Providence Catholic is one of the more storied football programs in IHSA football history.

With 10 state titles, which is tied with East St. Louis for third in state history, and behind only Joliet Catholic’s 15 and Mount Carmel’s 14, there’s no questioning that the Celtics belong in the discussion of all-time great programs in state history.

But heading into last season, Providence’s place in the current football discussion of top teams had slipped a bit. After Providence’s most recent state championship in 2014, the Celtics qualified for the playoffs in just three of the six full seasons prior to last year.

The way things were trending, Providence’s run to the Class 4A State Championship game, where it fell to Sacred Heart Griffin, didn’t seem like a probable outcome.

But probability was the last thing head coach Tyler Plantz had on his mind when he was trying to restore the program’s former glories.

“I think the biggest thing is just knowing who you are,” Plantz said. “A lot of good things happened for us last year, a lot of prayers came our way. But it is a testament to the guys in the locker room and the coaching staff to work. And usually if you work hard and you can take care of the fundamentals and know what you’re doing, things like the luck start taking care of itself.”

There wasn’t a lot of luck required. But what was needed was a shift in the thought process and a bigger emphasis on working as a cohesive unit.

“When I was a sophomore, I didn’t feel like we had the bond, the trust we had in each other from my sophomore to my junior season, I felt like that was really something that we we put together just through the work we had out here and in the weight room,” Providence tight end Alex Gibson said. “Seeing each other every day, it just it came naturally, and I’m confident that’s a really big part in what we did. You know you can have all the talent in the world, but you’re not going to get far if you don’t trust the dude next to you.”

And once that trust was restored, Providence played like a team on a mission.

“Just being able to trust the guys next to me, knowing the guy next to me is gonna do his job, and I’m gonna do my job. And that belief that we’re all going to work together, all 22 guys, to go and get the win. It was a big thing,” offensive lineman Chris Piazza said. “Big culture thing we put in. Believing, and we have a bunch of shirts that say ‘Believe’ on them. So it’s a big, big aspect of what we do.”

It was a foundation that had been laid. It also makes it easier for Providence to replace graduated seniors, because players that weren’t starting or contributing regularly were all expected to meet the same standard. Colin Sheehan, Providence’s new starting quarterback, feels that’s an integral part of keeping Providence on the path it established last season.

“It’s just about staying together as a group. We have just got to keep everybody accountable. One guy goes down, someone steps in, make sure everyone’s always paying attention and practice working their hardest they can. So if one guy’s having an off day, someone can come in and just replicate what he does best,” Sheehan said. “Everyone pushes each other. You know, we have fun, and guys mess around with each other and trash talk, but it’s all in good faith. If someone’s down, someone’s always there to pick them up.”

With that state title run in the rearview mirror and new goals on the horizon, Providence’s role changes from being the hunter to once again being the hunted. It’s a difference that this group of players hasn’t experienced before, but offensive lineman Dan Mezger welcomes that spotlight.

“Honestly, it makes me really, really excited. Before last year, it was like, oh, you know, it’s Providence. Who cares? It’s Providence,” Mezger said. “But now people are gonna to think: Oh, it’s Providence. Let’s go watch that game. It feels amazing. It was great to know what Coach Plantz has done with the program and whatever else we have done has really paid off in everybody else’s eyes as well.”

But a question lingers a bit. Did Plantz catch lightning in a bottle for a season? Is it sustainable? Plantz will only indicate that time will tell and he continues to try to give his team small advantages that hopefully will provide enough in the long run.

“We’re not gonna do anything too crazy,” Plantz said. “You’re not going to see something super different. We’re going to truly believe in fundamentals.

“Creating just little awareness pieces I think is huge. Everybody wants to dive into installing these huge offenses. Well let’s teach you leverage, let’s teach how to block and tackle, and we’re going to block and tackle from now until hopefully Thanksgiving.”