While at times bumpy, Mount Carmel’s path to winning a third consecutive Class 7A title remains intact.
The Caravan defeated visiting Normal 49-42 on Nov. 16 to advance to Saturday’s semifinal contest against Catholic League rival St. Rita on the Mustangs’ home field. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m.
In eight matchups in the IHSA playoffs, Mount Carmel has defeated St. Rita seven times with the Mustangs’ lone win coming in 1994. In Week 2 this season, the Caravan prevailed 28-0.
Mount Carmel quarterback Jack Elliott completed 16 of 23 passes for 363 yards and four touchdowns against the Ironmen. The Vanderbilt commit also ran 11 times for 46 yards and two scores.
Cooper Lehman had five catches for 111 yards and two touchdowns, while Marshaun Thornton caught four passes for 169 yards and two TDs.
The Caravan (9-3) opened the scoring on Madden Wilson’s 1-yard run up the middle at 10:08 of the first quarter to make it 7-0.
After Normal tied the game, Elliott connected with a wide-open Lehman on a 27-yard touchdown to make it 14-7 with 4:08 to play in the first quarter.
Following an Ironmen TD that tied it at 14, Elliott and Thornton teamed up for a 66-yard TD strike down the left sideline as the freshman made a nice over-the-shoulder catch. That made it 21-14 44 seconds into the second quarter.
With the score tied at 21-all, Elliott ran up the middle for 3 yards and a TD at 4:36 making it 28-21. After Normal tied the score yet again at 28, Mount Carmel took a 35-28 lead at halftime as Elliott hit Lehman with a 15-yard TD pass at 1:35 of the second quarter.
Thornton widened his team’s lead to 42-28 as he scored on a 44-yard pass from Elliott with 38 seconds to play in the third quarter. Elliott has thrown for 25 TDs this season.
The Ironmen drew to within 42-35 before Elliott gave the Caravan a 49-35 advantage with a 7-yard run up the middle at 5:28 of the fourth quarter.
Normal’s TD with 3:56 to play set the final score. The Ironmen end their season at 10-2.