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NEW LENOX – They say defense wins championships. If that’s true, then forget its win-loss record right now, give Providence Catholic a title right now.
The Celtics’ defense was sensational on Friday night against Niles Notre Dame as they held the Dons to just 118 yards of total offense while keeping them off the scoreboard. The Celtics’ offense did just enough to lock up the 14-0 victory to move to 2-2 on the season.
It didn’t come easy. The Dons’ defense matched the Celtics in prowess for much of the night, forcing multiple punts and holding Providence to 246 total yards, including just 69 in the air on 18 attempts. The Celtics would’ve had fewer yards than the Dons if it weren’t for one critical factor: Senior Gavin Hagan.
Hagan, who plays running back, defensive back and kick returner, sealed the game for Providence in the fourth quarter. Holding a 7-0 edge with 8:34 to go in the game and at their own three-yard line, Providence was up against the walls when they handed it off to Hagan. The three-star recruit showed why he holds an offer from Miami (Ohio) on the carry.
Hagan took off up the middle before dodging a defender and heading toward the right side of the field. He broke past a few Notre Dame players before swerving to the left, reversing field to the left sideline near midfield. Before anyone on the Dons’ defense could blink, Hagan was in the end zone for a 97-yard touchdown run.
Hagan entered the fourth quarter with one carry on offense, but the final drive of the game was all him. Notre Dame punted the ball with 5:54 left in the contest, opting to trust their stout defense. Providence was facing a third-and-12 with three minutes to go when they handed it to Hagan and he ran it up the middle for 13 yards to extend the drive.
Another pair of Hagan runs gave the Celtics a first and they knelt the clock out from there.
The only other score of the night came on a long, methodical drive at the end of the first half. That was when sophomore quarterback AJ Rayford hit Jayden Mikulski for a five-yard touchdown pass with 10.5 seconds left to make it 7-0.
“(The defense) did great,” Celtics coach Tyler Plantz said. “That’s something we’ve always hung out hats on here at Providence is tough defense. There’s obviously some things we’ve got to figure out on offense, but we did a lot of good things. The defensive line was flying around with linebackers flying to the football. The DBs were really sound and that’s a testament to the kids but also to a great staff.”
Hagan finished with 131 yards and a score on just five carries. Dom Infelise had two sacks, a TFL and another massive quarterback hit that forced an incompletion in the fourth quarter.
“We felt great,” Infelise said. “We came out with a game plan to stop the power and outside run. (Notre Dame) ended up coming out with a bit of an outside zone, but that’s whatever. We fought through it, came out hard, played hard and ended up with a W so I’m going to go home, celebrate and have fun.”
As for Notre Dame (2-2), they’ve now lost back-to-back contests after opening the year at 2-0. Not only that, but they’ve now been outscored 38-0 in those contests as the Dons lost to St. Laurence 24-0 last week. Coach Michael Hennessey was pleased with the toughness of his team, but expressed a desire to get the offense moving earlier in games.
“We’ve got to continue to play good and hard football like we played out here for four quarters,” he said. “Offense has to set the tempo a bit earlier than they did. Our schedule is salacious week in and week out where we’re set up with a tough opponent. We’ve played tough, but you have to score to win and we didn’t score.”