Five in a row for Providence

NEW LENOX -- For three quarters Friday night, Joliet Catholic Academy and Providence Catholic staged one of those old-fashioned defensive brawls.

But things were desperate in the Celtics' camp after their 28-7 loss to Lincoln-Way East in last week's open. Everyone wearing the green knew exactly how vital this victory was.

Thanks to two Cody Cleveland interceptions and the passing of junior quarterback Joey Houlihan, Providence is back in business.

The Celtics outscored the Hilltoppers 15-0 in the fourth and beat JCA 21-7. That marks the sixth straight victory for Providence (1-1) in the series and means the young Hilltoppers (1-1) miss an opportunity to begin 2-0 against two quality opponents. JCA beat Carmel 19-16 a week ago.

"I hate to say it this early, but yes, this was a win we had to have," Providence coach Mark Coglianese said. "I thought our defense played well.

"Our offense, well, there were signs here and there. The passing game picked it up."

Not much of anything was happening offensively in the first half. Providence safety Pete Houlihan intercepted a pass from JCA sophomore quarterback Anthony Maddie at the Hilltoppers' 40-yard line on JCA's second possession, and the Celtics marched to a fourth-and-1 and the JCA 7. Coglianese elected to take the field goal, and senior Alec Pickett delivered from 24 yards out for a 3-0 lead with 3:45 left in the quarter.

The slugfest continued. JCA, plagued by false start penalties, finally got its offense untracked with less than 2 minutes left in the half, after taking possession on its 40.

Maddie, in fashion similar to the game-winning drive he engineered against Carmel, moved the Hilltoppers down the field, hitting 6-of-8 passes for 59 yards, hitting junior end Alex Kolodziej with the scoring strike with 0:21 on the clock. Rob Cranmer converted, and JCA was up 7-3 at halftime.

"When we gave up the seven points before halftime, that was a little deflating," Coglianese said. "But give the guys credit. They didn't quit."

JCA had four of its six first downs of the first half on the touchdown drive. Providence had three first downs in the half.

A very defensive night it was.

But while the Hilltoppers found the going just as difficult in the second half, things changed on the Providence sideline, thanks in no small part to the seam route.

Joey Houlihan, who is involved in a battle with senior Mike Hoffmeister for the quarterback duties, made a statement. He completed 11-of-13 passes for 178 yards and 2 touchdowns in the second half. The touchdowns came in the fourth quarter and came after JCA's goal line stand in the third quarter had resulted in Pickett's second field goal, a 23-yarder, and kept the Hilltoppers ahead, albeit by a slim 7-6 margin.

Things changed for good when Providence drove to the JCA 19 early in the fourth quarter, and on a third-and-19 play, Houlihan lobbed a strike to Tim Kavanaugh deep over the middle for the go-ahead score with 6:46 left. Houlihan ran the 2-point conversion to make it 14-7.

Cleveland, a senior cornerback, intercepted two plays later, and returned the ball 13 yards to the JCA 8. Houlihan hit Joe Sawicki, who caught 8 passes for 79 yards in all, with a fade in the corner of the end zone to add the insurance score with 5:55 left.

"Our defense really played well," JCA coach Dan Sharp said. "We just didn't cover the seam route twice.

"But our offense sure didn't help matters. We have no penalties next week, and then tonight it felt like we had 30 motion penalties. We have to clean that up."

JCA finished with only 27 net yards rushing. Maddie threw 27 times and completed 9 for 102 yards, and he was picked off three times.

"Our young guys have to catch up with what we do so we have effective execution," Sharp said. "We had one big pass to Kolodziej that was just out of bounds and might have turned things around, but we can't rely on throwing the ball and putting all the pressure on our sophomore (Maddie). We have to block better at the point of attack."

On this occasion, the Providence defense may have had a lot to do with JCA's inability to sustain an attack. The Celtics knew that with their rugged schedule, their backs were to the wall. And when it mattered most, they delivered.