Providence takes ‘survive and advance’ to extreme in Class 5A playoff opener

MORTON – Based on the first few minutes of Saturday’s Class 5A opening-round playoff game between Providence and Morton it looked like the Celtics were going to have a rather easy day advancing to the second round.

Nothing could have been further from the truth.

After jumping out to a two-touchdown lead on a pair of early Morton turnovers in the game’s first three minutes, Providence had to endure a series of penalties, miscues and misadventures to hold on for a 21-14 win.

“I mean, that’s playoff football. I swear it is like everything that could have happened, happened,” Providence coach Tyler Plantz said. “It was just a testament to a young team, but it also was a testament to a tough team. We started fast and whenever things started happening they figured out how to make a play. I couldn’t be more proud of the way they battled.”

Providence (6-4) will travel to Hillcrest for a second-round game next weekend. Hillcrest defeated Carbondale 22-8 in its first-round game.

Early on it appeared it might be a walk in the park for the Celtics. After Luke Leverett made the first of his three interceptions on the day on Morton’s third play from scrimmage, Gavin Hagan burst through the line and outsprinted Morton’s defense for a 74-yard score.

Morton’s Seandon Buffington appeared on his way to a big gain on the Potters’ next play from scrimmage but didn’t take the ball with him and Providence scooped it up and four plays later Kaden Nickel scored from 7 yards out to boost the lead to 14-0.

The Potters, who finished 8-2 on the season, didn’t fold, immediately putting their offense in motion and slicing the Providence lead to 14-6 when Jade Hart connected on a 54-yard pass to Luke Schaff. Leverett intercepted the 2-point conversion attempt.

Then almost as if a switch was flipped, the game turned into a slog marred with penalties, turnovers and negative plays. Providence did manage to regain some momentary breathing room on a 6-yard touchdown reception by Xavier Coleman from Leo Slepski on a drive largely fueled by some strong running from Justus Snapp.

But the game’s next seven possessions ended in either three-and-outs or turnovers, the last of which proved costly as a Slepski interception late in the second quarter gave Morton just enough time for Hart to link up with Schaff again, this time for a 5-yard touchdown reception. A 2-point run by Brett Michel sent Providence into the half suddenly clinging to just a touchdown lead at 21-14.

That carried over into a wild second half where no points were actually scored but there were plenty of theatrics from both sides.

It all culminated in a fourth quarter where it felt like neither team could get out of its own way. Providence had several promising drives squelched by penalties and a huge gain wiped off the board on an apparent reception that was fumbled out of bounds but was ruled incomplete instead.

And it looked like that would spell doom for Providence when a few plays later Slepski fumbled on a quarterback run, Providence’s fourth turnover of the game.

But Morton returned to its giving mood and immediately threw an interception to Leverett inside the Providence 10-yard line. It was one of six Morton turnovers in the game.

Holding penalties prevented Providence from sustaining a drive and quickly was forced to punt the ball back to Morton, which marched down to the 25-yard line largely on the backs of Celtics penalties: a defensive holding and a roughing the passer penalty serving as the primary problems.

Leverett would break up yet another pass in the end zone before Buffington ran the ball down to the Providence 12-yard line with less than 30 seconds to play. Then with time ticking down, Leverett was once again in the right place at the right time, picking off Hurt to seal the win with his third interception of the day.

Leverett ties eight other players for the state record in interceptions in a game with three. (Interceptions recorded on point-after-touchdown attempts don’t count as official interceptions).

“What was on my mind at that time? I was like, How can I do it? How can this team do it? I don’t know what to say to be honest with you, but I’m just happy,” Leverett said. “I got a little change two weeks ago and they moved me from corner to safety and there wasn’t any doubt in my mind I was going to be able to do what I needed to do.”

Plantz wasn’t surprised Leverett came through.

“He’s just he knows the game. He loves the game. He flies to the football. He’s a little bit of an undersized kid, but I mean that kid he sees it, he feels it , he knows it and he loves it. He’s not scared to put his hat in there,” Plantz said. “I don’t know if anyone watched him as much tape as Luke does. So that’s a huge piece of it, where he’s anticipating throws and understanding what the offense is trying to get done.”