Carmel 35, St. Patrick 14

Learning on the fly can be a difficult endeavor for any high school football team. But Carmel's young squad has picked up valuable lessons along with five consecutive victories -- the latest a 35-14 road win Friday over conference rival St. Patrick.

The Corsairs improved to 5-1 on the season and 4-0 in the East Suburban Catholic Conference by executing consistently on both sides of the football. Carmel began the game with 28 unanswered points and took a 28-7 lead into halftime, leaving the outcome of the football game beyond doubt essentially from the outset.

For coach Andy Bitto's squad, the season-opening road loss to Morgan Park now serves as an educational tool as the team moves along with underclassmen at several key positions.

"We were young to start the season," Bitto said. "I think that we've gotten a little better each week. We're proud of our kids because each week is a new challenge."

Senior quarterback David Venegoni led the offense by rushing for 60 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 15 carries, but those numbers would have looked better if not for late game series of kneel-downs and clock-burning plays.

The Corsairs also got rushing touchdowns from Mike Taylor, Matt Berg and Geoffrey Fields and the defense was able to limit the Shamrocks to 10 first downs.

The effort was far from perfect, however and Carmel got its share of fair bounces with 5 fumbles and none lost.

Bitto said his team will look to overcome those mistakes as it tries to add another win next weekend.

"The team we need to beat is the next team, and that's Nazareth Academy," Bitto said. "We know we have to prepare for them because they do such a good job, especially on defense."

But at this point in the season, the Corsairs are a team proud of its early development and poised to make a run for glory and postseason play. But the learning process continues with each contest.

"You can't teach experience," Bitto said. "The more experience these kids get, I think the better we're going to be."