OP_110719

OPPrairiedaily.com sports
the orland park prairie | November 7, 2019 | 45
Football
Porto breaks out to lift Celtics past Normal West on the road
4
STEVE MILLAR
Contributing Editor
Lucas Porto has the size
and speed to be a dominant
receiver, but the 6-foot-5
Providence senior has not
been quite as productive as
he would have liked this
season.
Hungry to have a big
game, Porto and quarterback
Kevin Conway have
been putting in some extra
time together at practice to
make sure they are on the
same page.
“Me and Kevin worked
hard all week to get that
connection going,” Porto
said. “And we had a
game.”
Porto had five catches
for 126 yards and two
touchdowns to lead the
visiting Celtics to a 19-
14 win over Normal in a
Class 6A first-round playoff
game Saturday, Nov.
2.
Providence (7-3) moved
on to host 2018 state runner-up
Crete-Monee (10-
0) in the second round at 2
p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 9.
“Lucas was due for a
breakout game,” Providence
coach Mark Coglianese
said. “I know the
talent that he has. It’s just a
matter of getting the quarterback
some time and taking
some shots with him.
We don’t throw deep very
often, but when we do, I
have all the confidence in
the world in Lucas.”
Conway finished 9-of-
15 passing for 160 yards
and the two touchdowns to
Porto. He also ran 13 times
for 54 yards, including the
go-ahead 11-yard touchdown
in the fourth quarter.
Conway hit Porto for a
32-yard score with 1:07
left in the first half to tie
the game 7-7.
“[Porto] did great,”
Conway said. “We’ve been
running sluggo [routes]
and double moves in practice
and we’ve just been
timing up everything.
“We started slow and we
have to fix that in the second
round, come out fast
right away. But once we
got going, things worked
out. At the end of the day,
we scored more points
than they did and that’s all
that matters.”
The duo hooked up
again on the first play of
the fourth quarter, Conway
finding Porto for a 34-
yard touchdown to put the
Celtics up 13-7. The extra
point was no good.
PROVIDENCE AT NORMAL WEST, NOV. 2
1 2 3 4 F
Providence 0 7 0 12 19
Normal West 0 7 0 7 14
Top Performers
1. Kevin Conway, Providence, junior quarterback --- 9-of-15
passing, 160 yards, two touchdowns; 13 carries, 54
yards, game-winning touchdown
2. Lucas Porto, Providence, senior receiver --- Five catches,
126 yards, two touchdowns
3. Anthony Prucha, Providence, senior linebacker --- Two
sacks
“I’ve been waiting a
while for this,” Porto said.
“It was a long time coming.”
West (7-3) took advantage
of a short field after
a Providence fumble on
a punt return as Carson
Camp hit LaTre Billups
for a 37-yard TD pass. The
extra point gave West a 14-
13 lead with 10:47 to go.
Conway, though, provided
some of the biggest
plays of the game with his
feet. First, he ran for an
11-yard touchdown to put
Providence back in front
19-14 with 7:27 to go.
After forcing a punt, the
Celtics got the ball back
with 4:20 left and were
able to run out the clock
as Conway picked up two
huge first downs, running
for 19 yards on thirdand-17
and seven yards on
third-and-7.
“[On the third-and-17],
we were ideally trying to
throw it,” Conway said.
“We were trying to set up
the wheel route, but I saw
a huge opening and I was
like, I’ve just got to use my
feet here. I did and got the
first down.”
Aaron Vaughn ran for
148 yards on 19 carries for
the Celtics.
Meanwhile, the Providence
defense stepped up
in a big way. With a secondary
decimated by injuries,
the Celtics kept Camp
relatively in check. The
South Dakota recruit was
14-of-26 passing for 136
yards and two touchdowns.
“We let up a big play
Providence senior Lucas Porto goes up for one of his
two touchdown catches during the Celtics’ 19-14 win
over Normal West on Saturday, Nov. 2, in Normal.
Steve Millar/22nd Century Media
here or there, and they’re a
good team so we knew they
were going to get some,”
Coglianese said. “Holding
them to 14 points, I’m
happy with that.”
Senior linebacker Anthony
Prucha led the way
with two sacks.
“The d-line, linebackers
were all playing harder and
faster,” he said. “We know
we have to be more physical
because we have some
young guys in the back.
“That just lights that
fire. We came together as a
team and got it done.”
Our staff’s predictions for the top games in Week 2 of the playoffs
Just two teams left from the land of 22nd
Century Media. So, both of them will be featured
as our Games of the Week. What a great time
of the year!
53-11
51-13
Tom Czaja |
Senior Editor
51-13
46-18
Sean Hastings |
Contributing Editor
47-17
44-20
GameS of the Week
• Niles Notre Dame (8-2) at LW East (10-0)
• Crete-Monee (10-0) at Providence (7-3)
Jeff Vorva |
Sports Editor
• LWE 40, Notre Dame 17. On paper,
this sounds like a pretty good game.
On the field, it may not be so pretty.
• Crete-Monee 36, Providence 29. This
has the makings of a shootout but
the Warriors will squeak it out.
• LWE 34, Notre Dame 10. Griffins
steamroll another opponent.
• Providence 21, Crete-Monee
20. Celtics pull off the upset at
home to knock off the previously
undefeated Warriors.
Steve Millar |
Sports Editor
• LWE 31, Notre Dame 10. Despite
some key injuries, the Griffins are
still too deep, too determined and
too good for the Dons.
• Crete-Monee 26, Providence 24.
The Celtics will be Crete-Monee’s
first real test all year, but the Warriors
have experience pulling off
close playoff wins from last year’s
run to the 6A title game.
• LWE 31, Notre Dame 17. Offense
keeps rolling and Griffins stay
undefeated.
• Providence 17, Crete-Monee 14.
Celtics end Crete’s undefeated
season with upset, but comes down
to the wire.
Joe Coughlin |
Publisher
• LWE 24, Notre Dame 10. Great
matchup. Notre Dame is rock solid
but Griffins are special and hold the
Dons down.
• Providence 38, Crete-Monee 35.
Barnburner here but Celtics ride
high from upset win in the first
round and hold on at home.
Heather Warthen |
Chief Marketing Officer
• LWE 21, Notre Dame 14. Home
field advantage helps Griffins
secure playoff win.
• Providence 14, Crete-Monee 13. It
will be a close call for the Celtics,
but they will stay alive another
week.