really well,” Jr Celtics’ coach Dave Brown said. “I thought the scheme we had in place was a solid one. 

“All the respect to that team, and their running backs. That kid was elusive, and he knew how to cut back. When plays break down, players play. He played.”

In the Pop Warner Game of the Week, Mannery-King scored two touchdowns and ran for 163 yards in the Titans’ 19-8 victory in a 10U Division 2 state semifinal at Addison Trail High School on Sunday, October 27.

The Titans (9-1) will face the Tri-City Wolverines for the state championship game.

The Titans captured the state and regional championship competing at the Division 3 level in 9U last year. 

The Rockford program showed their mettle and skill in defeating the Jr Celtics, the defending Division 2 9U state champions.

Mannery-King was both efficient and spectacular, needing just seven carries to reach his gaudy offensive totals. 

He also completed a pass of 15 yards that set up the Titans’ third touchdown.

“I have good senses,” Mannery-King said. “I’m able to get around the defender in different ways. We have great blocking. If it wasn’t for the big guys, I wouldn’t be able to run like that.”

On his first carry, he broke left and went against the grain for a 65-yard touchdown run.

“He makes us so confident and happy,” Emiliano Murillo-Jimenez said. “He’s fast, and hard to bring down. They couldn’t catch him. He takes it all the way.”

The Titans have an unorthodox and innovative offense. 

Coach Michael Jass runs a variation of the triple wing, with interesting and hard to stop variations.

Mannery-King, Emiliano Murillo-Jimenez and Neon Williams alternate as the “quarterback,” running exclusively out of the Wildcat formation. 

The Titans bunch their line together, and then put three middle blockers between the line and ball carriers.

“Everybody puts their stud defensive players at the end,” Jass said. “We like to double up the end, and we try to create lanes. When our runners come out, we try to be patient and wait for the lanes. We always say don’t just run into somebody’s back. 

“Just wait for the lanes to open, and let the big boys upfront to do their job.”

Cameron Canedy is a massive and dominant offensive lineman at guard who controls the line of scrimmage for the Titans. 

He overpowered the Jr Celtics.

“Cameron is our guy, and we just run behind him,” Mannery-King said. With the dominant line play of Canedy, the Titans had 22 carries for 235 yards.

“We have great blocking, and we were able to get a lot of first downs because of that,” Emiliano Murillo-Jimenez said. “We studied their defense and we studied offense, and we knew what they were going to do. 

“Cameron creates a lot of gaps, and we just follow and go through them.”

Emiliano Murillo-Jimenez had four carries for 26 yards.

The Jr Celtics feature a balanced and electric attack with dual-threat quarterback Rhett Johnson, running back Brayden Ruth and playmaker Tyson Gagan.

The Mokena side also felt the absence of one of their top playmakers in Billy Guinea III.

The Jr Celtics threatened on their opening drive after Johnson connected on a gorgeous fourth down conversion with Gagan for 16 yards. 

Titans’ standout defender Keesley Crews, Jr., had the first of his three sacks, an 8-yard loss that stymied the drive.

His fourth down pressure against Johnson forced an incomplete pass, paving the way for the Mannery-King touchdown run on their second play from scrimmage for the 6-0 lead.

The Titans were just getting started, fusing together an eight-play, 73-yard scoring drive on their follow up possession that superbly mixed the three different running styles of Mannery-King, Neon Williams and Emiliano Murillo-Jimenez. 

Mannery-King dropped back to pass, avoided the pressure and broke free around the right end for a 46-yard touchdown run with 2:04 to play in the second quarter. 

After a false start pushed back the PAT attempt, Emiliano Murillo-Jimenez faked the kick and threw the conversion pass to Jace Rose for the 13-0 lead.

The Jr Celtics had their longest play from scrimmage with a 28-yard connection between Johnson and Gagan. Johnson was tackled at the 8-yard line as the second quarter ended.

Williams’ 10-yard run and a 15-yard pass from Mannery-King to Cruz Murillo-Jimenez set up the Titans’ touchdown drive on the opening possession of the third quarter.

Williams scored on a 16-yard run, underscoring the Titans’ versatility and athleticism. He finished with seven carries for 50 yards.

“We had great blocking, and we were able to find the open holes,” Williams said.

The Jr Celtics (7-3) showed tremendous poise and resilience in fighting off the three touchdown deficit with a 12-play, 70-yard scoring drive that featured the running of Johnson and Ruth.

Ruth finished with 11 carries for 52 yards. He had five carries for 31 yards on the scoring drive, averting the shutout by scoring on a 1-yard dive at the end of the third quarter.

He also had the 2-point kick that narrowed the deficit.

“I felt really good after scoring that touchdown, and we all thought we’d be able to come back,” Ruth said. “We just couldn’t do it. I don’t think we were ready for a player like (Mannery-King), and how fast he was and not being able to stop him. 

“He just kept on going.”

The Jr Celtics played hard until the very end. Their repeat quest ended in the closing seconds with Rose punctuating the Titans’ victory with a game-ending interception.

“I’m proud of the boys and the growth that we had,” Brown said. “We had 33 kids, which I think is one of the largest rosters in 10U. We accepted that challenge.”

Johnson finished 4-of-6 passing for 57 yards. Gagan caught two passes for 44 yards. 

“We just ran out of time,” Johnson said. “I’m going to remember how we fought and came back. It was a pretty good season. We fought through the tough times, and succeeded.”

Now the Titans move up a level and will vie for a state championship against the Tri-City Wolverines.

“There were four phenomenal teams at the end with us, the Jr Celtics, Algonquin and Tri-City,” Jass said. “The cool thing is last year Algonquin and the Jr Celtics played in the state championship.

“Now it’s going to be two different teams.”

The Rockford Titans had many standout contributors in their victory. They included Lorenzo Jones III, Daniel Cardenas, Amir Lewis, Delandrell Leavy, Bryson Semenchuk, Aumaris Sharp, Antonio Jass, Julian Ortiz, Henry Mai, Christopher Mannery-King, Charles Quinn, KyMeir McGrone, Rowan Nelson, Kashton Wright, Ayden Hoffstrom, Benito Martinez, Jr. and Cole Newberg.

The Jr Celtics performed valiantly in defeat. Their standout players included Casey Gahan, Dean Copack, Gabriel Glover, Romeo Brooks, Easton Burch, Blake Schuler, Jake Tompkins, Bryce Szczepaniak, Ryan Ripoli, William Mikaitis, Vincent Bennett, Nixon Hazdra, Geno Vosholler, Brayden Luczynski, Jadyn Brigham, Declan Kirk, Cameron Richards, Luke Husenger, William Michael Lehnerer III, Brady Lindholm, Anthony Fitzpatrick, Grant Whitchurch, Liam Kruse, Michael Zanta, Rex Schultz, Joseph Honkisz, Dominik Brown and Camden Dvorak.