Keyandre White sparked St. Rita early on special teams. Then he helped the Mustangs recover from a sloppy first half and rally behind a dominant defense in the second half.
White took a punt back 87 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter. It was the first in a series of huge special teams plays that made the difference on a rainy night.
“I just had to try to set the tone for the team and get us off to a good start,” White said. “I just saw light in front of me and I got loose.”
The sophomore defensive back helped St. Rita shut out host Providence in the second half as the Mustangs rallied from a nine-point halftime deficit for a 26-16 victory in a CCL/ESCC crossover in New Lenox.
Quarterback Jett Hilding ran for a pair of 1-yard touchdowns in the fourth quarter to seal the deal for St. Rita (6-2). Pat Carmody and Illinois recruit Pat Farrell each had a key sack for the Mustangs, while Matt Kingsbury had a tackle for a safety.
For Providence (4-4), BJ Olson blocked a punt and recovered the ball in the end zone for a TD. Lucas Proudfoot threw a 38-yard TD pass to Jack Tess and Jamari Tribett ran for 92 yards on 21 carries.
The wild game featured three safeties, two for St. Rita, in addition to the special teams TDs on each side.
“That was something else,” Kingsbury said. “It was fun, though. I’m glad we overcame some adversity. It was a good time.”
White’s punt return provided the only points in the first half for the Mustangs, who trailed 16-7 at halftime.
Making the varsity as a sophomore has motivated White, who cracked the starting lineup in the secondary and earned the chance to return kicks and punts.
“It’s fun for me to start my career early on varsity and just develop from here,” White said. “From the first game to now, I’ve improved a lot — from covering people to tackling and special teams.
“I’ve improved in all those areas.”
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After the Celtics scored on the long TD pass in the first half, White and the secondary completely shut down Providence’s passing game in the second half.
“Keyandre is going to be a great football player,” St. Rita coach Todd Kuska said. “Without a doubt, he’s one of the top guys out there as a sophomore. He’s been playing extremely well on defense and he’s had some great returns all along.
“That’s the first one he broke for a touchdown, but he’s electric with the ball in his hands. He’s got a great future.”
St. Rita started chipping away at the deficit two points at a time, scoring on a pair of safeties in the third quarter.
The first came on a snap that went out of the back of the end zone on a punt attempt by Providence.
Kingsbury created the second, breaking through the line to tackle a Celtics runner in the end zone and cut Providence’s lead to 16-11.
“We were bringing a ton of pressure up,” Kingsbury said. “We knew they were going to run the ball to my side. Coach called me for a C-gap blitz.
“I just heard my number called and made a play just like anyone else would.”
DJ Stewart, who totaled 89 yards on 16 carries, had some big runs to set up Hilding’s TD runs.
The quarterback did the rest.
“We went back out for the second half and started over like it was 0-0,” Hilding said. “We knew we could make some plays and get the win.”
Steve Millar is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.