Mount Carmel offense clicking as Caravan search for third straight title: IHSA quarterfinals CCL/ESCC notes

Mount Carmel is used to getting everyone’s best shot as the two-time defending Class 7A state champions. But that sometimes makes the road to three straight titles a little bit tougher.

That was the case in the Caravan’s Class 7A quarterfinal matchup against Normal Community. The Ironmen came in and forced Mount Carmel to compete in a shootout, which they survived 49-42.

“Not every game is going to be pretty,” Mount Carmel coach Jordan Lynch said. “So just at the end of the game, walk away with a [win] and survive and advance.”

Mount Carmel survived the upset threat thanks to an offense that’s found its groove in the postseason. The 49 points the Caravan scored was the second-most they’ve scored in a game this season. After averaging 33.9 points per game during the regular season, Mount Carmel has averaged 51 points per game in three playoff games this year.

Lynch credited that to a number of factors. Senior quarterback and Vanderbilt commit Jack Elliot has regained his ability to run the ball after dealing with an injury during the regular season. But Elliott has also developed a strong rapport with receivers, senior Cooper Lehman, sophomore Quentin Burrell and freshman Marshawn Thornton.

“We’re finally starting to click with all three of those guys on the field at the same time,” Lynch said. “That’s what you’ve been seeing the last two or three weeks.”

The Caravan will try to keep those numbers up against a familiar foe in the semifinals. Mount Carmel will play St. Rita for the sixth time since 2021, the second time the two South Side rivals will meet in the semifinals in the past three playoffs.

“Not every game is going to be pretty. So just at the end of the game, walk away with a [win] and survive and advance.”

—  Jordan Lynch, Mount Carmel coach

Although Mount Carmel has won five straight against St. Rita, including a 28-0 win in Week 2, and there’s plenty of familiarity in the century-old rivalry, Lynch isn’t treating this matchup any differently.

“We try to just stick the course,” Lynch said. “It’s a Week 13 opponent. It’s our ultimate goal is to win the state championship and this is the next opponent in our way.”

DePaul feels support of community in historic win

The Rams’ Class 4A quarterfinal win over St. Laurence on Saturday felt special for various reasons.

Not only did the program reach the semifinals for the first time since it changed names from the former Gordon Tech in 2014. But it was also a way to bring the DePaul and Gordon communities together.

DePaul had former Gordon Tech players lined up to lead the team out to the field as the stands were full of alumni, parents and current students.

“We’re all family,” DePaul coach Mike Passarella said. “We’re still the Rams, we’re all going to work through this together. They came out here to support and we’re here to put on a show for them because we want to build on things that they did.”

Gordon last made the playoffs in 2005 when it reached the Class 5A quarterfinals. The program previously had 11 playoff appearances and won the 6A title in 1980.

The Rams appreciated the support as they made history Saturday. A week after there were no fans in the stands in the first quarter of their second round game, players like senior Shae Griffith felt the support of the community.

“It’s amazing,” Griffith said. “I mean, we work for this school and try to put a name to the Rams and I think we’ve been able to establish what it is to be a Ram and what DePaul football is. Everybody in the state should know [the] DePaul Prep Rams after today.”

St. Francis scores just enough to win

Sycamore held St. Francis to its fewest points scored in a game this season in their Class 5A quarterfinal matchup. The Spartans averaged 32.1 points per game heading into the matchup but scored 10 points in their win.

“We just got to get better on offense,” St. Francis coach Bob McMillen said. “We have a tough Nazareth team.”

McMillen tried to put players in different spots offensively as the Spartans tried to overcome injuries. St. Francis played without junior tight end Gavin Mueller, who has offers from colleges like Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin and Florida, after he had surgery to replace a torn labrum. He’ll miss the rest of the season.

The Spartans will need to figure things out quickly with a semifinal date against Nazareth in the Class 5A semifinals. They scored 39 points in a three-point Week 9 win over the Roadrunners.

St. Francis felt confident it’ll meet the moment.

“It makes me feel really good on defense that we’re going to go out and possibly shut out [Nazareth],” senior Ian Willis said. “We’re going to go out and play a better game on offense and on defense. I’m really confident in what we’re going to do next week.”

St. Laurence reflects on another successful season

Vikings coach Adam Nissen was proud of what his team accomplished this season even though the season didn’t go as far as St. Laurence wanted.

After reaching the Class 4A state championship game last season and making the playoffs for the first time since 2019, St. Laurence came back after losing a large senior group and reached the 4A quarterfinals. It was the first time since 2017 that the program reached at least the quarterfinals in back-to-back seasons.

“It’s great,” Nissen said. “The seniors this year stepped into a leadership role. We lost a lot of seniors from last year, so these guys stepped in and filled the void. I wasn’t really sure what to expect with these guys in June. Week-by-week, we started to see who we were going to be and how we were going to operate. We battled the injury bug all year but we kept bouncing back, so it’s a special class. It’s a great group, love them all.”

CCL/ESCC playoff outlook

The CCL/ESCC matched its record by sending eight teams to the semifinals. The megaconference has sent eight teams the past three seasons, the most since it formed in 2019.

Eight was the highest number of teams that could’ve qualified after nine reached the quarterfinals since St. Laurence and DePaul played against each other. Loyola, Mount Carmel, St. Rita, St. Francis, Nazareth, Joliet Catholic, DePaul and Montini will all now try to reach their respective state championships.

The CCL/ESCC can only qualify a maximum of six teams to state championships since St. Francis and Nazareth will play each other in 5A while Mount Carmel and St. Rita will meet in 7A. Six would be the most the mega conference has ever sent to championship weekend. It sent five the last two playoffs and three in 2021 and 2019.

• Friday Night Drive reporter Eddie Carifio contributed to this report