By Paul D. Bowker
MaxPreps.com
Three times senior quarterback Jordan Lynch called his own number for running plays in Mount Carmel High School‘s season opener last Saturday at Chicago‘s Soldier Field.
Three times he scored.
After four offensive series, Lynch was done for the day and the Caravan, already No. 1 in Chicago high school football rankings, was on its way to a 49-7 victory over Curie in the annual Catholic schools vs. public schools season-opening event at Soldier Field.
Lynch has verbally committed to Northern Illinois University, a Mid-American Conference school located about an hour from Chicago, and it’s easy to see why he attracted the Huskies’ attention. He completed 5-of-8 passes for 55 yards and a TD against Curies, and had scoring runs of 26, 6 and 7 yards. But Lynch truly arrived last year, his first season as a starter, when he led the Caravan to a 9-0 regular-season record and within one win of a spot in the Class 8A state championship game.
“He was a difference-maker last year,” says Frank Lenti, who is in his 25th year as head coach at Mount Carmel and coordinates the Caravan‘s offense. “We went from an average team to a really good team. He’s a very good athlete, he’s a good decision-maker.
“He’s exactly what you want in a quarterback.”
Friday, Lynch will lead the Caravan into the first of its Catholic League games. Mount Carmel will play St. Ignatius College Prep at 4 p.m. at Gately Stadium. St. Ignatius shut out Whitney Young, a Chicago public school team, 15-0 last week.
A big test is coming up in two weeks, Sept. 19, when the Caravan faces Catholic League rival St. Rita, not that you‘ll hear any Caravan player spilling words about that game just yet.
“Every Catholic League game is big for us,” senior offensive lineman Tim Houghton said.
The ultimate prize is the Class 8A playoffs. The Caravan averaged more than 40 points in three playoff wins last year leading up to the semifinals. They had won 12 consecutive games. Then, Mount Carmel lost 28-21 to Carol Stream Glenbard North, a team that entered the playoffs with a 5-4 record. The Glenbard North loss still stings and is motivating the Caravan this year.
“That was a painful loss,” said Houghton, right guard on an offensive line this season that has four seniors and a junior. “I don‘t want to experience that again.”
Since January, the Caravan has been training and lifting for this season. Lynch likes what he sees.
“A great group of guys who want to play football,” Lynch says.
The group includes three who have already verbally committed to Division I schools. In addition to Lynch, outside linebacker Dimitrius Carr has committed to Indiana and lineman Anthony Battle Jr. has committed to Northwestern.
Lenti has helped push many players to the college ranks since playing himself at Loyola of Chicago, but having three players already committed to Division I schools is a bit rare, he says.
What isn‘t rare is Mount Carmel‘s winning tradition. The Caravan has won five state championships in the last 12 years. And beginning in 1989, the Caravan won three straight titles. The road to a Catholic League championship clearly begins at Mount Carmel, located on the South Side of Chicago in the Hyde Park community.
But as Lenti closely watched his team practice Wednesday, questions popped into his head. The offensive line must play better to support an offensive system that depends heavily on the run. What if somebody gets hurt?
“Everybody thinks Mount Carmel, Mount Carmel. We get a dozen kids who are 6-5 and 300 (pounds). There aren’t any kids out here like that,” Lenti said.
But they are quick. On successive running plays in practice Wednesday, Milton Greer and Byron Stanford ripped off a pair of 35-yard TD runs without being touched by a defensive player. That‘s the type of Caravan offense opponents might be seeing all season long.
Chicago Kickoff Classic
In addition to Mount Carmel’s win over Curie, Brother Rice defeated Morgan Park 24-20 and Fenwick edged Lane Tech 23-21 in the annual Kickoff Classic played at Soldier Field. Frank Renardo scored a pair of touchdowns for Rice, which zipped ahead 17-0 in the first quarter. Fenwick junior fullback Bret Strzelczyk caught 18- and 11-yard scoring passes for Joe Ramano.
Soldier Field is home to the NFL’s Bears.
“It was such a rush, just when you come on the field,“ said Tim Houghton, a senior offensive guard for Mount Carmel.
Games Worth Watching
St. Rita, which defeated Lakota West (Ohio) 28-21 in the Kirk Herbstreit Series last Sunday at Cincinnati and was a Class 7A quarterfinal team a year ago, will open its Catholic League schedule Friday night against De La Salle. Also a Class 7A playoff team in 2007, De La Salle pounded Chicago Fenger 59-8 last week. Mark Kasper ran for 173 yards and three touchdowns in that game.
Lincoln-Way East, which edged Providence 18-14 last week, will meet rival Lincoln-Way North on Friday. North lost 27-17 last week to Oswego East.
Oswego East will play host to Naperville North, which defeated Neuqua Valley 41-19 in its opener last week. Naperville North is the Class 8A defending state champ.
DaRon Brown will lead Morgan Park into a game Friday at Oak Lawn Richards. Morgan Park lost its opener 24-20 to Brother Rice at Soldier Field last Saturday, but Brown ran for 201 yards on 23 carries and threw 14- and 19-yard scoring passes.
Soccer
Reed Patterson, a junior at Glenbrook South, was selected for the Disney Soccer Showcase All-Stars team that played last week in the Chelsea Academy Cobham Cup at England. The Disney team placed fourth in the tournament, losing 2-1 to a Russian team in the third-place game.
Paul D. Bowker covers the Chicago area for MaxPreps. Send Chicago-area prep news to Paul D. Bowker at bowkerpaul1@aol.com
