A rare matchup between back-to-back state champions saw two of the state’s top quarterbacks combine for 11 touchdown passes and ended as an historic night for a program familiar with making history.
The quarterback duel and the game both went to Mount Carmel, which rode the arm of senior signal-caller Jack Elliot to a 56-33 win over Nazareth on a warm Sept. 13 night in Chicago’s Woodlawn community.
The CCL/ESCC crossover pitted the winners of the past two IHSA Class 5A and Class 7A state titles in the Caravan and Roadrunners, respectively. The two programs had not played since the 2019 Class 7A state championship game, a 37-13 Mount Carmel win.
Elliot, of Orland Park, was one of two Caravan players to enter the record books on the evening, completing 17-of-25 throws for 424 yards and a program-record six touchdown passes.
“He’s [Elliott] the best quarterback in the state; best quarterback in the Midwest,” said Caravan senior wide receiver Cooper Lehman. “He’s the most underrated quarterback in the country. [He] Just make it easy for me.”
Lehman was the other record-setter, catching eight passes for a new program mark of 255 yards and two touchdowns. Among his haul were plays that covered 49 and 85 yards.
“He’s ready to go,” Elliot said of Lehman and the wideout’s historic night. “It was a breaking-out game.”
Nazareth quarterback Logan Malachuk finished 16-for-25 passing with 203 yards and five touchdown passes. The Caravan defense intercepted Malachuk twice.
Nazareth wide receiver Jake Cestone caught six passes for 111 yards and three touchdowns in the loss.
Mount Carmel has 16 new starters this season, and some of the team’s younger and more inexperienced players are getting more involved.
“These [less experienced] guys are starting to carry their own weight as we go week by week,” said Caravan coach Jordan Lynch. “It’s good to see and it showed tonight.”
Mount Carmel sophomore wide receiver Quentin Burrell had four catches for 71 yards and two touchdowns passes. Elliot also hooked up for a 53-yard score with tight end Stephen Winkler.
It was the two-way playing of Winkler that helped shift the momentum of the game.
With the Caravan holding a 35-33 lead late in the third quarter, Winkler and Elliot connected on their TD make it a 42-33 advantage. On the Roadrunners’ ensuing possession, Winkler picked off Malachuk pass on the first play of the fourth quarter.
Mount Carmel scored to take a 26-point led, and Nazareth never scored again.
“We needed that,” Winkler said of the turnover and subsequent TD. “[The scoring] kept going back and forth. Someone needed to break that.
“Getting a touchdown and interception is something special.”
Winkler prefers defense but will embrace any role he’s asked to fill, Lynch said.
“He’s a defensive-first kid, but he is a heck of a player that can play offense and helps us at tight end,” the coach added.
Caravan running back Danyil Taylor Jones had 18 carries for 105 yards, and bookended the scoring with a rushing touchdown to start the game and a receiving TD to close the night.
Mount Carmel plays their second of three straight home games in a Sept. 20 matchup against St. Ignatius. Game time is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
Nazareth will host IC Prep at 7:30 p.m. the same night.
