Patience pays off for Celtics' Arthurs

Patience is supposed to be a virtue. For Providence senior Steve Arthurs, the current king of the offense, patience as the Celtics’ tight end has been as much of a necessity as blocking for his buddy Tim Hanrahan.

In all actuality a 6-foot-2, 205-pound wide receiver, that necessity as the mother of invention means Arthurs has two years as a starting tight end under his black-and-blue belt, helping Hanrahan rush for 3,560 yards and 33 touchdowns.

Still, at times, Arthurs admittedly feels like the Chester Cheetah character from those Cheetos commercials. You know, it ain’t easy being Cheesy. Well, after an hour’s worth of handoffs to Hanrahan ...

It’s ain’t easy being Stevie.

“That is the toughest part — patience,” Arthurs acknowledged. “I’m kind of an impatient guy most of the time, and it’s always that thing as a tight end, that blocking usually comes first. It’s about team first, but I try to get what I can.”

As usual, however, the getting has been good during the playoffs as King Arthurs officially becomes the high school football version of the Bears’ Greg Olsen. He can play tight, he can split wide, and he’s a bigger threat than the A-bomb.

Take, for example, Arthurs’ effort in Saturday’s 44-14 Class 6A quarterfinal victory over Crete-Monee. He grabbed a season-high five catches for 95 yards, including a 15-yard game-tying TD with only 10 seconds remaining in the first quarter.

Without standout senior wide receiver Joe Sawicki, Providence (11-1) will look again to that No. 4 of Arthurs to be formidable for Saturday’s 3 p.m. semifinal kickoff at Danville (12-0). And the reward for his patience is in the payoff.

“I know last year in the playoffs, Steve also had a great run, and I mean, he’s a very talented player,” Celtics coach Mark Coglianese said. “He’s a definite weapon there for us, and when he does get the ball, he’s a guy who has proven that he can be a big playmaker.”

Speed kill. It is the universal advertising slogan for the fitness business, and Arthurs fits that bill better than a cowboy hat on Tim McGraw. The country song title for Providence’s recent successful forays on offense could be “My Tight End Thinks He’s a Sprinter.”

Aside from the aforementioned totals against Crete-Monee, with another highlight coming via his 39-yard grab on third-and-7, Arthurs aced a 64-yard TD in a 16-10 overtime win over Oswego. Quarterback Joey Houlihan rolled out to his right and Arthurs’ afterburners did the rest.

“He has some real breakaway speed,” said Hanrahan, who enters Week 13 with 1,637 yards and 16 TDs on 282 rushes. “We’re always trying to find ways to get him the ball because he’s such an athlete. He can make big plays like that, and he has really shown that in the past two weeks.”

“Steve is as valuable a part of our offense as Timmy or Joey, but he just doesn’t get a whole lot of recognition,” Providence offensive coordinator Marty Balle said. “He works hard in practice on his releases, and I think he’s one of the fastest kids in the program.”

Fast, yes, but perhaps too big for his own good. Especially without the 6-6 Sawicki (17 catches, 264 yards, one TD), who re-injured his shoulder vs. Oswego, the chances of Arthurs angling away from tight end appear to be minimal.

“I think with Joe going down, Steve has to do both,” Hanrahan said. “He has to block and he has to catch the big balls over the middle. He can blow the top off running deep routes and his role has increased, but he’s ready for it and he has been ready to step it up.”

“I know Steven wanted to play some outside receiver, but Timmy wouldn’t have all those yards without his blocking,” Balle said. “We didn’t have anybody else to play tight end. It’s not so great for Steven, but he bit the bullet and did what he needed to do for the team.”

For his youth team, the Tinley Park Bulldogs, Arthurs played wide receiver. He has hooked up with Joey Houlihan (92-of-160, 1,408 yards, 9 TDs) to complement senior wideout Pete Houlihan (16 catches, 349 yards, three TDs) — creating a teeming knockout punch.

Easy, according to Stevie.

“I do what I can for the team,” Arthurs said. “If I don’t get the ball, I’m not going complain about it or yell about it. I just want to get the win, and I’ll do whatever I can. I was a receiver coming into Providence, but you do what you have to do here for the good of the team.”

Non one covers the fullback. An age-old theory in football, Providence has been known to take advantage of that mismatch in the past. The Celtics also prefer to connect vertically with their tight ends, a la the West Coast offense, and Arthurs runs like a deer.

“He’s a great talent,” Coglianese said. “He has a good size, he’s a great blocker, and he’s one of the fastest guys on our team. Coming out of the slot or tight, a lot of times he is matched up with a linebacker or strong safety, and we’re pretty confident we can stretch the defense.”

“He’s turning it on when we really need him,” Hanrahan said of Arthurs. “He definitely has that big-play capability, and I think the best thing that you can say about somebody is he turns things on when it really matters — in the playoffs.”

Other Celtic playoff contributors: senior wideout Tim Cavanaugh (six catches, 86 yards, two TDs), Arthurs’ Tinley Park Bulldogs teammate, and junior wideout Sean Carroll (14 catches, 305 yards). Remember, though, that Hanrahan’s now a household name.

“We’re not an ‘ooh’ and ‘ahh’ offense,” Balle said. “I think the parents and fans would like to see more of it, but we’re going to control the ball and move the chains. We’re not going to ‘wow’ people, but we still have potential for big plays in Timmy, Joe and Steven.

“And our goal was to get Steven the ball as much as we could. He’s a great kid, he has high character, and he’s just a typical Providence Catholic kid. If I could just get him to feel better about how he has been blocking for Timmy, but I think he knows how important he is to us.”

That importance jumped out of the jar like a pickle against both Oswego and Crete-Monee. Arthurs has Providence eyeing its first state championship game appearance since 2004, and wherever he lines up in the Celtics’ I-formation works.

“Well, it’s kind of weird,” Arthurs said, nodding. “I’m almost too big to play wide receiver, but I’m not big enough to play tight end. I guess I’m a mix of both, a hybrid, and I think most linebackers underestimate my speed and what I can do. It helps the team out.”

Patience helps, too.