St. Rita awaits word on Brown
The special season St. Rita had planned hit a major roadblock just five minutes into the game Friday against rival Mount Carmel.
Star senior Kaleb Brown was injured in the first quarter of the 16-9 loss to the Caravan. He went up for a pass near the sideline, was hit in the leg and never returned to the game.
There’s no word yet on how long the Ohio State recruit might be out.
“Good thing it is Week 1,” Mustangs coach Todd Kuska said. “It’s not the end of the world, not a broken leg or anything. Anytime you lose a guy like that, it sends little shockwaves through the team.”
Mount Carmel pulled off the victory in the final minute. Caravan senior JT Harris blocked a potential game-winning field-goal attempt, and junior Jaden Bossie scooped it up and ran 83 yards for a touchdown.
It was a statement win for Mount Carmel, which had 18 new starters.
“This is everything,” Bossie said. “We had so many doubters coming in, and we had to prove ourselves.”
Junior Blainey Dowling started the game at quarterback for Mount Carmel and was 8-for-13 for 48 yards with one interception. Fellow junior Damarion Arrington took several snaps out of the wildcat in the first half and threw the ball a few times in the second half. He had 13 carries for 63 yards.
“We saw [St. Rita] in the newspaper all week and knew we had to come out and show them who we are,” Arrington said. “They can’t talk down to us now.”
Warren’s dominating defense
Warren, the new top-ranked team, went on the road and beat Barrington 19-0. The Blue Devils held the Broncos to minus-3 total yards. Barrington completed 1 of 11 passes, a four-yard grab.
Vanderbilt recruit Maurice Edwards ran for 192 yards on 19 carries. Pretty much everything went according to plan for Warren. Now comes what likely will be the biggest test of the regular season.
The Blue Devils host No. 11 Maine South, one of the area’s consistently excellent programs, on Friday. The Hawks beat Stevenson 41-20 in Week 1.
Streak-breakers
Wheeling, which had lost 19 consecutive games, beat Round Lake 27-15 on Friday. First-year coach Peter Panagakis took over the team three weeks ago. The program had just 17 players then. The roster bloomed to 40 once school began.
“With all the people in the stands, the atmosphere was like a playoff football game,” Panagakis said. “Everybody missed football. The students rushed the field. You would have thought we won the state championship.”
Emerging quarterbacks
St. Charles North didn’t crack the preseason rankings, but the North Stars already are back in the mix after dominating Palatine 24-0 on Friday.
St. Charles North pulled off the win with freshman quarterback Ethan Plumb at the helm. The 6-3, 195-pounder threw for 135 yards and rushed for 20 in his debut.
Plumb wasn’t the only new quarterback who opened eyes in Week 1. Bolingbrook, another team that didn’t crack the preseason Super 25, scored 52 points in a road win at Minooka.
Senior quarterback Bobby Ervin was 10-for-11 passing with a touchdown and ran for 220 yards and four touchdowns.