Carmel airs it out against Libertyville

Forget about the fact that Carmel attempted only three passes in a win over Joliet Catholic last week _ and didn't complete even one.

Forget about the fact that Carmel has been known for years as an option team that seems almost allergic to passing plays.

Suddenly, Carmel is a passing team.

At least it seemed like it on Friday night.

Visiting Carmel ran the ball for 290 yards in its neighborhood rivalry game against Libertyville. But when the Corsairs needed a big play, they took to the air - and hit pay dirt.

Quarterback Andrew Nerup hooked up with speedy wide receiver Matt Felicelli for two picture-perfect touchdown passes, including an improbable 46-yarder with just 21.3 seconds left to lift the Corsairs to new heights _ and an electrifying 21-14 victory in front of a standing -room -only crowd.

In fact, Libertyville officials were forced to turn away at least 500 fans per orders from the fire department, which was concerned about crowd control and safety.

"This is what high school football is all about, it's just like what you see in the movies," said Nerup, who completed 3-of-6 passes for 92 yards as Carmel improved to 2-0. "This (the environment) is everything you want it to be.

"Everything came together tonight for us. I was a little antsy last game with my passing. I got more comfortable and Felicelli made some awesome plays. It was all him. I was just putting it up there and he went and got it. We were running option, option, option and we just took our shots when we needed to. It opened everything up."

So is this the new Carmel? Passing more-passing a lot even?

"I hope so," laughed Felicelli, who slightly bobbled his game-winning catch but managed to reel in the ball and hang on tight as he sprinted to the end zone. He finished with 84 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns, including Carmel's first score _ a 38-yard pass early in the second quarter.

"I just ran my route, Andrew hit me with a great pass and the line blocked really well," Felicelli said. "It all just came together for us on a couple of big plays."

Libertyville (0-2) had its own share of big plays.

The Wildcats looked like they were in big trouble midway through the fourth quarter when a sure-thing halfback option pass from James Zotto to a wide-open Kevin Verlee hit off of Verlee's hands at midfield. Had Verlee caught the pass, he could have practically skipped into the end zone and tied the game at 14-14.

Libertyville was forced to punt and all Carmel had to do was run out the clock.

But on their third play of the next series, the Corsairs suffered their own blunder. Fullback Sean Madison fumbled the ball and Libertyville recovered at its own 43-yard line. Eight plays later, Verlee had the Wildcats at the Carmel 8-yard line by catching a pretty 23-yard pass from quarterback Matt Persin. Two plays after that, Verlee was fully redeeming himself for the earlier dropped pass with a 2-yard scamper into the end zone.

That tied the game at 14 with just 46.1 seconds left.

Carmel was ready to run out the clock and settle for overtime. But when the Corsairs got a couple of redemption plays of their own with time winding down, they couldn't help but go for the win.

"I didn't really want to play overtime on the road, in this environment," Carmel coach Andy Bitto said. "But then we got a couple of big plays and now we're going to take a shot at it."

Madison made his earlier fumble a distant memory by busting off a 21-yard run and then an 18-yard run to get the Corsairs to midfield with about 30 seconds remaining. On the very next play, Nerup and Felicelli connected to end the game.

Last year's tilt between Carmel and Libertyville ended in similar fashion. The Corsairs won on a last-second field goal.

"As far as emotion and the ending, it was a repeat of last year," Libertyville coach Randy Kuceyeski said. "Our kids battled back. They gave it everything they had and sometimes it just feels like life isn't fair.

"But I have a world of confidence in this football team. They'll be back."