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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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