Panthers shock top-seeded Mt. Carmel, will meet Naperville N. in state final

In any other year Gately Stadium is where improbable title dreams come to an end.

Not with Glenbard North's playoff mojo going on in Carol Stream these days.

Glenbard North forced 4 turnovers, the last setting up Evan Watkins' game-winning 45-yard touchdown pass to Matt Ng in the Panthers' 28-21 win over No. 1 seed Mt. Carmel in the Class 8A football semifinals Saturday in Chicago. Mt. Carmel was ranked No. 22 nationally by USA Today.

No. 14 seed Glenbard North (9-4), the first four-loss team in state history to make it to the championship game, will play DuPage Valley Conference rival Naperville North next Saturday in Champaign.

"We expected to do it, but I don't think anybody else expected us to get this far," Watkins said. "It's awesome."

With the game tied 21-21 and 4:09 left, Mt. Carmel quarterback Jordan Lynch's pass down the middle of the field was tipped, and Justin Wahrman made a diving interception at the Caravan 45, his ninth pick of the year.

On the next play Glenbard North ran a flea-flicker to perfection. Watkins took a pitch from halfback Tyler Doll and fired a 45-yard pass to Ng over a Mt. Carmel defensive back in the end zone.

"We've practiced that play, like, twice. It's the first time we've run it all year," Ng said. "We thought we might catch them off guard."

"Our sophomore coach, Matt Janecek, gave that play to me," Panthers coach Ryan Wilkens said. "He bothers me every game to run it."

Wahrman dropped Mt. Carmel running back Tim Brown for a 3-yard loss on fourth down on the Caravan's last drive, setting off a Panthers' celebration.

"They were 12-0 and obviously they have a powerful offense," Wahrman said. "But we watched them on film and knew they were beatable."

Glenbard North's first score came in equally improbable fashion.

With Mt. Carmel facing second-and-goal at the Panthers' 6 on the game's first drive, defensive end Kyle Schwetz ripped the ball out of Brown's hands and ran 96 yards for a 7-0 lead.

"Unbelievable," Wilkens said. "I didn't even see him get it. I thought (Mt. Carmel) had a touchdown."

Glenbard North took a 21-14 lead into halftime on 2 touchdown runs by Doll, who ran for 111 of his 138 yards in the first half.

Mt. Carmel tied it with 8:59 left in the third quarter. Jeremy Johnson recovered a Doll fumble, and a play later Edwin Williams ripped off a 38-yard touchdown run.

Mt. Carmel forced Glenbard North into three-and-outs on the Panthers' next four possessions. Three times the Caravan drove past midfield, only to be turned away.

Williams was stopped on fourth-and-inches at the Glenbard North 49, and later Watkins scooped up an errant Mt. Carmel option pitch.

Watkins, who played defensive back for the first time all year in Glenbard North's quarterfinal win over Fremd, also intercepted a pass.

"Our defense stepped up in big situations," Watkins said. "We have some playmakers."

Mt. Carmel also had a wide-open halfback option pass overthrown and turned the ball over on downs on an incomplete pass near the Glenbard North goal line.

"They didn't make many mistakes and we did," Caravan coach Frank Lenti said.

Glenbard North will play for the school's first state championship against a Naperville North team that beat the Panthers 37-7 during the regular season. Coincidentally, Glenbard North beat Naperville North in the 2000 semifinals the last time the Panthers made it this far.

"We talked about before the game, 'If this is going to be our last game, how do we want to be remembered,' " Wilkens said. "I told them afterward, 'Well it's not our last game.' The kids showed a lot of character."