November 30, 2003

BY STEVE TUCKER Staff Reporter

CHAMPAIGN -- When you're the backup quarterback for a team as dominant as Carmel, you get your chances. It's just that John Solan didn't think that playing in a state championship game would be his chance.

But the backup for Mark Venegoni, who broke his ankle and tore ligaments in the semifinals, came in and ran for three touchdowns and threw for two as the No. 1 Corsairs blew out Bloomington in the second half for a 54-26 victory in the 6A title game.

"Mark was 26-1 as a starter, and he couldn't play in the championship game,'' Carmel coach Andy Bitto said. "All week, he couldn't walk. In practice, Mark was so upbeat and so positive. He learned what we try to teach, that it's not about Mark, it's about Carmel football.''

"A big reason John could step in is that we had so many blowouts, he got a lot of reps," Carmel's Minnesota-bound receiver Jack Simmons said. "He makes reads on the fly.''

After Bloomington took a 26-25 lead with 2:40 to play in the third quarter, Mike Serio electrified the large Carmel contingent with a 91-yard kickoff return that put Carmel (14-0) ahead to stay.

"Any time you get a big play on special teams, it's huge for momentum,'' Carmel tackle Drew Cairo-Gross said. "When I saw Mike from the sideline, there were 10 different guys who made blocks. And Jack Simmons' was unbelievable. It was a team-effort touchdown.''

In the fourth quarter, it was all Carmel, which scored on a five-yard pass from Solan to Chris Miller and runs of 17 and six yards by Jon Popovitch, who rushed for 146 yards on 20 carries.

"We came here to play a football game, and a track meet broke out," Bitto said. "Mark made the machine go for two years, and John kept it going.''

Bitto credited his offensive line -- Cairo-Gross, Dan Osterhout, Luke Krombach, Paul Lyons and Eddie Adamski -- with being a difference-making factor.

"Our line play was terrific,'' Bitto said. "These guys grade in the 80s and 90s. They made John very efficient.''

Solan was 4-for-4 passing for 75 yards.

"Dan, Eddie and I have played together since we were in flag football at St. Mary's [in Buffalo Grove],'' Cairo-Gross said. "We knew John wasn't experienced in situations like this, so we gave it our all and kept our composure.

"We have a lot of good players and coaches who make good players into great ones. This tradition started when we were sophomores and got to the semifinals.''

Carmel's defense did its thing, too. It was the recipient of eight Bloomington turnovers -- six fumbles and interceptions by Jason Kwasigroch and Colin Simmons.

Bloomington scored first when Brandon Hughes broke loose for a 71-yard touchdown run.

But the next three scores belonged to Solan. First the junior threw a 32-yard scoring pass to Jack Simmons. Then he scored on runs of four yards and one yard to give the Corsairs a 19-7 lead.

"I just told John to get me the ball where I had a chance,'' Jack Simmons said. "He put it up there and got me a jump ball.''

But with 3:27 to play in the first half, Bloomington's Justin Harrison scored on a one-yard run to cut the deficit to 19-14.

And after the Purple Raiders' defense forced a punt to start the third quarter, quarterback Jeremy Peden completed a 53-yard scoring strike to Hughes for a 20-19 Bloomington lead.

Carmel regained the lead on a 10-yard Solan run.

After Joliet Catholic's win earlier, coach Dan Sharp talked about the unity of "the men in brown'' from Carmelite schools Carmel, JCA and Mount Carmel.

"Last year we beat Mount Carmel and this year Joliet Catholic,'' Simmons said. "This sort of made us feel like a part of it with their state championships.''

Carmel became the second Lake County team to win a title. Deerfield won in 1975.