Behind the Coaching’s Ian M. Ryan’s coverage of the IHSA playoffs has been spectacular. Read the latest on it and how his coverage on Oak Forest comes to an end this season.
Let me build a scene for you. Bagpipes sounding through a high school football stadium. People standing, clapping, yelling. Then you see bagpipers playing as a football team awaits behind them. The bagpipers walk onto the field, you hear the team chant “CELTICS” and they dash towards midfield. That was the sight to see for the fans at the 5A State Semifinal in which Providence took on Oak Forest.
Oak Forest came in as the 2 seed and Providence was the 5. We had actually seen this matchup in 2009, where 2 seeded Oak Forest faced Providence in the first round, and were blown out 30-0. Many people I spoke with thought that Oak Forest would be blown out again this year. Let’s see how the game turned out.
The players met at midfield and the coin toss occurred, the Bengals chose to defer until the second half and Providence got the ball to begin the game. Dom Vita connected with Curtis Stubbs twice on the opening drive, Broden Mackert looked good, but ultimately, Brayden McKay took the ball on an end-around and scored a long touchdown.
It looked like the blow out was going to happen because the Bengals had no answer on defense. However, the Bengals offense got off to a hot start. Neiko Leflore had a good run on an end around, Ethan Copher had a nice catch and rush on the drive, but unfortunately a fumble (recovered by Blake Garrigan) ended the drive.
The Celtics took the ball and were stopped on 2nd down by Andrew Dawson, and on third down Dom Vita was forced into a fumble by Jason Janke, recovered by Bryce Hoffman giving the ball back to the Bengals offense. The Bengals second drive ended as quick as it started with a penalty on first down, sacks by Jaxson Hutton and Dom Infelise, the Bengals punted on 4th and 27.
The Bengals defense looked like it was going to come up with a big defense stand on the Celtics third drive, after Jason Keating deflected a pass intended for Xavier Coleman, a Coleman screen was wiped away by a block-in-the-back, but ultimately a screen to Brayden McKay and then a nice run by McKay put the Celtics into the end-zone. McKay had two touchdowns before halftime and the Celtics were up 14-0.
The Bengals took the ball and were off to a strong drive again, led by Copher and Leflore, until Leflore was called for a facemask penalty which led to a 3rd and 25. Leflore responded with a gain of 18 on a pass from Danny Chopp, but the Bengals decided to punt on 4th and 7. The Celtics got the ball again before the end of the half. Brayden McKay answered with 2 huge runs for the Celtics, then a pass intended for Xavier Coleman was deflected by Kevin Sullivan.
It was a strong play by the much smaller defensive back. The Celtics were in position to score later in the drive and Xavier Coleman beat the Bengals defense on a slant route, but the reception was cancelled out by a penalty at the line of scrimmage. The Celtics went for a field goal, but the attempt was missed. The score was 14-0 leading into halftime.
I spoke to Brayden McKay after the game about his performance in this game and he told me:
“Last year losing to JCA and seeing the seniors go home crying… it really hit me in the heart. I left it all out there for my seniors this time because I wasn’t going to let them go home like that.”
The Celtics defense forced the Bengals to punt on the first drive of the second half, followed up by a great drive from Broden Mackert, which led to a Dom Vita sneak for a touchdown. The Bengals recovered quickly from this touchdown as Danny Chopp connected with Andrew Dawson for a touchdown pass, which Dawson caught one handed, but was injured on the play. After that, Dom Vita connected with Curtis Stubbs before tossing a deep ball to Xavier Coleman, who broke away from Ryan King in coverage, for the touchdown. This put Providence up 28-7.
I spoke with Curtis Stubbs postgame, after his huge performance. I asked him what this game meant to him and the deep wide receiver room that Providence has. He told me:
“This game meant everything. The chance to go to state with my boys… that’s everything.”
Oak Forest drove the field again, providing a much needed spark, as Neiko Leflore and Ethan Copher stole the show again for the Bengals. Copher scored on an end around on the right side, but the PAT was blocked by Dom Infelise. Providence responded with a field goal, bringing the game to a 31-13 scoreline. The ensuing drive for the Bengals was assisted by numerous penalties against the Celtics which drew the ire of many fans. Danny Chopp scored on a sneak, as he was dragged into the end zone by Will Moody.
The two-point conversion was successful as Chopp passed to Neiko Leflore. The ensuing onside kick was recovered by Xavier Coleman, and the Celtics offense was led by Broden Mackert to run out the clock. The Celtics stamped their ticket to state with a final score of 31-21.
After the game I connected with All-State lineman, Bryce Tencza, who told me “We worked our butts off this season, came together and knew what we had to do.” I asked him how the state championship would compare to his All-State title… he told me:
“Personal accomplishments didn’t matter this year. This is a brotherhood, anyone on the team could have gotten all-conference but this is a brotherhood, and we have a goal of winning state.”
The Celtics head to Normal, Illinois to take on Wheaton Saint Francis, in a rematch of earlier this season in which Saint Francis beat Providence 47-35. I will say that this Providence team has grown a lot since that game. The defense is clicking at the right time, and I have a lot of faith in this team.
Oak Forest is going back home with a lot of pride in the season they had. Players I spoke with after the game were obviously emotional, not reaching their goal of winning state. This Oak Forest team built a season to remember though, one that has only been done twice before.
As for me, my coverage of the IHSA football playoffs will also come to a close, as Behind the Coaching was not given a media pass for the state championship games. IHSA was reached out to and asked why, we have yet to get a response. To see my photo and video gallery from the game, check the button below. Please leave a like and subscribe to our Substack for more coverage of other sports!
All photos were taken by: Ian M. Ryan
Awesome article, Ian!