With a dominant passing game leading the way offensively for Mount Carmel, junior running back Nate Samuels knows his touches out of the backfield may be at a premium.
So he’s always ready to deliver a key block or pull in a timely pass.
Wherever he’s needed, Samuels is there.
Helping lead host Mount Carmel to a 27-14 rivalry victory on Oct. 3 over Brother Rice, Samuels had a rushing touchdown and seven catches for 90 yards.
“We knew if the pass wasn’t there to our receivers, that me and our other running backs were going to have to be a crucial part of the offense,” Samuels said. “That’s what we had to do. We had to step up and make plays.”
Senior quarterback Emmett Dowling led the Caravan (6-0. 2-0 CCL/ESCC Blue) with a big passing night, finishing 24 for 34 for 353 yards and three touchdowns. Jamari Brown, Marshaun Thornton and Duran Sims had a receiving TD each.
Senior Colin Goggin had two receiving touchdowns for Rice (5-1, 1-1). One came on a nice trick play, a reverse with junior receiver Lucas Strang taking the handoff from senior quarterback C.J. Gray and then firing a beautiful pass downfield to Goggin.
While the rivalry matchup featured a ton of build-up and energy and was played in front of the biggest crowd Mount Carmel’s football stadium has seen, it was just another day at work for the Caravan.
“We didn’t think it was bigger than anything else,” senior linebacker Stephen Winkler said. “Brother Rice had this game circled on their schedule. They asked for us, called us out, came to our place, and we showed them who we are.”
Mount Carmel led 13-7 midway through the second quarter.
Capping off a Caravan drive, Samuels powered into the end zone on a hard-fought 1-yard touchdown run to extend the lead with 7:18 left in the half.
“Growing up, I actually played offensive line, surprisingly,” Samuels said with a laugh. “I was a little chubby. I had to slim down. I switched to running back in seventh grade. Now, I’m a receiver in a running back’s body in my opinion. I feel like I’ve always had hands.”
Down 20-7 in the second half, Rice answered with a Gray to Goggin 5-yard TD to close out an 80-yard drive. Gray was 11-of-22 passing for 88 yards.
The Caravan answered on its following possession with a Dowling to Thornton 12-yard strike.
Playing in place of an injured Jack Elliott, now a freshman at Vanderbilt, Dowling started the road matchup with Brother Rice last season, a 16-13 defeat.
He loved getting a shot at some revenge from a starter’s role this time around.
“It’s never good to lose a game as a backup QB,” Dowling said. “We were ready today. That game really fueled me for this game for sure. I had that in my mind the whole offseason.”
Senior Gabe Spencer helped seal the win with a late interception in the end zone.
Mount Carmel coach Jordan Lynch loved the overall effort in a statement win.
“We’ve still got to be better,” Lynch said. “We’ll correct the film, get healthy, but I couldn’t be more proud of them. We had a lot of guys step up and play hard. For Nate, that was a bit of a coming-out party.”