CHAMPAIGN — Mount Carmel came into the season with several established stars who were expected to lead a state title favorite. Junior linebacker Parker Startz was far from the most prominent name on the team.
Startz, though, emerged as a dominant force on defense. He led the Caravan in tackles and attracted Division I offers.
“It was a lot of offseason work,” Startz said. “Mental reps every day, just making sure I know what I have to do every game and making sure everybody knows what they’re doing.
“I was just put in a position where I could lead the defense. That meant a lot to me, and I wanted to do my best in that role.”
Startz capped his breakout season with a team-high 11 tackles Saturday night as Mount Carmel finished a perfect season by rolling to a 44-20 victory over Batavia in the Class 7A state championship game at the University of Illinois’ Memorial Stadium.
Blainey Dowling completed 25 of 40 passes for 262 yards and four touchdowns for the Caravan (14-0), ending the season with a whopping 43 TD passes. Jimmy Deacy, Jaden Bossie and Damarion Arrington each scored two TDs.
Ryan Boe completed 16 of 31 passes for 148 yards for Batavia (10-4), including a 12-yard TD pass to CJ Valente.
It’s the 14th state championship in program history for Mount Carmel.
“Winning state at Carmel is a big deal,” Dowling said. “People were saying during the week that you get in the club. Now that we’re in the club, it’s a great feeling.
“You come to Mount Carmel to win state championships.”
Startz, who has offers from four Mid-American Conference schools, was confident he could become a tone-setting player and someone his teammates follow on defense.
“At Mount Carmel, it’s not really about seniors and juniors,” Startz said. “It’s all brotherhood. No one’s ever overpowered by another person. We all work the same.
“So, even though I’m a junior, I knew I could be a leader.”
For the Caravan, the road to this championship began as soon as they lost to rival Brother Rice for the second time last season in the state quarterfinals.
“The week after that, we were in the weight room every day working,” Starz said. “We grinded for it. We knew what our final goal was.
“Defense wins championships. It’s an awesome feeling.”
After being slowed down in a 20-9 semifinal victory over St. Rita, the Caravan offense was lights out from the start Saturday.
Dowling hit Deacy for TD passes of 11 and 27 yards and Arrington for a 7-yard TD to build a 21-0 lead in the first quarter.
“We were pumped,” Dowling said. “The last game, it was probably 20 degrees with 20-mph winds. So, seeing it being 50 with no wind, we knew we could sling the rock. That’s what we did.”
Mount Carmel coach Jordan Lynch spent a part of his first season as the Caravan’s coach recruiting this year’s seniors.
“This is a special group,” he said. “When I took over in 2018, these kids were in eighth grade. I was going out and watching them play ball and trying to get them to Mount Carmel.
“These are my guys. This is the first class I had. This is a great feeling.”
Bossie, one of those seniors, caught a 15-yard TD pass from Dowling and ran for a 12-yard TD.
Alonzo Manning ran for 101 yards on 11 carries as the Caravan overcame the loss to injury of star running back Darrion Dupree, who did not play in the postseason.
Mount Carmel had 15 senior starters. Startz was determined to send them out with a state title.
“I’m so proud of the whole team,” Startz said. “All the seniors, I’m going to miss them a lot. But this is the best way to go out — together.”
Steve Millar is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
