Fenwick ends Providence's playoff hopes

Updated: March 22, 2011 5:30PM

Fenwick forced seven turnovers and ended Providence's playoff run at 19 years with a 17-7 victory in a key Catholic League Blue matchup Saturday afternoon at Morton West High School.

Junior defensive back Joe Kelly had three interceptions as the Friars (3-3, 1-2) picked off Providence backup quarterback Chris Salazar six times in defeating the Celtics (1-5, 0-3) for the first time.

"We worked a lot on different covers," Kelly said. "We knew what assignments we had to do on everyone of their formations.

"We want to make the playoffs and knew we had to win today. For us to go out and win in this fashion is really important. Coach (Joe DiCanio) told us we never beat Providence before, so that is something for the seniors to hang their hats on."

Providence lost starting quarterback, senior Joe Houlihan (4-for-4, 34 yards), to a probable broken right leg on the last play of the first quarter. Salazar entered and, going against a strong wind, threw four second quarter interceptions. Kelly had the first two, while junior Jack Stibich and senior Quinn Murphy had the other two.

"He (Salazar) did all he could in a tough situation," said Providence coach Mark Coglianese, who had lost two other starters to season ending injuries. "It was the same thing as all year, we had trouble scoring. We don't have a big play guy this season."

Fenwick had a 3-0 lead at halftime on a 37-yard field goal by sophomore Zachary Laszkiewicz with 1:19 left in the half. The Friars extended to a 10-0 advantage on a 12-yard touchdown run by Stibich (21 carries, 106 yards) in the third quarter.

On the Celtics ensuing play from scrimmage, junior Zachary Vergara grabbed Fenwick's fifth interception. Three plays later sophomore quarterback Patrick Hart (11 carries, 73 yards) ran around the right side for a 35-yard touchdown and a 17-0 Friars lead with 1:54 left in the third quarter.

The Celtics, who lost the ball on a fumble at the Fenwick 31 in the first minute of the fourth quarter, tried to rally. On a flea-flicker play, Salazar (5 of 15, 98 yards) threw a 48-yard pass to junior Sean Fitzgerald down to the 2. A couple of plays later, senior Dan Potempa pounded in from three yards out to cut the deficit to 10 with 6:11 remaining.

But Kelly came through with a final interception at his own 28 with 25.9 seconds to play to seal the Friar victory and keep Providence out of the playoffs for the first time since 1990.

"Providence has an outstanding tradition," said Coglianese, whose team was undefeated in the Catholic Blue and state runner-up in Class 6A last season. "It's not the way we wanted or expected the season to go."

© 2012 Sun-Times Media, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be copied or distributed without permission. For more information about reprints and permissions, visit www.suntimesreprints.com. To order a reprint of this article, click here.