Scouting Carmel Catholic @ St. Patrick
Carmel Catholic (5-2, 4-1) at St. Patrick (4-3, 2-3)
When 11:15 a.m. Saturday, Hanson Stadium, Chicago
Last week Carmel def. St. Joseph, 55-8; St. Patrick def. Marist, 25-20.
Skinny Call it the Breakfast Bowl. The ESCC game kicks off 45 minutes before noon Saturday, and that's fine with Carmel coach Andy Bitto. "It's better than driving three hours on a Friday night. We'll be there in 40 minutes," said Bitto, thankful that traffic shouldn't be an issue Saturday morning. "You got to look at the positives (about playing a morning game). The game's going to start on time. Sometimes, if the sophomore game runs late on a Friday night, the varsity game might not start until 8:45 (p.m.)." Something else the Corsairs are excited about is their health. Sophomore fullback and leading rusher Jordan Kos (671 yards, 7 TDs) is expected back after missing his second game this season due to turf toe. Quarterback Brian Serio (hip flexor, groin) also will be back after missing last Friday's St. Joseph game. Larry Amato, who helped steer Carmel to an overtime win over Notre Dame the previous week after Serio got hurt in the first half, threw 3 touchdown passes against St. Joes. As of Thursday, Bitto had not decided which QB would start against St. Patrick. Center Gunnar Kephart and running back Christian Nemeth are also expected to play after being out the last couple of weeks with knee injuries. Veteran safety Patrick Cox made his season debut against St. Joes after breaking his clavicle during summer workouts. "We're a lot healthier than we were two weeks ago," Bitto said. ... Both Carmel and St. Pats have won two in a row. ... Before snapping Marist's three-game winning streak and handing the RedHawks just their second loss, St. Pats suffered blowout losses to St. Viator (52-14) and Joliet Catholic (55-9). "They're a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde," said Bitto, whose team lost to JCA 19-16 and will not play St. Viator during the regular season. "So it's like, 'Which team is going to show up?' That's scary." ... Thanks to St. Viator's win over Marian Catholic last week, there's a three-way tie for first place in the ESCC, as Carmel, Marian Catholic and JCA are all 4-1. Marian hosts JCA tonight.