Panthers' upset bid turned away

OSWEGO -- For four quarters, the Oswego defense dictated the tone of Friday night's game against Providence Catholic in a second round Class 6A playoff game.

Unfortunately, overtime between the Panthers and Celtics gave Providence the opportunity to run tailback Timothy Hanrahan from the 10-yard line.

Hanrahan, who rushed for 197 yards, scored his only touchdown during the overtime session, giving the Celtics the slight 16-10 win.

"The kids left it on the field," Oswego coach Dave Keely said. "They gave their heart and soul, played their butts off. What else can you say?"

The Oswego defense gave the sputtering offense every opportunity to jumpstart their motor, forcing four turnovers, blocking a punt, and sacking Providence quarterback Joey Houlihan five times.

"We needed to put the ball in the end zone," Keely said. "Defense played very well tonight. Offense stalled a little, but we scored when we needed to and just came up short in the overtime. "

The defense also held Hanrahan to just 44 yards rushing in the first half, on an average of just three yards per carry. The first quarter especially was to the Panthers advantage with a strong wind at their backs.

Oswego (8-3) turned the ball over on downs at the one-yard line after using a short field to drive 30 yards. The wound on the goalline stop was left unsalted when the Panthers forced Providence to punt from their end zone and one-play later, quarterback Ryan West found tailback Sean Danielson for a 40-yard touchdown.

The Celtics added a field goal just before half to pull back within four. Coming out of the break, the defense forced a fumble and blocked a punt, the latter leading to an offensive possession at the Celtics 15-yard line.

With a chance to put the game away, Oswego was given questionable spots on third and fourth down, leading to another turnover on downs.

"What can I say?" Keely said of the officiating. "It's over. It's water under the bridge. It's a game of inches. I thought for sure that that was first down. That's the game down there."

Having withstood the Oswego charge, the Celtics took the lead when Houlihan found Steve Arthurs for a 64-yard touchdown.

Following an interception by the Panthers' John Hugunin, who also recovered a fumble and made 10 tackles, the offense looked ready to score.

A questionable non-call for pass interference on a third down pass play led to a wind-aided 40-yard field goal by Drew Boldridge that tied the game

"Well, (the defender) sure did make contact," said Keely of the non-call. "It doesn't have to be a catchable ball if you make contact. But again, what are you going to say?"

As for the field goal from a team with kicking issues for much of the season?

"I figured we had an edge there," Keely said of kicking with the wind. "We got a good snap, good blocking, and Drew had good leg swing all the way through. I figured we had momentum and were back in the game with a chance to win."

Providence botched their extra point try in overtime giving Oswego a chance to win, but on fourth-and-goal from the six-yard line, the Panthers were all out of luck, if they had any at all.

Mike Greenwood (seven tackles) and Scott Sartain each recovered a fumble and had a sack in the loss.