game Recaps
Week 11 (at
Oswego High
School)
6A STATE PLAYOFFS ROUND TWO
CELTICS 16 - PANTHERS 10 (OVERTIME)
11/6/09
Whew! Round two of the playoffs proved to be an
exciting, but emotionally exhausting, overtime victory against a
battling Oswego Panther team!
On a beautiful fall evening for football, the
Celtics traveled to Oswego for this second round Class 6A
playoff clash. Oswego was coming in fresh from a first round
upset victory over Bloomington the previous week that gave them
the home field advantage for their game with the Celtics.
Uncharacteristically, the Celtics struggled with
penalties and turnovers. A 37 yard Alec Pickett field goal
proved to be the only points for the Celtics in the first half.
However, credit also has to go to a very determined and
aggressive Oswego defense which did a great job of stopping the
Celtic passing game until a huge 64 yard touchdown pass from
Joey Houlihan to tight end Steve Arthurs late in the third
quarter gave the Celtics their first lead of the game at 10-7.
Defensively, the Celtics had an uncharacteristic
breakdown in coverage leading to a 40 yard touchdown pass that
opened the scoring in the first quarter giving the Panthers the
early 7-0 margin. After that, the Celtics swarmed and contained
the Oswego offense denying them the end zone for the rest of the
night.
A fourth quarter Oswego field goal enabled the
Panthers to tie the game at 10-10 causing the trip into
overtime!
In the overtime, the Celtics Tim Hanrahan
(222 yard rushing on the night) scored on a 6 yard
touchdown run. In another rarity for the Celtics, the extra
point failed as the snap was fumbled! That left the Celtics with
the precarious 6 point lead as Oswego had their chance with four
downs from the 10 yard line!
As has been the case for most of the season, the
Celtic defense rose to the occasion, keeping the Panthers from
reaching the end zone. That made the failed extra point
meaningless and gave the Celtics their slim 16-10 victory!
With the exception of that early game breakdown
that led to the Oswego touchdown, the Celtic defense was
stellar! The same names that you have heard all year were huge
for the defense, led by Tyler Plantz and his 18 tackles! Safety
Joey Quinlan may have played his best game of the season, being
in on 10 tackles. Steve Laski had 9 tackles while John Huguelet
and Ray Ames had 8 each.
Now it is the Class 6A Quarterfinals! The Celtics
will be back at home for a Saturday afternoon game (1:00 p.m.)
against the high octane offense of the Crete-Monee Warriors!
Both teams enter the game with identical 10-1 records.
Come out and support your Celtics and their
“Quest for 10”!
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Week 10 (at Providence
Catholic)
6A STATE PLAYOFFS ROUND ONE
CELTICS 41
- FALCONS 7
10/30/09
The Celtics went into week ten, starting the
playoff quest for ten, the tenth state championship in the
Providence Catholic football program.
The first challenge came from the Harlan Falcons
from the Chicago Public League. The Falcons brought their 6-3
record to Bishop Kaffer Stadium and the muddy Matt Senffner
Field for this Class 6A match up.
Defensively, the Celtics just annihilated any
hopes for the Falcons, stuffing them play after play in the
first half. Overall, the Falcons had just 96 total yards in the
game, with 77 of those coming on one play, a late touchdown run
with only a couple minutes remaining in the game. Once again,
the play of linebackers Tyler Plantz and Ray Ames was stellar to
say the least! They led the team with 7 and 8 tackles
respectively.
Offensively, the Celtics had their “Triple H”
Team on a roll! Houlihan, Hanrahan, and Houlihan accounted for
all six of the Celtics touchdowns, all in the first half. Tim
Hanrahan (208 yards on 13 carries) scored touchdowns on runs of
2, 4, 27, and 67 yards. Pete Houlihan added a 52 yard punt
return for a TD, and Joey Houlihan’s TD came on a 2 yard run.
All in all, it was a nice start for the Celtics
in their Quest for 10!
Round two next week has the Celtics traveling to
face a fine Oswego team! Let’s hope the Triple H offense and
that Celtic Cyclone defense can unleash their fury on Friday
night in Oswego!
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Week 9 (at
Providence Catholic)
CELTICS 26
- CARAVAN 14
10/23/09
Week nine, senior night, and a chance to win the
Catholic League Blue with a win over the Caravan!
As is the theme for the 2009 season, the weather,
once again, was chilly, rainy and all windy for this showdown of
two premier high school football programs.
As is always the case when these two teams meet,
everybody got their money’s worth! The Catholic League Blue
showed once again how high school football is played! Hard
hitting, big plays, and the outcome literally coming down to the
last few seconds!
The Caravan threw a scare into the Celtic
faithful as they marched right down the field in the opening
driving punching in a 3yard TD to take an early 7-0 lead. Good
defense by both teams kept the score that way until late in the
first half when Tim Hanrahan broke a 73 yard TD run that tied
the game at 7-7 at the half. The touchdown run featured some
great downfield blocking by receiver Jack Burchett.
Defenses again dominated the 3rd quarter as the
only scoring was a 27 yard field goal by Alec Pickett on the
last play of the quarter giving the Celtics the slim 10-7 lead.
The 4th quarter was full of excitement from start
to finish! Mt. Carmel scored on a 46 yard touchdown run with 7
minutes left in the game giving the Caravan a 14-10 lead.
Late in the game, the Caravan was moving into to
field goal range until Dominic Olszta tipped a pass that was
ultimately intercepted by Joey Quinlan. The Celtics put together
a 75 yard drive with less than 2 minutes in the game that had
everyone on their feet! Joe Houlihan ran the 2 minute offense
like Joe Montana with key catches by Sean Carroll, Pete Houlihan
and Steve Arthurs. Tim Hanrahan pounded his way into the end
zone on a one yard run with 29 seconds remaining putting the
Celtics up 17-10. The defense held on the final four attempts
by Mt. Carmel.
The defense was led by the usual suspects, Steve
Laski with 9 tackles, Ray Ames (9 tackles) and Dominic Olszta
with 8 tackles. Pete Houlihan had 7 tackles and 4 huge passes
defended!
Offensively, Tim Hanrahan paced the running game
with 132 yards and Joey Houlihan passed for 187 yards, 76 of
them to wide receiver Sean Carroll.
Head coach Mark Coglianese wins 8 regular season
games for the first time and also wins his first Chicago
Catholic League Blue championship! This builds great momentum
for the Celtics as they host their first 2009 Class 6A playoff
opponent, Harlan Community Academy from Chicago.
The game is Friday night at Bishop Kaffer Stadium
at 7:30. Be there the cheer on the Celtics in their QUEST FOR
TEN!
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Week 8 (at
Providence Catholic)
CELTICS 26
- METEORS 20
10/16/09
Week eight, homecoming, and the last conference
cross-over game against a talented DeLasalle Meteor team that
comes to New Lenox matching the Celtics 6-1 record!
The weather, once again, was chilly, rainy and
all in all it was an old fashioned muddy, windy football game!
And what a game!
The first quarter ended with DeLasalle leading
6-0 on an interception returned for a touchdown. The Celtic
defense was being strongly challenged but continued to shutdown
the Meteors for the rest of the first half. Tim Hanrahan broke a
69 yard run for a touchdown that enabled the Celtics to go into
the half with a slim 7-6 lead.
The third quarter started and it looked as though
the Celtics were ready to put the game away with two quick
touchdowns (1 and 37 yard runs by Hanrahan) followed by a
safety. The 23-6 lead looked good as the 3rd quarter was winding
down.
The Meteors however felt differently! They drove
down the field and scored a TD late in the 3rd quarter then
started the 4th quarter by marching down the field and scoring
on a 28 yard pass! The extra point was good and suddenly, it was
a 23-20 game with more than ten minutes left! A 39 yard field
goal by Alec Pickett closed out the scoring in a WILD 4th
quarter that left the Celtics 7-1 going into week nine!
While the Celtic passing game may have struggled
a bit, Tim Hanrahan and his offensive line made up for it with
214 yards rushing in the game. Linebackers Tyler Plantz and Ray
Ames again led the team in tackles with 9 each with Pete
Houlihan chipping in with 8. Cody Cleveland had a big
interception in the closing seconds to clinch the victory.
Next week is it! End of the regular season, and a
chance to win the Catholic League Blue outright if the Celtics
can get past the Caravan from Mt. Carmel!
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Week 7 (at
St. Rita)
CELTICS 10
- MUSTANGS 0
10/9/09
The Celtics and Mustangs each entered this
contest with undefeated records in the Catholic League Blue
Division! The undefeated Mustangs from St. Rita had dominated
each of their prior six opponents and were averaging over 35
points a game.
The Celtics, on the other hand, were fresh from
their best offensive output against Fenwick putting up 42
points! The scene was set for some big fireworks on the fast
turf at St. Rita!
Indeed there were fireworks…..defensive
fireworks! How good was the defense? How about a halftime score
of 0 – 0! It wasn’t until halfway through the third quarter that
the Celtics opened the scoring with a 21 yard field goal by Alec
Pickett making it 3-0. A few minutes later the Celtics put
together a nice drive culminating with a 10 yard touchdown run
by Tim Hanrahan. Picket’s extra point turned out to be the last
scoring of the night giving the Celtics their 10-0 lead.
The Mustangs defense was a challenge all night
but the Celtics were abnle to control the ball in critical
situations leading to the victory! Joey Houlihan was able to
complete 12 of 19 passes, but for a measly 86 yards. Tim
Hanrahan had a hard earned 93 yards on 25 carries. Andrew
Cassara chipped in with 3 receptions.
The Celtic defense had one its legendary games!
In beating the Mustangs for the first time since 2004, they held
the Mustangs scoreless while holding them to 134 total yards!
As usual, it was a team effort, senior linebacker
and captain Tyler Plantz had 5 tackles while junior linebacker
Ray Ames had 9! DB’s Cody Cleveland and Joey Quinlan had 8 and 7
tackles to go wiuth Cleveland’s 3 passes defended. The defensive
line was stellar! Tommy Comise(4 tackles) complemented the
efforts of Steve Laski’s 8 tackles and a sack along with John
Huguelet’s 5 tackles and a sack!
In the end, the 10-0 victory assured the Celtics
of at least a share of the Catholic League Blue title, a first
for head coach Mark Coglianese!
By no means are the Celtics ready to sit on their
accomplishments! An outright conference championship will be
decided in 2 weeks when Mt. Carmel comes calling….and then there
is the playoffs...
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Week 6 (at
Providence Catholic)
CELTICS 45
- FENWICK 7
10/2/09
The Catholic League Blue Division resumed play as
the Friars from Fenwick visited Matt Senffner Field in Bishop
Kaffer Stadium! Weather-wise, it was an awful night, chilly with
relentless rain. But that didn’t stop the Celtics from a rousing
victory!
Fenwick put a scare into the Celtics marching
right down the field and scoring a touchdown in their first
possession and taking the early 7-0 lead. All that seamed to do
is wake up the Celtic defense and led to two interceptions, both
returned for touchdowns by Pete Houlihan. Add in two touchdown
run by Tim Hanrahan and the lead was a commanding 35-7 at
halftime!
The third quarter saw the Houlihan brothers
connect on a 57 yard touchdown which ended the scoring for the
night, leaving the Celtics as 42-7 victors!
After the initial touchdown by Fenwick, the
defense was again the Celtic Cyclone on this rainy night! They
totally shutdown the Friars with two interceptions and a fumble
recovery. The Friars were held to 148 total yards, the least
allowed by the Celtics since week two when they held Joliet
Catholic to 147!
Defensively, besides the game changing two
interception returns for TD’s by Houlihan, Senior defensive
lineman John Huguelet was again a monster with 8 tackles and 4
sacks in the game! Linebackers Ray Ames (9 tackles) and Tyler
Plantz (8 tackles) frustrated the opponent and controlled the
game.
Offensively, despite horrific weather conditions,
the Celtics may have had their best game in terms of balance and
controlling the ball. The offensive line, led by seniors center
Jake Sheffer and Joe Antoniolli protected the quarterback well
and were opening holes form the running game with consistency.
The rest of the young line seems to be improving every week!
Juniors Mike Kronberg, Dan Lembke, and Frank Markasovic are
gelling along with sophomore Ben Lembke in the mix.
The victory has the Celtics headed into week
seven with a perfect 3-0 conference record, 5-1 overall. The
schedule however does not get any easier as the season draws to
a close! Perennial powerhouse Mt. Carmel will be calling in week
9! A very good DeLassalle team is the Celtics homecoming
opponent in week 8. But first comes the week seven opponent, the
Mustangs of St. Rita. This Comcast Game of the Week at St. Rita
will pit the only remaining 3-0 teams in the Catholic League
Blue! Come support your Celtics!
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Week 5 (at
St. Laurence)
CELTICS 25 - VIKINGS 17
9/25/09
On paper, this week’s game was a conference
cross-over with St. Laurence from the Catholic League White
Division. But on the field, this was simply a down and dirty,
physical, bruising game that typifies Catholic League football.
With football, there is offense, defense, and
special teams. It is human nature to always look at the offense
to judge the success of any given team in a game. But in
reality, if you can outplay your opponent in any two of the
three categories, your chances of victory are significant!
That was the case for our Celtics in this game.
In the Celtics second offensive series, QB Joey Houlihan was
injured and was to miss the rest of the night! This was a major
jolt that stalled the offense for pretty much the entire first
half. However, sophomore Chris Salazar helped spark the team in
the second half completing 4 of 7 passes for 117 yards. Sean
Carroll was the recipient of two of those passes covering 52
yards. The bulk of the offense came from senior tailback Tim
Hanrahan who carried the ball 32 bruising times!
The only scoring in the first quarter came on a
safety by the Celtics after the Vikings had a bad snap on a punt
that went out of their own end zone. An 80 yard punt return for
a touchdown run by Pete Houlihan in the second quarter and a
Pickett extra point put the Celtics up 9-0. A late field goal by
St. Laurence ended the half at 9-3.
Hanrahan finally found some daylight in the
thirds quarter with a 37 yard TD run that was followed by a
missed extra point. Pete Houlihan added a 90 yard kick return
for another and Alec Pickett added a fourth quarter field goal
to account for the Celtics 25 points on the night.
It was a great night for the Celtic defense as
they allowed only a field goal to the St. Laurence offense! The
Viking touchdowns came on a kick return and an interception
returned for a score.
John Huguelet was all over the field defensively
leading a total team effort that shutdown the St. Laurence
offense.
The victory left the Celtics with 4 wins and a
loss overall while their conference record still stands at 2-0.
Back home to Bishop Kaffer Stadium for
continuation of conference play as Fenwick will come to town.
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Week 4 (at
Providence Catholic)
CELTICS 23 - CRUSADERS
21
9/18/09
The 2009 Chicago Catholic League (Blue Division)
season is in full form as week four ends with a 23-21 hard
fought victory over Brother Rice. The victory pushes the Celtics
record to 3 wins against one loss overall, 2-0 in conference
play!
It was a game where it seemed as though the
Celtics were in control, but the scoreboard never really
reflected that feeling!
Joey Houlihans 35 yard TD run along with a couple
Alec Pickett field goals accounted for the Celtics 13 first half
points. The defense played strong in the half, with the
exception of an 82 TD yard run by the Crusaders that kept the
score close.
The second half was a different story! The Celtic
running game, led by the strong play of center Jake Sheffer,
left guard Mike Kronberg and left tackle Dan Lembke, finally
kicked into gear with senior running back Tim Hanrahan. Hanrahan
accumulated 216 yards rushing in the game with 143 of them
coming in the second half. Pickett added another field goal in
the third quarter putting the Celtics up 16-7.
However, in true Catholic League fashion, the
Crusaders would not back down! They found the end zone making it
a 16-14 game in the fourth quarter. That is when the O-Line and
Hanrahan took over, marching down the field ending in a TD run
by Hanrahan to make the score 23-14 with just a little more than
7 minutes left in the game. The drive was highlighted by a 65
yard run by Hanrahan.
Once again, Brother Rice was not to be denied!
They methodically went down the field and scored on a 44 yard TD
pass making the score 23-21 with 1:25 left! The Celtics
couldn’t get a first down and were then forced to punt the ball
back to the Crusaders! Any hopes by Brother Rice for a miracle
comeback ended when Pete Houlihan pulled in the game ending
interception to go along with his blocked field goal earlier in
the game.
The Celtics defense played admirably with the
exception of a few big plays that almost ruined the night! Steve
Laski owned the middle of the field defensively and John
Huguelet had a tremendous game with 3 QB sacks to go with many
other key tackles.
The Celtics now have a perfect 2-0 (3-1 overall)
conference record heading into week five of the 2009 season.
This week, the Celtics travel to St. Laurence for a conference
cross-over game against the undefeated Vikings! Make the road
trip Friday night to Coach Healy’s alma mater to support your
exciting Celtic football team!
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Week 3 (at Loyola Academy)
Celtics 10
- Ramblers 3
9/12/09
The 2009 Chicago Catholic League (Blue Division)
season started for our Celtics with a Saturday afternoon visit
to Wilmette to face Loyola Academy. Like most of our opponents
this year, the Ramblers were ranked as a top twenty team by the
Sun-Times.
Loyola is tough on every opponent when they are
on their home field, and this was no exception! The result was a
bruising 10-3 victory for the Celtics!
Defense was the main course for both teams as the
only touchdown in the game was from the Houlihan to Houlihan
connection late in the first quarter. Joey connected with Pete
on a short route which Pete broke open for a 57 yard TD! Victor
Vernon added a field goal to complete the Celtic scoring.
Loyola’s only points came on a field goal with less than a
minute remaining in the game followed by a failed onside kick
attempt.
Offensively, things seem to be starting to click,
but getting to the end zone was tough against a very good Loyola
defense. Tail back Tim Hanrahan and his offensive line, which
is improving weekly, fought hard and eventually took its toll,
wearing down the defense. Joey Houlihan was again steady and
limited his mistakes. Joe Sawicki proved to be a big target
making a number of key catches in critical situations.
The 2009 version of the Celtic defense was again
impressive! The Celtics held the Ramblers scoreless until the
last minute of the game! At the eye of the Celtic Cyclone is the
steady play of Linebackers Tyler Plantz, Zac Plantz, Ray Ames
and Dom Olszta. In the air, the damage comes from DB’s Pete
Houlihan, Joe Quinlan and Cody Cleveland (5 tackles and an
interception). The ground devastation is led by Steve Laski,
John Huguelet and Mitch Godfrey.
The Celtics bring their 1-0 conference record,
2-1 overall, back home Friday night. Another highly touted
opponent comes to town as the Crusaders from Brother Rice
come-a-calling! Come and help support the offense as it kicks
into high gear and witness the destruction of our defense, the
Celtic Cyclone!
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Week 2 (at
Providence Catholic)
Celtics 21 - Hilltoppers 7
9/4/09
The “Clash of the Catholic” powerhouses took
place on Matt Senffner Field in Bishop Kaffer Stadium! It was
what high school football is meant to be! A beautiful night,
full moon, a huge crowd (7,000?), and two of the most prolific
programs in the history of Illinois high school football!
The 9th ranked (Sun-Times) Hilltoppers from
Joliet Catholic visited the 23rd ranked (Sun-Times) Celtics in a
game that had all of the emotion and excitement of a playoff
game in week two of the regular season!
Defense set the pace for both teams. The first
half was nip and tuck the whole way with JCA holding a 7-3
advantage at halftime after the Hilltoppers scored a touchdown
with 21 seconds remaining!. The return of senior Tyler Plantz at
linebacker sparked the Celtics defense! Seniors Steve Laski and
John Huguelet again paced the defensive line. Senior DB’s Tim
Kelly and Pete Houlihan really put a “cramp” into the JCA
passing game!
In the second half, the Celtic defense was
looking like the swarming, hard hitting defense of years past as
they shut down JCA and kept them scoreless in the half! Like
week one, the contributions of the underclassmen defensively
were something to be excited about! Zac Plantz, Ray Ames, Mitch
Godfrey, Joe Quinlan and Dominic Olzsta all are proving to be
major contributors on a regular basis. The proverbial nail in
the coffin however, came from another senior who played an
outstanding game. Late in the 4th quarter, Senior DB Cody
Cleveland came up with the acrobatic interception that was the
icing on the cake!
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Alec Pickett’s field goal was the only 3 points
of the first half for Providence. The senior kicker however
added a field goal in the 3rd quarter to get the Celtics within
a point. Also, Pickett consistently put his kick-offs into the
end zone putting JCA in the hole when it came to field position.
Offensively, like week one, the offense struggled
to get on track in the first half. But in the second half, the
Celtic offense found its stride! Senior Joe Sawicki caught 8
passes in the game and Joey Houlihan completed 11 of his 13
second half passes for 178 yards and 2 touchdowns. Senior Tim
Kavanaugh caught a 19 yard TD pass and Houlihan ran in the
2-point conversion giving the Celtics a 14-7 lead with less than
7 minutes remaining. After Clevelands big interception, Houlihan
connects with Sawicki for the final TD of the night!
It looked as though tail break Tim Hanarahan
finally got on track with a 60 yard TD run, but it was called
back because of a penalty! Despite the penalty, it was good to
see the running game is lurking and ready to explode!
The varsity success was shared at the lower
levels as the Celtics sophomore won 21-0 and the freshman team
won on Saturday morning 41-8.
Our varsity Celtics are now 1-1 heading into week
three and their first Catholic League Conference game when they
will travel to Loyola Academy next Saturday. Gas up your car,
make some sandwiches and make it a vacation day! The Celtics
welcome your support!
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Week
1 (at
Lincoln-Way East)
8/27/09
 |
 |
 |
|
Brett Phillips carrying the ball.
|
Pete
Houlihan going in for the touchdown on an 80
yard reception and run. |
Captains Tim Hanranan, Pete Houlihan, Steve
Laski, Tyler Plantz. |
Celtics 7 - Griffins 28
The long off-season finally drew to a close with
the highly anticipated first week game at Lincolnway East!
Unfortunately for our Celtics, the Class 8A Griffins proved to
be a formidable challenge.
All things looked good initially, with a
Hoffmeister to Pete Houlihan 80 yard touchdown pass giving the
Celtics a quick 7-0 lead. None of us dreamed that those would be
the only points scored by Providence on this opening night! A
great effort by the offense just always seemed to come up short.
Mike Hoffmeister and Joey Houlihan split time at QB. But despite
their best efforts, along with great efforts by Tim Hanrahan at
running back, and Joe Sawicki and Steve Arthurs at receiver, the
Celtics couldn’t get back to the endzone!
The defense sorely missed its leader Tyler Plantz
who sat out the game with an injury. Steve Laski and John
Huguelet lad the d-line while juniors Dominic Olszta, Ray Ames,
Zac Plantz, and Mitch Godfrey did their best to fill the
linebacker needs! Seniors Pete Houlihan , Cody Cleveland and
Tim Kelly led the defensive backs, Houlihan had a big
interception early in the game. Many juniors made big
contributions defensively that really is promising for upcoming
weeks! Among them were Cody Weaver and Joey Quinlan.
The well publicized brutal schedule calls for our
Celtics to host Joliet Catholic this Friday night for week two!
Come on out and cheer for the Celtics in the home
opener!
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