Significance returned to a time-honored rivalry Saturday night when No. 1 Mt. Carmel and fast-starting Fenwick collided at Gately Stadium.
Mt. Carmel had occupied its customary place atop the high school football world, having won three consecutive state championships.
But Fenwick hasn’t been a dominant power since 1995 when the Friars advanced to the Class 5A semifinals.
On this night, both came in undefeated and battling No. 5 Providence for supremacy in the Catholic Metro Blue.
It would be the third time in five weeks that Mt. Carmel has been confronted by an unbeaten team.
And Fenwick’s Friars met the same fate as Joliet Catholic and St. Rita before them, falling to the Caravan 28-6.
Mt. Carmel’s relentless option running game wore down the Friars, who had five players going both ways. Running backs Greg Owens and Tom Brown along with quarterback John Mulchrone scored rushing touchdowns as Mt. Carmel improved to 5-0, 3-0.
“I just crouch behind my big offensive linemen and it’s hard for the defense to find me,” said the 5-foot-5-inch, 160-pound Brown, who ran for 104 yards and two TDs. “We hurt ourselves in the first half and let Fenwick stay close because of our mistakes. Tonight, our defense had our backs.”
The first half resembled an old-fashioned Catholic League slugfest with defenses dominating on both sides. Brown’s first-quarter fumble was recovered by Robert Tamillow at the Caravan 36, but a defensive stand led by linebacker Tom Treadway stuffed the Friars.
Just before halftime, Fenwick’s Casey Gough intercepted a pass from Mulchrone and returned it to the Mt. Carmel 22.
This time, it was Treadway’s close friend, linebacker Niall Campbell, who made the big defensive hit that halted Fenwick (4-1, 2-1).
Leading 7-0, the Caravan broke the game open with two scores in the third quarter. Owens carried three times for 49 yards and then acted as a decoy for Mulchrone’s 9-yard TD keeper. Owens had 19 carries for 160 yards and one TD.
On the next possession, Mt. Carmel went on a 15-play, 80-yard drive culminated by Brown’s 5-yard TD run.
A 29-yard pass from Fenwick quarterback Daniel Hillen to Gough and fullback Tamillow’s 29-yard run set up Kevin Quinn’s 5-yard scoring run midway through the fourth quarter. The Caravan responded immediately with Brown’s 21-yard TD run.
