Sports
Football: Providence Survives at Minooka
Providence 7, Minooka 0: Troy Sheppard intercepts a pass in the waning seconds to help the Celtics hold for a narrow victory over the Indians.
Breaking It down: Late in the first half of Providence's 7-0 football victory over Minooka on Friday night, Celtic quarterback Chris Salazar lateralled to Sean Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald completed a 48-yard pass to Troy Sheppard. Sheppard took it down to the 1. After Andrew Hoffmeister was stopped for no gain, Salazar took it in on the keeper for the touchdown with 4:34 left in the first half. After the successful PAT, the Celtics led 7-0 and that’s how it would remain when the buzzer sounded. Still, it wasn’t without drama as Minooka constructed a nice drive late, but on fourth-and-10 on the Providence 23, Sheppard intercepted a pass from Minooka quarterback Joseph Carnagio.
Patch’s MVP: Providence’s Troy Sheppard. He made big plays on both sides of the ball with an interception on defense and four catches for 68 yards on offense.
Providence Stat Pack: Andrew Hoffmeister rushed for 76 yards on 15 carries. Chris Salazar completed 13-of-25 passes for 107 yards and rushed for the lone touchdown.
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Minooka Stat Pack: Kalvin Hill led the Indians with 101 yards on 16 carries and also led the team with a pair of receptions and 23 receiving yards. Mike Ivlow collected 45 rushing yards on 11 carries. Quarterback Joseph Carnagio completed 5-of-20 passes for 48 yards.
Quotable I: Providence coach Mark Coglianese on Minooka’s lengthy opening second half: “That drive was huge. If they put it in, they have all the momentum. We called a timeout to get them hydrated and re-energized. They had a couple penalties, and I think that was the turning point of the game.”
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Quotable II: Providence senior linebacker Mike Valentino on the Celtics starting 2-0: “It feels good because we haven’t been here since like ’04 and that was the last time we won state.”
Quotable III: Minooka’s Kalvin Hill on losing back-to-back nailbiters to open the season 0-2: “I think we’ll correct some things and now have to work to overcome the adversity that we’re 0-2 right now. We’re looking to go 7-0 the rest of the regular season, and I think we’ll be ready for next week to get our first conference win.
Team Records: Providence is 2-0. Minooka is 0-2.
What’s Next: Providence will host St. Laurence next Friday, while Minooka will travel to Plainfield Central.
Nearby Scores: Lincoln-Way Central 41, Thornridge 20; Lincoln-Way North 40, Hillcrest 12. For more scores, visit IHSA ScoreZone.
