Sports

Sunday, December 1, 2002

Raiders come up short in 6A final as Mount Carmel wins 10th crown

By Bryan Bloodworth
Sports editor

CHAMPAIGN -- Bloomington High School's offensive travel plans were devised to spread out Chicago Mount Carmel's defense.

Instead, the Caravan put the brakes on the Purple Raiders' high-powered offense Saturday and cruised to a 31-0 victory in the Class 6A state football championship game at Memorial Stadium.

The triumph tied the Caravan with Joliet Catholic for most state titles with 10. No. 4-ranked Mount Carmel finished with a 13-1 record.

And it marked only the second time in 16 seasons (185 games) that BHS has been shut out. Normal Community, in 1998, was the last team to blank BHS.

"We were hoping to be able to spread it and hit some passes to the outside and to the flats," said BHS coach Rigo Schmelzer, whose No. 3-ranked squad finished with a 13-1 record.

"We also thought we could go with some one-on-one combinations. We didn't have time in the pocket to throw. Then when we attempted to run, their speed just got to us," added Schmelzer.

"Perhaps, at that point, we should have gone with some counters to deal with it. But whatever we were attempting, they did a nice job of taking it away. You have to give them credit."

BHS managed just 86 yards in offense. Leading rusher James Wade was held to 10 yards on 14 carries and quarterback Andre Brown completed just 2 of 11 passes for 40 yards.

"Mount Carmel had a very stingy defense and they flowed to the ball very well," said Brown. "They flew around to the ball and made plays.

"It seemed like every down there was 11 helmets making the tackle. That's what will stop an offense regardless who's out there. We just didn't execute and it gets very frustrating when you can't put points on the board."

Mount Carmel coach Frank Lenti called the shutout a real tribute to his team.

"Bloomington was not 13-0 for no reason," said Lenti. "You always win championships with defensive and offensive line play.

"For most of the playoffs, our offense had to carry us, but today the defense stepped up big for us."

Mount Carmel built a 10-0 first-half lead on the strength of a 26-yard touchdown run by Greg Owens and a 37-yard field goal by Kelly Karlen in the first quarter.

The hard-running Owens led Mount Carmel with 158 yards on 21 carries. The Caravan had 305 yards in total offense with 272 coming via the rush.

"He's a great runner. He showed up big today," said BHS lineman Andrew Kernes. "He made us miss and then he'd run us over."

Owens' first touchdown capped a 10-play, 71-yard drive that came on the game's first offensive series.

"The opening drive they went the distance against us and that was very disappointing," said Schmelzer. "That goes back to the gamble of not taking the wind."

BHS won the coin flip, but deferred and gave the ball to Mount Carmel with a 30 mph wind at the Caravan's back.

"We felt our defense could play with them," added Schmelzer. "We felt we could slow them down, force them to kick and then use the wind to our advantage in the second period.

"Perhaps we should have gone the other way around. That might have helped give us better field position."

Despite the 10-0 halftime deficit, Brown had confidence in his teammates.

"We always feel like we have enough talent to come back," he said. "We've done it in the past. But today when we were driving, we'd just hit a stall point whether it be a penalty or a sack. We just stalled."

Owens gave the Caravan a 17-0 cushion on a 35-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.

"We did a poor job of wrapping up on him, making the initial hit and having flow to the ball," said BHS defender Eric Esch of Owens.

"When we did get a lot of guys there, it seemed like we jumbled each other up and he was able to bounce it one way or the other. He just kept moving his feet."

Owens' score came after Mount Carmel stopped BHS on a fourth-and-one play at the Caravan 31 with 4:41 remaining.

Mount Carmel scored again in the third quarter on a 22-yard pass from Dan O'Brien to Frank Lenti, the coach's son. The touchdown was set up by a Brown fumble. BHS had five fumbles and lost three of them.

"We made too many errors and didn't capitalize on the opportunities we had," added Schmelzer. "And in this type of game, you can't do that and expect to win."

Owens scored his final touchdown on a 26-yard run in the fourth quarter.

"I've said for a long time that Gregory might wind up being the finest running back I've coached in the 19 years I have been head coach at Mount Carmel," said Lenti, who has nine state titles to his credit.