Carmel savors colorful win over Benet
Benet Academy football coach Pat New looked at Carmel Catholic's north end zone, where victorious players wearing pink socks celebrated with their schoolmates who had swarmed the field, and nodded in admiration.
"Looking at them, they don't look superhuman," New said. "But, man, they play like superhumans."
"They're just a bunch of suburban kids that play great football. I don't know what the heck they eat, but, man, they know how to hit."
On "Carmel For a Cure" night in Mundelein, the host Corsairs kicked off breast cancer awareness month Friday by "tackling cancer" as the pink T-shirts said and taking down Benet with ferocity. Carmel won 42-0 in an East Suburban Catholic Conference game that featured a running clock the entire fourth quarter.
Carmel's win kept the Corsairs perfect at 6-0, including 4-0 in the ESCC, and clinched an 11th straight playoff berth under coach Andy Bitto.
"I think we just got a lot of dedicated kids on our team who'll do anything to win," Carmel quarterback Brian Serio said when informed of New's comment.
For Benet (3-3, 0-3), which managed just 96 yards of total offense, the loss was costly. Wide receiver Connor Nelligan, who took some snaps at quarterback against Carmel, suffered what New said was a concussion. Nelligan was injured early in the second quarter when he was hit by Carmel safety Sean Brennan on an incomplete pass over the middle.
Nelligan did not return.
"It wasn't on purpose," Carmel linebacker Luke Venegoni said of Brennan's hit to the helmet. "He was going in for the tackle either way. (Nelligan) just got brought down with him."
Benet running back E.J. Howe rushed for 195 yards against Glenbard South the previous week, but carried the ball only once in the first half against Carmel. Respectful of the Corsairs' run defense, New emphasized the pass, with Nelligan and T.J. Rickert both taking snaps from center.
"We put in some new formations, hoping to catch them off guard," Redwings fullback/linebacker Pat Boyle said. "But we didn't really execute."
Carmel took a 7-0 lead on Brian Brennan's 20-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. Late in the quarter, the Corsairs took possession at their own 34 after a punt. On the first snap, Serio hit a wide-open Ryan Cappis down the right sideline. Cappis raced untouched into the end zone for a 66-yard strike.
"We had a blown coverage, and coaches take responsibility for that just as much as players," New said.
"We saw the cornerback on previous plays just knifing right in the backfield right away," Serio said. "So we knew (the play) was going to be open."
Serio's 2-yard run midway through the second quarter made it 20-0. Then with the ball at the Carmel 38 late in the half, Serio rolled left. He then stopped and threw a screen the other way to Michael Panico. Panico, who played only a half after missing Carmel's game at Marist last week with a shoulder injury, got free down the right sideline, turned on the jets and raced 62 yards for a touchdown.
"That was a surprise play that we hadn't shown anyone all season," Serio said. "That just looked beautiful. It was a great play."
Carmel wasn't done scoring in the half. Michael Fitzgibbons intercepted Rickert at the Benet 30, and four plays later Carmel fullback Jordan Kos (16 carries, 168 yards) scored the first of his 2 TDs to make it 35-0 at the break.
"We knew they were going to run option all day," said Boyle, who had 2 tackles for loss. "We had our keys down, and we had them scouted out well. We just didn't execute and missed a lot of tackles."