Mount Carmel vs. St. Rita rolls off the tongue for Chicago football fans. It’s a massive South Side rivalry, with 102 games played between the schools after the top-ranked Caravan’s 38-7 win against the No. 8 Mustangs on Friday.
Well, it’s a huge rivalry for the adults.
“I guess they call it a rivalry,” Mount Carmel senior Parker Startz said. “I’ve been on varsity for three years and we are 4-0. I don’t know if I should call it a rivalry.”
The Caravan (4-0, 1-0 CCL/ESCC Blue) are undefeated against St. Rita in Jordan Lynch’s tenure as head coach, winning the four games by a combined score of 109-28.
It was close for most of the first half. Hilding connected with Jimmie Maxson on a 69-yard touchdown pass on the Mustangs’ first drive. That tied the score at 7.
“We had a blown play right off the bat,” Startz, a linebacker, said. “Realistically it should have been a shut out. But that kind of woke us up and then it was just a team effort on defense.”
The Caravan scored the next 31 points. Junior quarter Jack Elliott continues to impress. He was 18-for-20 for 304 yards and two touchdowns in his fourth career start.
“No one can compete with us if we do what we do, especially on offense,” Elliott said. “We shouldn’t be stopped. We’re confident but we hold ourselves to a really high standard. There is always room for improvement.”
Elliott connected with seven different receivers. Running back Darrion Dupree caught a 72-yard TD pass in the first quarter. Kevin Gardner had four catches for 53 yards and one touchdown.
Matthew Mucha and Le’Javier Pope both had interceptions for the Caravan. Quarterback Jett Hilding was 9-for-19 passing for 115 yards with two interceptions and one TD for St. Rita (3-1, 0-1).
“We have to stop the run first,” Mucha said. “But when he starts throwing the ball then we can have some fun. My eyes lit up a bit [on the interception]. He threw it right to me.”
Dupree, a Wisconsin recruit, had eight carries for 55 yards and two touchdowns. He caught three passes for 102 yards and a TD.
Dupree and Navy recruit Alonzo Manning, also a running back, were expected to be forces for the Caravan. But other players are stepping up all over the field and turning Mount Carmel into even more of a dominant No. 1 team than was expected back in August.
“We were starving,” Elliott said. “Starving on the bench last year. We learned behind some great people and not it is our chance.”
Mount Carmel needs just 5 plays to score. Caravan leads St. Rita 7-0 after this 17-yard TD pass from Jack Elliott to Kevin Gardner. pic.twitter.com/yx0ZjsO9Lh
— Michael O'Brien (@michaelsobrien) September 16, 2023
St. Rita running back DJ Stewart had 11 carries for 31 yards and junior Nick Herman had eight carries for 29 yards. The Mustangs were able to move the chains a few times on several drives but couldn’t break a big run.
“We just started missing out on doing the little things right,” St. Rita coach Martin Hopkins said. “When you play a good football team you can’t do that. Just a couple blown assignments, miscommunications. You think you know what they are going to do every time but you still have to stop them,”
Hopkins, a St. Rita alum, is in his first year as the school’s football coach.
“The last time I played Mount Carmel it was at Gately Stadium,” Hopkins said. “This is definitely a lot different. It’s great for Mount Carmel to be able to play on their campus. I know they are proud of it. It was a pretty cool environment to be a part of.”
