Following Providence’s first loss of the season, which came in the first game since coach Tyler Plantz was fired, senior running back Broden Mackert knows exactly what his responsibility is.
Mackert, a Western Illinois recruit who has had a huge start to the season, is going to do everything in his power to make sure adversity doesn’t derail the Celtics.
“We’ve all got to get back to work, learn from this and come back ready for Fenwick,” Mackert said. “And we just have to all stick together. As a senior, I’ve got to make sure we stick together.
“There were a lot of distractions this week. We’ve just got to come back and go 1-0 next week.”
Mackert ran for 119 yards on 18 carries Friday night, including a 23-yard touchdown run as Providence tried to rally in the fourth quarter, but four turnovers proved costly.
With Plantz watching from the stands, the Celtics dropped a 17-7 decision to host Nazareth in a Catholic League crossover game in LaGrange Park.
Dominic Vita completed 13 of 20 passes for 93 yards but threw three interceptions for Providence (4-1). Sophomore lineman Jaxson Hutton led a big defensive effort, finishing with a sack and seven tackles.
Harry Keenan had an interception and a fumble recovery, both in the fourth quarter, to seal the win for Nazareth (2-3). Charles Calhoun ran for 91 yards and a TD on 21 carries, while JJ Chapman threw a 34-yard TD pass to Charlie Heck.
Providence was playing its first game with Adam Nissen, the team’s offensive coordinator, as interim head coach. On Sunday, the school announced the firing of Plantz, who had been the head coach at his alma mater since 2022 and went 35-19 with two state runner-up finishes.
Plantz was at Nazareth for the game and shared hugs with several Celtics players after the final whistle.
“I’m here to support the kids,” Plantz said. “No matter what, I’m always going to support these kids.”
The Celtics fell behind 17-0 before Mackert’s 23-yard TD run with 8:44 left in the game. Providence then recovered an onside kick to make things interesting, but two more turnovers down the stretch halted the comeback.
“We left too many plays on the field,” Nissen said. “We had some turnovers. We didn’t execute the way we normally do. I thought we had a good week of practice and were pretty locked in on what we were trying to do.
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“We had opportunities at the end of the game and we just couldn’t capitalize on them.”
Nissen felt his team was prepared to play in spite of the turmoil of the week.
“I think we were ready,” he said. “We just got beat.”
Mackert agreed that the Celtics were able to block out the noise, but he confirmed that the last several days haven’t been typical.
“It wasn’t hard to focus on football,” he said. “It was a long week, but we’re all locked in and we have one goal — to go all the way with this team.”
Mackert’s TD was his 11th of the season.
“The O-line is 100%, definitely, the biggest key to my success,” Mackert said. “I love those guys. They do all the dirty work and I just have to do my job.”
Although Mackert is quick to deflect the credit, Nissen will certainly give him plenty of it.
“Broden’s a load,” Nissen said. “He’s probably one of the best running backs I’ve ever coached. He’s a selfless football player. He’s an absolute leader and he’s a special football player.”
Now, it’s time for Mackert to put that leadership to work.
“Throughout this whole game, we had some downs,” Mackert said. “We’ve got to be able to come back up.”