By Patrick McGavin- Photos by Jenn Anne Gledhill
** Additionall Photos are Available for Purchase at https://justallsports.zenfolio.com/p945809252 **
NEW LENOX— Staying optimistic with events seemingly bent against your will is the hardest part.
Fortunately the Illinois Jr. Celtics’ 13U team is made of proud and sterner stuff. Failure is not something they want to think about.
They want to change the narrative.
“We go very hard in practice, and we’ve been working very hard to put some points on the board,” running back Demarrius Patten Jr. said. “Teams come out harder than us, and we have to do a better job responding to that.”
Improvement is also hard to discern when the scoreboard goes the other way.
The Jr. Celtics showed significant passion and heart despite the 20-7 Homecoming defeat against the Rockford Wolves in Chicagoland Pop Warner League play at Lincoln-Way Central on Sunday, September 20.
The effort and involvement were unmistakable, like a late action where Keyaughn Robinson recovered a fumble. The team was down two scores with less than a minute to play.
The outcome was decided, the fight and resilience of the Jr. Celtics remained very much on display. That is the kind of encouraging sign that props up the emotions and optimism of the team.
“Week by week, we’re all coming together as a team, learning how to execute and playing better as one unit,” quarterback Liam Peterson said. “We know what to do.
“We are working very hard at playing as a team, executing, following our assignments and knowing what to do on the plays. We just tried to make plays there.
Garrett Hansen and Peterson alternated taking snaps at quarterback. The athleticism, speed and quickness of the Wolves flustered the attack.
It did not help matters that Patten, the most explosive player on the team, was hampered for parts of the second quarter by a leg injury. His open field speed provided a highlight.
“I just work on my game every day, and work on returns and getting the ball in space or trying to break them outside,” Patten said. “Every time I see a hole, I don’t think about it.
“I just try to hit it.”
The struggles at the offensive end created even greater pressure on the defense to plug the holes and shut down the talented Wolves’ roster.
For a significant stretch of the first half, the defense rose to the challenge.
Antwan Weathers and Dayton Jackson collaborated on a couple of big stops. They were able to penetrate gaps and create havoc.
The mood and momentum all changed during the first half where a seemingly inconsequential pass play into the right flat that appeared to be nonthreatening to the defense and only about a seven or eight-yard gain.
Instead the back broke a tackle, slipped through a second defender and ran down the sideline for a 59-yard touchdown play.
Plays like that factored into the Jr. Celtics being down 13-0 at halftime.
“I know we’re capable of committing and getting the goals we’re searching for, like getting the wins,” linebacker Benjamin Amato said. “I know we could step on the field and be the better team.
“We have to come out with energy and not be flat. We have to come out more fired up. We can’t wait for one big play. We just have to come out like that.”
The play in question only created doubt and confusion. That proved too hard to overcome. The first part of winning is psychological, and believing you possess the means to do so.
“I could just see that play brought the team down,” Amato said. “Guys were walking around frustrated and their heads down. We have to treat the game like it’s a tied game, 0-0, and you come out hard every single play.
“We have to give it our all, or otherwise, you have to wait until next week, and hope for a better result.”
In a results-oriented game like football, the final score is typically what people look at. The Jr. Celtics had moments of toughness, beauty and inspired play.
The quick and athletic Neyland Robinson caught a couple of tough passes in traffic. Inserted back into the game late in the second quarter, Patten turned every touch into a thrill ride.
Most encouraging the Jr. Celtics never folded or completely gave in, even after the Wolves took the second half kickoff and marched down the field for the 20-0 lead.
Patten gave the home crown the biggest thrill of the day on the ensuing kickoff with his elusive grace and open field daring. He split a couple of tacklers, got to the edge and broke off a 54-yard return.
After a big fourth down completion, Peterson completed the strong scoring drive by motoring around the right side for a 20-yard touchdown run.
Fullback Jaxon Cullum crashed into the end zone for the conversion point. Moments like this are worth savoring, and building off.
“We have a lot of talent on this team,” Patten said. “We have to learn how to practice harder. I think if we put in the work, we could get a lot of wins.”
The quarterbacks showed toughness in the pocket and a willingness to take the hits. Some of the key players like Peterson, Amato and Patten were not with the team at the start of the season.
The talent infusion they represent has clearly made a difference.
“I try whenever possible to read my progressions through my receivers,” Peterson said. “If they’re not open, I either make a run or just try to do whatever and wait for them to get open.
“We have to learn how to be more competitive and play through all 40 minutes.”
Typically teams that deal with adversity take it out on each other, and show signs of fraying at the nerves. That is not the case with this team.
They are learning from what plays out on the field, and striving to be better.
“We love each other,” Amato said. “We like playing together. We just have to get more fired up. They came out fired up from the jump. We have to make those big plays. We have to be the one to lead. We have to show them who we are.
“I know we’re capable.”
The game is played between the lines. It starts with a mentality and state of being.
“I thought we played pretty well, we just have to be able to stand up because you just get the sense that if the other team scores, we just lose hope out there,” Weathers said.
“I don’t care if they’re winning by 50, we still have to keep our heads up and play hard.”
Despite the Homecoming loss, the 13U team had many standout contributors. They were Gavin Collins, Easton Breen, Austen Farmer, Elliot Bodine, Nathan Quiroz, Austin Crites, Colin Bailey, Adeyinka Bobade, Moises Yepez, Lorenzo DeCarlo, Jackson Shanahan, Kadeem Singleton, Jaxon Brown, Adekunle Bobade, Caleb Jablonski, Broderick Wallace, Yaser Hamzeh, Khalil Morgan, Kristian Willis, Maximus Dukups, Aiden Losieczka, Sten Fleck and John Chucri.
