Class 7A Football: Providence Doomed by Tough Draw

Many months ago, knew it was playing Mount Carmel to close out its regular season.

On the other hand, the Celtics had less than a week to prepare for Wheaton Warrenville South in their postseason opener.

Mount Carmel has won 10 state titles and is a perennial powerhouse. Still, Providence scored a 24-18 upset victory in the Oct. 21 regular-season finale.

Wheaton Warrenville South has brought home seven state titles, and the Tigers are the two-time defending Class 7A state champions.

Talk about a tough back-to-back draw.

"We ended the season on a high note (beating Mount Carmel)," Providence coach Mark Coglianese said. "It was a tough draw here, no doubt about it, but while (WWS is) a great team with great tradition, they're also a lot like us.

"We knew it would be tough game (against Wheaton Warrenville South) and would be tough down the road on this side of the bracket."

Providence (6-4) wasn't content just to be in the playoffs. Of course, the Celtics were happy to be playing postseason football after missing out last fall with a dismal 2-7 campaign. But the Celtics felt they could make a nice run, especially when their confidence got a shot in the arm with the road victory over Mount Carmel.

"We were psyched to play them," Providence senior running back Andrew Hoffmeister said of Wheaton Warrenville South’s Tigers. "We were all at one house watching the picks last week, and that's what high school football is all about. It's tough, and unfortunately for us it's over."

The Celtics failed to establish a running game against the Tigers and were forced to pass a lot more than they would've liked. While quarterback Chris Salazar completed 17 of 27 passes for 170 yards and had two touchdown passes, he also threw a couple of interceptions.

"We're good against the run and that's our strength," Wheaton Warrenville South coach Ron Muhitch said. "I guarantee we'll be good against anybody against the run."

Wheaton Warrneville South (7-3) coughed up the ball three times with fumbles, which helped the Celtics. It most certainly allowed them to make things interesting late in the game. A fumble in the final four minutes set up a 29-yard pass from Salazar to freshman Miles Boykin, and Salazar then hooked up with Sean Fitzgerald on a 1-yard pass with 2:11 to make it a 23-16 contest.

The Celtics attempted an onside kick, but the Tigers recovered and, after converting a first down, the hosts were able to run out the clock.

"It's tough, but like I told the seniors, they did a great job for us this year and stepped up but just came up a bit short," Coglianese said. "We got into a tough bracket and knew it would be tough. I think all these games will be close."

Unfortunately for the Celtics, they'll have to wait until next fall to play their next one, while the Tigers will meet up with undefeated Lincoln-Way East next weekend.