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 gave the Celtics the ball on their own 37-yard line. A 43-yard pass from Vita to Xavier Coleman was followed Mackert’s 7-yard TD run three plays later made it 20-7 with 5:39 remaining in the half.

Then Vita bolted right down the middle of the field on a 26-yard keeper for the touchdown and a 27-7 lead just 34.2 seconds before the intermission.

A 21-yard TD pass from Taylor (10-for-21, 213 yards passing) to Kai Owens cut the lead to 27-14 with 6:53 left in the third quarter.

But a 3-yard TD run by Brayden McKay (61 yards on 18 carries) followed by a 2-point conversion pass from Vita to Curtis Stubbs II pushed the lead back to 35-14 less than three minutes later.

“We stayed with each other, and we stayed together to get this win,” said Vita, who had 159 yards rushing on 20 attempts. “Give props to the offensive line, and I think the running game opened up the passing game.”

Taylor, a Nebraska recruit, connected with Bess-Henning for a 68-yard TD pass on a risky fourth-and-9 play from Carmel’s 32-yard-line to cut the lead to 35-21 with 2:09 left in the third quarter.

Then that same combination connected on a highly-lofted 58-yard scoring strike to cut the gap to 35-28 with 7:32 to play.

“We just started executing. We executed too late though,” said Carmel coach Jason McKie. “In this league it’s tough to spot a team all those points, and we’ve got another tough game next week (at St. Laurence).”

The Celtics were able to salt away the victory with a long, time-consuming drive on their last possession as they had the ball on the Carmel 7 when the game ended.

Carmel’s Jaquel Edmonds and Providence’s Jackson Killeen both had 43 yards on 10 rushes.

“For the offensive line and running backs being able to respond was awesome,” said Providence coach Tyler Plantz. “He (Vita) is going to be a special player. He’s a good leader and he loves this team so I’m really proud of the way he stepped up.”