It was common knowledge that Mount Carmel quarterback Jack Elliott was playing hurt this year.
Exactly how much he was hurt didn’t come out till after the Caravan wrapped up a three-peat on a frigid evening in Normal last month.
Elliott accounted for 416 total yards and seven touchdowns as the Caravan rolled past Batavia 55-34 to win a third consecutive Class 7A championship.
After it was over Elliott — who played on all three title teams and was the starting quarterback for the last two — finally could take a break to let his body heal after a season’s worth of aches and pains. And the Southwest Regional Publishing Player of the Year could reflect on a year filled with ups and downs.
“It was definitely a lot sweeter and rewarding this whole season,” said Elliott, who played his youth football for the Orland Park Pioneers. “Being the senior — the immaturity on our team showed. Sometimes you feel like a babysitter.
“There was a lot of growth that happened this offseason and during the season.”
And a lot of bumps and bruises for Elliott, starting with severe cramps during the season opener against The Hun School of New Jersey.
“We joke about it,” Elliott said. “After any throwing or rushing touchdown, I’m wobbling off to the sideline. After I jumped up, everything locked up, a full body cramp.”
He wound up spending time in the hospital to recover from dehydration. And that was the first time that what would become a nagging shoulder injury — eventually diagnosed as an AC sprain — surfaced.
In Week 3 against Nazareth, Elliott injured the index finger on his throwing hand. A week later against St. Ignatius, passing was difficult so he wound up running for four touchdowns.
One week after that against Benet, “I landed on my shoulder wrong,” Elliott said.
He was told he might be out 4-6 weeks.
“I kept telling them I was ready to play (the next week) against Brother Rice,” Elliott said.
But he was held out and the Caravan lost 16-13.
“Especially after watching us lose, there was no way I was going to sit another game,” Elliott said.
He didn’t, though he was under strict orders not to run for several weeks. By the time the Caravan needed him, though, Elliott delivered.
The Vanderbilt recruit finished the season with 3,147 passing yards and 36 touchdowns with eight interceptions to go along with 858 rushing yards and 18 TDs.
Just as important, he made friends for life. “I know kids from all over,” Elliott said.
That’s a point Caravan coach Jordan Lynch, a 2009 Mount Carmel graduate, emphasized after the state championship game.
“I remember watching Jack when (he) was in seventh, eighth grade,” Lynch said. “(Thinking) I haven’t seen a leader like that on the field. … He’s a perfect fit for Mount Carmel High School.
“It’s special to have a kid like that, and it’s hard to replace a Jack Elliott. There’ll never be another Jack Elliott. … He’s a very special player and kids like him come along every 15 years or so.”