Things looked great for host Carmel Catholic when the Corsairs took a 7-0 lead over Providence Catholic on a 19-yard TD pass from Trae Taylor to Greg Bess-Henning just 1:28 into the East Suburban Catholic Conference opener for both team Friday.

But the Celtics dominated the rest of the first half as they built a 27-7 halftime lead before holding off a strong second-half comeback by Carmel for a 35-28 CCL/ESCC victory in Mundelein.

A 2-yard TD run by senior Broden Mackert (43 yards on 10 rushes) 17 seconds into the second quarter followed by Bryce Vlasak’s extra point deadlocked the score at 7-7.

Providence sophomore quarterback Dominic Vita (11 for 14, 153 yards) scored on a 2-yard keeper to boost the lead to 14-7 with 7:50 left in the quarter.

An interception by Blake Garrigan gav

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