Providence holds on for victory

NEW LENOX -- Providence held off a De La Salle comeback in a battle of division leaders Friday.

The Celtics led 23-6 late in the third quarter, but the Meteors fought back and threatened to take the lead in the final seconds. With the score 26-20, they reached Providence's 11, then lost the ball on a fumble with 13 seconds to go. The fumble was recovered by Dominic Olszta.

Providence was led by Tim Hanrahan, who carried the ball 25 times for 216 yards and 3 touchdowns.

"They're a tough football team, but we didn't have our best stuff today," Hanrahan said. "We just have to play a whole lot better."

The Celtics (7-1), who lead the Blue Division, have won seven straight while the Meteors (6-2) share the White Division lead with St. Laurence.

The Meteors grabbed a 6-0 lead with 3:28 left in the opening quarter following a 67-yard interception return by D.J. Bland.

Providence went up 7-6 with 7:16 left in the second quarter on a 69-yard scoring run by Hanrahan.

The hosts increased their advantage to 14-6 just 2:08 into the third quarter following a one-yard by Hanrahan.

On their next series, Hanrahan went in from 37 yards out to make it 21-6 with 7:28 left in the third quarter.

The Celtics picked up two more points 41 seconds when the ball was snapped out of the end zone on a Meteor punt.

De La Salle responded by scoring on a 3-yard scoring pass from Juwan Martin to Tony Torrence with 1:36 left in the third.

The visitors pulled to within 23-20 just 90 seconds into the final quarter when Martin threw a 29-yard TD pass to Ahmed Evans.

Providence got some insurance points with 4:22 to go when Alec Pickett hit a 39-yard field goal.

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