First time, and on a funky field
Terrain is worth noting as Mount Carmel gets ready for Glenbard West Email: mobrien@suntimes.com
Mount Carmel’s first football season was in 1924. The Caravan has won 723 games and 12 state titles.
Glenbard West, back then just Glenbard, started playing football in 1923. The Hilltoppers, who somewhere along the way started calling themselves the Hitters, have won 507 games and two state titles.
High school football scheduling is wacky and senseless, so the two powerhouse programs have never played each other before. That changes at 1 p.m. Saturday. The game will be at Glenbard West’s Duchon Field, which is natural grass. Some fans revere Duchon as a beautiful throwback stadium situated next to a small, man-made lake; it was ranked as the No. 10 ‘‘great place to watch a high school football game’’ by USA Today in 2001. Others consider it a total mess. The field sits in a floodplain, so it attracts plenty of water. It’s also far from a level surface. Certain sections are slightly uphill, some downhill. The Hilltoppers played their Class 7A first-round playoff game at Glenbard South because of the rain last Saturday.
There were questions about Mount Carmel (8-2) after lopsided losses to Loyola and Brother Rice. But the Caravan came to life in the first round of the playoffs, pounding a good Glenbard North team 42-15. Mount Carmel coach Frank Lenti never seemed overly concerned.
‘‘We just need to get healthy and find someone that can tackle on the kickoff team,’’ Lenti said after the loss to the Ramblers, in which Loyola senior Jonah Isaac returned two kickoffs for touchdowns.
Glenbard West (10-0) has had a spotless season and always seems to find some extra magic when playing at Duchon, so this clash of titans should live up to its billing.
Here’s a look at some of this weekend’s other compelling playoff story lines:
Future star watch: South Elgin (9-1) at Brother Rice (9-1), noon Saturday.
Crusaders junior wide receiver Ricky Smalling is electric — seeming to catch everything thrown in his direction and then able to stiff-arm and break tackles like no other receiver in the area. Smalling caught three touchdown passes in Brother Rice’s 49-21 win over Bartlett in the first round. He has 13 touchdowns so far this season. The Crusaders are a bit underappreciated overall, with big wins over Mount Carmel and CreteMonee. And remember that their only loss was to unbeaten Loyola.
CPS title hopes: Batavia (9-1) vs. Simeon (8-2) at Gately, 7 p.m. Friday; Phillips (10-0) at Johnsburg, 1 p.m. Saturday.
The Wolverines have a massive problem on their hands with Batavia. The Bulldogs have faced a rugged schedule this season and only lost to Naperville Central. They’ve won their last two games by a combined score of 107-14. Batavia won the Class 6A title in 2013.
Phillips should have an easier time of it. The Wildcats won 41-0 at Johnsburg in the second round last season. The loss of linebacker Amani Jones (knee injury) could be an issue, though. He was dominant in that win last season, even scoring on an interception return.
Most interesting road trip: Raby (8-2) at Princeton (10-0), 7 p.m. Saturday.
Raby will travel 118 miles southwest to take on the unbeaten Tigers, who have shut out four opponents. This was supposed to be a rebuilding year for the Raiders, who graduated 17 players from last year’s team. Instead, coach D’Angelo Dereef has molded his group, which includes seven freshmen in starting spots, into one of the better teams in the Public League. Raby only lost to Phillips and King this season. Raiders running back Danquez Smith has had a sensational season, and receiver Travis Powell is a likely Division I recruit. Raby’s 30-0 win over Clark last week was the school’s first playoff win.
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