Providence stops St. Rita

St. Rita's Kyle Jachim (left) is chased down by Providence's Dominic Quaranta during Friday night's game. The Celtics won 10-0.

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CHICAGO -- Statement? This was a statement.

Providence Catholic went on the road and took control of the Chicago Catholic League Blue race Friday niht with a 10-0 upset over St. Rita.

The Celtics improved to 6-1 overall and 4-0, while St. Rita fell to 6-1 and 3-1.

Providence's defense shut out a Mustang offense that came in averaging more than 30 points per game behind the play of defensive linemen Steve Laski and John Huegelet, linebackers Zac Plantz and Cody Cleveland and a secondary led by Pete Houlihan.

"It's unbelievable," said Houlihan. "St. Rita has one of the best offenses in the state. We earned some respect tonight. We played lights out."

After a scoreless first half, St. Rita took the second-half kickoff, but the Celtics blew up a Mustang screen pass deep in St. Rita territory to force a fourth-and-long. The Mustangs' punt went just 7 yards, setting up the Celtics at the St. Rita 26.

Providence moved to the Mustang 4 before setting for a 21-yard field goal by Alec Pickett with 4:46 to go in the third quarter.

Pickett then forced a touchback on the ensuing kickoff and, on the third play of the Mustangs' drive, St. Rita quarterback Robert Gallik connected with receiver Kyle Jachim for what looked to be a first down.

But wait.

Houlihan stripped Jachim of the ball and the fumble was recovered by the Celtics' Dominic Quaranta at the St. Rita 32. Four plays later, Celtics running back Tim Hanrahan scored on a 10-yard run and Pickett's kick made it 10-0 with 1:34 to go in the third. That was all the cushion Providence needed.

The Mustangs lost their star tailback Jahwon Akui with 7:10 to play in the first half with a leg injury. He did not return to the game.

"We knew Akui was down, and that was huge for us," Laski said. Laski said the reason the Celtics were able to bottle up Akui and backup Travis Sparks was because of their ability to tie up the Mustangs' offensive line.

"We were just flying up into the gaps to keep their linemen off of our linebackers," he said. "It was pretty much who wants it more, and tonight we did."

Hanrahan led the Celtics' offensive attack by rushing for 107 yards on 25 carries.

"Our offense is young and they are still trying to find their way," Celtics coach Mark Coglianese said. "We knew if we could stay in the game, things would start clicking for us.

"It's an amazing feat (to shut out St. Rita). We were stopping them early. Our defensive line, with John Huegelet and Steve Laski, have been doing it all year."

The Celtics can clinch the Catholic Blue title with a win over Mt. Carmel.

"We have a great group of seniors here," Coglianese said. "I'll leave it to our coaches and our seniors not to take anyone for granted."

Celtics are locks for the playoffs with their six wins.

"It feels good that we don't have to play with so much pressure," Laski said. "We can just fly around to the ball and have fun."