Nolan Peoples rolls out to his right looking for an open receiver during the Celts 24-7 win over the Shamrocks. (Press Pros Feature Photos by Logan Gapen)
Joey Slates gained 142 of his game-high 166 yards in the second half and teammate Deangelo Nardone sparked a stout defense with two interceptions as the Celtics won for just the second time in their intra-district rivalry with Coffman.
Dublin, OH – Joey Slates has no designs on adding offensive coordinator duties to his role as senior running back for the Dublin Jerome Celtics. And no way would he ever second guess the play calling of his coaches.
But as Jerome’s big, dominating offensive line slowly but surely overpowered intra-district rival Dublin Coffman, the game plan became easier than taking candy from a baby: Just give the rock to Slates.
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“Our run game wasn’t incredibly successful in the first half, but we come at you hard every snap and it was just a matter of time before we wore them down,” Slates said. “Late in the game, I was getting five yards into the defense without even being touched. After a few of those runs, we came back in the huddle and just knew there was no way they were going to stop us. I’m thinking, ‘Just give it to me every time.’ ”
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Slates finished with 166 yards on 22 carries, including a back-breaking 64-yard touchdown run right up the gut with 1:25 remaining as the Celtics put away gritty Coffman 24-7 before an overflow, standing-room-only crowd at Jerome. Of that total, 142 yards came after halftime.
“Don’t give me too much credit,” said Slates, a 5-foot-8, 187-pounder. “That was all my offensive line.”
That front of junior Nick Jackson (6-4, 272), junior Lucas Little (6-2, 276), senior Drew Naudasher (6-0, 235), senior Blake Sebastian (6-4, 210), senior Jay Gupta (6-0, 279) and senior Elias Lockwood (6-0, 265) indeed deserve major kudos for the collective role it played in sending Jerome to 3-0 for the first time since 2022.
Matty Giannantonio sprints toward the end zone after hauling in a 36-yard TD pass from Nolan Peoples on the 4th play of Jerome’s opening drive.
With his team clinging to a 7-0 lead into the fourth quarter, Jackson said he knew it was time for Jerome to get down and dirty in the trenches.
“We realized our defense was carrying the load for us, and we simply needed to show who the more physical team was,” he said. “I think we had three touchdowns called back (by penalties) and we were determined to set things straight.”
Jerome used up nearly six minutes in marching 14 plays from its own 23 deep into Coffman territory. Holding penalties twice negated TDs, but Luca Licata’s 33-yard field goal with 2:54 left made it 10-0 and a two-score game. Slates ran for 63 yards on the drive.
Senior linebacker Deangelo Nardone more than earned co-star billing for Jerome.
Moments after the field goal, Nardone picked off Jack Morris and returned it 40 yards for a touchdown. He added a second interception in the final minute, allowing Jerome to kneel and celebrate a win over Coffman for just the second time since the rivalry began in 2012.
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Nardone, who has committed to play lacrosse at Providence, was a monster all night long with four tackles for no gain or losses.
Chad Woodfork, Jr., grinds out some yardage late in the game to help the ‘Rocks avoid the shutout.
“Coffman talks a lot about how physical they are, but we definitely got the better of them in that area tonight,” Nardone said. “Everybody runs to the ball for this defense. Our coaches deserve some credit, too. They’ve been phenomenal. They’ve changed my viewpoints on a lot of things.”
Much of the build-up for this matchup centered around first-year Jerome coach Mark Crabtree returning to face the Coffman team he guided for 20 seasons, amassing a 179-55 record. He spent 2021 to 2024 as offensive coordinator at DeSales.
“I’m not going to lie. It was a little awkward going up against those guys, but not much,” Crabtree said. “Being away four years helped alleviate those feelings some. Right now, we’re committed to creating an attitude of professionalism … a businesslike approach to things.”
While Jerome’s offense has a nice balance with quarterback Nolan Peoples, Bucknell-bound receiver Matty Giannantonio, Slates and the offensive line, its identity lies primarily on defense. The Celtics have yielded just 20 points thus far.
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“Defense is one of the things you can build a program around,” Crabtree said. “If you put your hat on that, you give yourself a chance to win every day. We let up a little tonight on a play or two, but we did a great job in the red zone to keep them off the board.”
Coffman’s Mason Parrill applies pressure to hurry the throw of Jerome’s Nolan Peoples.
Jerome drove 65 yards on just four plays in the game’s opening drive to take a lead it never relinquished. Peoples, who completed his first seven passes, put a deft touch on a 36-yard TD pass to Giannantonio, who finished with six receptions for 62 yards.
Coffman (1-2) also is under the leadership of a first-year coach in Nick McVay, who spent the past seven seasons as offensive coordinator at Olentangy Berlin. He took over for Geron Stokes, who resigned after four seasons as successor to Crabtree.
The Shamrocks hung with Jerome tooth and nail but had difficulty converting big plays when they needed them, especially on third and fourth down. Two missed field goals (one blocked) loomed large.
Sophomore quarterback Jack Morris was seeing his first action after suffering a left shoulder injury in the opener. He connected with Brayden Scholl on a 16-yard ricochet in the end zone with 1:42 remaining to avert the shutout.
Coffman has scored just 17 points in its first three games.
“We’ve just got to be better,” McVay said. “We’ve got to get some points to help out our defense. They were out there so much longer than they should have been. I’ve got a lot of respect for their quarterback and how he runs their spread.”
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