They may have used up their allotment of miracles for one lifetime, but Mt. Carmel`s Danny Miller and Mark Norville proved at Cronin Field Saturday that they still have a little magic left in them.
Mt. Carmel trailed St. Rita 7-0 entering the second half of the Class 6A state playoffs semifinal pitting longtime Catholic League rivals, and coincidentally, Miller hadn`t thrown a single pass in Norville`s direction.
But the Miller-to-Norville combo clicked for two second-half touchdowns to rally Mt. Carmel (13-0) to an 18-7 victory and a trip to Normal for next Saturday`s title game against East St. Louis (13-0), the state`s top-ranked team.
It was the third successive victory achieved on the strength of some fourth-quarter dramatics by the Caravan, ranked No. 1 in The Tribune`s poll of Chicago-area teams.
”The way I feel about the state playoffs,” said Mt. Carmel coach Frank Lenti, ”is maybe we should let them score one touchdown and just show up for the last 24 minutes.”
Mt. Carmel hadn`t won on Mustangs` turf since 1968, when former Caravan player Lenti and his teammates cruised to a 62-0 whitewash.
When St. Rita fullback Shawn Sierra broke three tackles en route to a 33- yard touchdown on the Mustangs` opening drive, it appeared that they were capable of posting a 62-0 win. Sierra`s run capped a 69-yard drive that took only four plays and 90 seconds to give St. Rita a 7-0 lead.
Mt. Carmel blew a golden opportunity to tie the game in the second quarter when Miller guided the Caravan from its 35 to first and goal at the Mustangs` 7-yard line. But three plays later, tailback Nairobi Allen`s headfirst dive toward the end zone fell a foot shy. St. Rita took over on downs, and the Mustangs ended the half with a 7-0 lead.
After beating Homewood-Flossmoor last week with a 93-yard, last-minute drive that ended with a tipped Miller-to-Norville TD pass after time had expired, Mt. Carmel wasn`t worried.
”We`ve come from behind a lot this year,” said Miller. ”We never went in the tank before, so we knew we could do it again.”
On Mt. Carmel`s opening possession of the second half, Miller (13 of 19, 187 yards, 2 TDs) hit a wide-open Norville for a 31-yard TD pass that pulled the Caravan to within one point. Norville`s PAT attempt was blocked by lineman Ray Novickas, and St. Rita clung to a 7-6 lead at 6:06 of the third quarter.
Three minutes later, Mt. Carmel cornerback Enrico Mowatt intercepted a Dave Olinger pass at the Carmel 13 for the game`s first turnover. Three passes from Miller to receiver Mike Griffin (9 catches, 109 yards) helped take Mt. Carmel to the Rita 27, where the Caravan faced a fourth-and-4 situation with 11 minutes remaining.
Cronin Field, which was so crowded that a few dozen fans had to watch the action from the third-story windows of the school, was noisier than a City Council debate as the teams lined up for the game`s biggest play.
Miller lobbed a floater over the middle, where the 6-foot-1-inch Norville outpositioned Jim McLowrey and came down with the ball at the 6 to keep the drive alive. After losing a yard, Miller found Norville alone again near the left sideline and connected for a 7-yard TD pass that put Carmel ahead 12-7 with 9:10 left in the game.
The two-point try failed. But on Rita`s first play after the kickoff, Caravan LB Matt Yaeger picked off another Olinger pass. Five plays later, Allen ended a 33-yard drive with a 13-yard TD run that sealed it, 18-7.
”You`ve got to give them credit,” said St. Rita coach Todd Wernet.
”They made the big plays.”
Mt. Carmel`s title game showdown with East St. Louis will mark the third straight week the Caravan has taken on an unbeaten opponent, having already ousted H-F and Rita.
