Suffocating defense gives St. Rita shutout win

Friday, Sept. 23, 2011
Posted: 11:50 p.m.
By Pat DiSabato
YourSeason.com

St. Ritas defense was its best offense Friday night.Ryan Leonard and Max Kurucar each returned interceptions for touchdowns to guide No. 4 St. Rita to a 19-0 win over Providence in a Catholic League Blue battle on Chicagos South Side.St. Rita totaled five interceptions on the night, but Leonards and Kurucars were the show-stoppers.Our defense has been doing it all year long, St. Rita coach Todd Kuska said. Were not there yet offensively, but were getting better.Kurucars pick-six covered 68 yards and extended the Mustangs lead to 12-0 at 8:40 of the third quarter.Leonards return put the finishing touches on the victory. The 5-foot-11 senior stepped in front of quarterback Jake Godfreys pass deep in Celtics territory and scampered 22 yards for the score. Connor Gilroys point-after kick made it 19-0 with just 4:48 left to play.Leonards first pick, in the opening quarter, set up John Kellys 42-yard field goal that gave St. Rita (4-1, 2-0) a 3-0 lead at 4:32. Kellys 25-yard field goal on the Mustangs first series of the second half upped the margin to 6-0 at 9:46 of the third quarter.Our special teams did really well, too, Kuska said. Our kicking game was outstanding.Charles Elmore had the other interception for St. Rita.For Providence (3-2, 0-2), Godfrey finished 6 of 15 for 109 yards in substituting for the injured Chris Salazar. The Celtics ground game totaled 89 yards on the night.Those numbers, however, were superior to St. Ritas output, particularly on the ground. The Mustangs had just 31 yards on 19 carries. St. Rita was without starting running back Mike Zunica and guard Kevin Pergande, both of whom are injured.St. Rita quarterback Scott Thomas was 7 of 16 for 52 yards and was picked off twice, both times by Troy Sheppard.The Celtics defensive front line of Mike Hryn, Nick Cemeno, Vincent Ambrose and Jack Klyczek contributed mightily to the Mustangs offensive woes. But St. Ritas defense was even better, led by its opportunistic secondary and stalwarts Will McNamara, Patrick OConnor and Ricky Valadez.We made some correctable mistakes on offense, Kuska said. Im confident that were going to start progressing on offense. We didnt capitalize on some opportunities. But, hey, anytime you can get a W its a good game. Providence is a good football team, and it was a physical game. We just want to keep getting better.