There was a moment during Mount Carmel’s 48-12 rout over Brother Rice in the Class 7A quarterfinals that demonstrated just how much sway senior quarterback Blainey Dowling has with his coaches and teammates.
The Caravan had built a 40-0 halftime lead behind five touchdown passes from Dowling, who was set to sit out the entire second half.
But with Mount Carmel facing a third down in the red zone in the third quarter, Dowling suddenly appeared back on the field for one play.
The Caravan did not score and Dowling returned to the bench. Coach Jordan Lynch, though, was not going to deny his quarterback when Dowling wanted back in the game.
“I told him, ‘Get out,'” Lynch said of Dowling. “He told me, ‘No.’ He ran out there, pulled the quarterback (backup Jack Elliott) and started playing.
“This is his team. It’s not my team. It’s his, and I 100% respect that. You only get one shot at this whole thing. He’s tough as nails, and we all appreciate him and love him.”
Dowling will lead the Caravan (13-0) at 4 p.m. Saturday in the Class 7A state championship game against Batavia (10-3) at the University of Illinois’ Memorial Stadium in Champaign.
Mount Carmel beat Batavia 16-14 in a memorable second-round game last season that ended with an 8-yard touchdown run by Denny Furlong on an untimed down after time expired.
The Caravan offense was still building then. This season, it has been a juggernaut. Mount Carmel is averaging 40 points a game and Dowling has thrown 39 TD passes.
“My teammates make my job easy,” Dowling said. “My receivers are always getting open. My line gives me time. We’ve got a whole bunch of studs out here, and I just love playing with all these guys.”
Dowling knows when his varsity career began, not many expected him to be a superstar. He started last season sharing time at quarterback with Damarion Arrington, who now plays receiver and linebacker.
Now, Dowling is the Lawless Award winner as CCL/ESCC Blue MVP.
“I just kept working hard to get better,” Dowling said. “Coach Lynch has been amazing. He’s helped me out so much.”
For Lynch, the feelings are mutual.
“Blainey’s the ultimate competitor,” Lynch said. “We love him. He’s a huge pain in my butt half the time, but in a good way. You can’t have enough Blainey Dowlings on the field.”
There’s one more game left for Dowling to win.
“This is what you work for,” Dowling said. “You come to Mount Carmel to play in a state championship game. We have that opportunity. We’re going to practice hard. We’re going to go down there and compete, and we’re going to go try to win a state championship.”
Youth is served: While Lincoln-Way East’s defense is led by five senior starters, three underclassmen have been huge up front on the line.
Junior David Wuske has been dominant, recording 12 sacks. Fellow junior Joe Fushi and sophomore Caden O’Rourke — the younger brother of Northwestern’s Devin O’Rourke — have also had terrific seasons.
“Those guys have been great in the trenches,” Lincoln-Way East coach Rob Zvonar said. “That’s where it all starts, and we’ve got some young guys doing a great job.”
The Griffins (13-0) take on Loyola (12-1) at 7 p.m. Saturday in the Class 8A state championship game.
Swan song: St. Rita’s 20-9 loss Saturday to Mount Carmel marked the end of the career of coach Todd Kuska after 25 seasons, 215 wins, a state championship in 2006 and runner-up finishes in 2019 and 2021.
“For the last game to be against Mount Carmel, with the rivalry we’ve had, it’s appropriate and it was going to be my last home game either way,” Kuska said. “It’s going to take time to settle in. I haven’t really thought about it and I probably won’t for a while.
“It’s been a great run.”
Steve Millar is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
