Mount Carmel football coach Jordan Lynch was suspended by the school for two practices after the Caravan violated an IHSA rule on padded practices.
According to a statement released by the IHSA, Mount Carmel practiced in full pads on Aug. 8, four days earlier than allowed under the organization’s acclimatization guidelines.
Preseason practice began for schools around the state on Aug. 5. Teams could practice in helmets only for the first two days, helmets and shoulder pads only for the next three days and in full pads beginning on the sixth day.
The violation came to widespread notice after an X post included a photo of Caravan players apparently in full pads earlier than allowed. The post was later deleted, but a screenshot was widely shared by an assistant coach at a north suburban public school.
The IHSA said Mount Carmel officials self-reported the violation and submitted a corrective action plan and self-imposed sanctions that it approved. Lynch was scheduled to skip practices on Aug. 17 and 18, and the Caravan will reduce the number of full-pads practices they hold before the season starts on Aug. 21.
The IHSA also placed the Mount Carmel football program on probation for the rest of the season. That does not involve any other penalties now, “but it does set the expectation that any further violations could result in serious consequences,” the IHSA statement said.
“The policy exists to protect high school football athletes across Illinois while ensuring a competitive playing field for all our teams,” IHSA executive director Craig Anderson said in the statement. “To their credit, the Mount Carmel coaches and administration recognized the violation, took responsibility, and acted quickly to address it. The sanctions imposed are consistent with the consequences applied in previous instances involving violations of this policy.”
Mount Carmel went 14-0 en route to winning the Class 8A title last fall after winning the previous three 7A championships. This season the Caravan will try to win a fifth consecutive state title for the first time in program history.