Nearly three months ago, the football teams at Maine South and Chicago Mount Carmel began their season with losses. Not pretty.
Mount Carmel gave up 47 points to Chicago Simeon in the Kick-Off Classic at Soldier Field. Two-time defending state champ Maine South, which hadn‘t lost a game in two seasons, lost its opener to Schaumburg and followed that up with a 44-7 loss to defending Class 7A champion Wheaton Warrenville South.
Oh, how things have changed since those hot days of August.
Saturday, they‘ll meet for the Class 8A state championship at University of Illinois Memorial Stadium. What a road to Champaign it has been. Maine South (Park Ridge), with sophomore quarterback Matt Alviti leading a young offense that has lost a quarterback and a running back to graduation and major-college programs the last two years, answered its slow start with 11 consecutive wins. The biggest was certainly in the 8A semifinals last week, when two touchdowns within nine seconds late in the fourth quarter carried the Hawks to a 29-22 win over Chicago Loyola Academy.
Mount Carmel (Chicago), led by Indiana University baseball recruit Chris Sujka at quarterback and Michael Banks (111 rushing yards and two touchdowns in last week's 28-21 win over Homewood-Flossmoor) at running back, tied for the Chicago Catholic League Blue championship and has won its last seven.
Add in a bit of history, and this game has the makings of a classic. Mount Carmel's 10 state championships are the second-most in the Illinois football record books, trailing only Joliet Catholic Academy's 13. The last time Maine South lost a playoff game was in the 2007 quarterfinals, to Mount Carmel. Since then, the Hawks have won 14 straight in the playoffs.
The Caravan's football tradition is rich. Mount Carmel's alumni includes Washington Redskins quarterback Donovan McNabb. Head football coach Frank Lenti, a Mount Carmel alumnus himself, has churned out NFL players and major-college players with regularity, and has won 314 games in 28 years with not one losing season.
Click here to view MaxPreps' Illinois football playoff brackets.
Here is a look at all eight state title games this weekend (all games at Memorial Stadium, University of Illinois, Champaign):
8A: Maine South (11-2) vs. Chicago Mount Carmel (11-2), 7 p.m. Saturday.
Defending champ: Maine South
Players to watch: Maine South, QB Matt Alviti (2,842 passing yards, 23 TDs); Mount Carmel, QB Chris Sujka (1,344 rushing yards, 30 TDs).
7A: Wheaton-Warrenville South (13-0) vs. Lake Zurich (12-1), 4 p.m. Saturday.
Defending champ: WW South
Players to watch: WW South, QB Reilly O'Toole (3,005 passing yards, 40 TDs); Lake Zurich, RB Jacob Brinlee (1,477 rushing yards, 14 TDs).
6A: Boylan (Rockford) (13-0) vs. Marmion Academy (Aurora) (12-1), 1 p.m. Saturday.
Players to watch: Boylan, RB Tyreis Thomas (1,460 yards, 12 TDs); Marmion, RB T.J. Lally (1,264 yards, 16 TDs).
5A: Montini (Lombard) (11-2) vs. Glenwood (Chatham) (10-3), 10 a.m. Saturday.
Defending champ: Montini
Players to watch: Montini, QB Matt Westerkamp (2,600 passing yards, 27 TDs); Glenwood, RB Devin Vonnordheim-Moore (1,426 yards, 17 TDs), RB Tony Giovannelli (1,094 yards, 23 TDs).
4A: Alleman (Rock Island) (13-0) vs. Rochester (13-0), 7 p.m. Friday.
Players to watch: Alleman, RB Justin Quintana (570 yards, 19 TDs); Rochester, RB Colten Glazebrook (1,512 yards, 36 TDs).
3A: Stillman Valley (13-0) vs. Illini West (Carthage) (13-0), 4 p.m. Friday.
Defending champ: Stillman Valley
Players to watch: Stillman Valley, RB Adam Cox (1,651 yards, 30 TDs); Illini West, RB Ser Whitaker (1,166 yards, 20 TDs, 9 pass receptions, 344 yards, 3 TDs).
2A: Newman Central Catholic (Sterling) (13-0) vs. Maroa-Forsyth (Maroa) (11-2), 1 p.m. Friday.
Players to watch: Newman Central, RB Tim Wilson (1,212 yards, 20 TDs); Maroa-Forsyth, QB Logan Stelzriede (2,485 passing yards, 27 TDs).
1A: Lena-Winslow (12-1) vs. Tuscola (12-1), 10 a.m. Friday.
Defending champ: Tuscola
Players to watch: Lena-Winslow, RB Quinn Haas (1,446 yards, 18 TDs, RB Trey Griffin (1,342 yards, 18 TDs); Tuscola, QB Jud Wienke (2,793 passing yards, 35 TDs); RB John Turner (1,328 yards, 13 TDs).
2 BIG PERFORMANCES
* Illinois football recruit Reilly O'Toole of Wheaton-Warrenville South passed for 380 yards and three touchdowns in a Class 7A 41-7 win over Belleville East. O'Toole has led the defending state champion Tigers to a 13-0 record this season and a spot in the 7A championship game Saturday against Lake Zurich.
* Brandon Barker of Curie (Chicago) recovered a fumble in the end zone in the second overtime to score a touchdown and give the Condors a 40-34 win over Morgan Park in the Chicago Public League football championship game. "It's something I'll never forget," Barker told the Chicago Sun-Times. Curie will now play Oak Park Fenwick in the 77th annual Prep Bowl at Soldier Field.
Paul Bowker, an online and newspaper sports journalist for 25 years and the author of two Major League Baseball books, covers the Chicago area for MaxPreps. He may be reached at bowkerpaul1@aol.com.
