Carmel wraps up ESCC crown
Carmel junior Michael Panico put the signature play on Carmel's 40-7 win over Niles Notre Dame Friday night in Mundelein.
Late in the third quarter, Panico ran around right end on a reverse from the Notre Dame 39.
“We've been practicing that play all week, and the safety had been biting on the counter all day, Panico said.
As Panico turned upfield and ran between his blockers, he had just one man to beat linebacker Andrew Franzen. A quick cut left caused Franzen to lose his footing and Panico to finish off the 39-yard run.
And in little more than 4:30, a 10-7 game became a blowout. Panico's run followed his 3-yard touchdown run at the 6:30 mark of the third quarter and Jordan Kos' 42-yard scoring run at 3:05. Two plays after Mike Fitzgibbons intercepted a pass to get Carmel the ball in Notre Dame territory, Panico ran off his big run, and the rout was on.
The 40-7 win gave Carmel (8-0 overall, 6-0 East Suburban Catholic Conference) its second consecutive conference title and its first outright title (it shared the conference championship with Joliet Catholic last year) since 2003.
Panico led the Corsairs with 120 yards rushing on 18 carries, while Kos added 109 on six carries to lead a Carmel offense that piled up 238 rushing yards.
Notre Dame (5-3 overall, 2-3 ESCC) put up a fight early, holding Carmel to just 139 total yards in the first half. After Jeremy Brugos recovered a Brian Serio fumble on the second play of the game, Notre Dame took over at the Carmel 27 and capped off a six-play drive with a 1-yard Connor Thomas run.
Notre Dame held that lead until Jordan Kos had scored on a counter on fourth-and-1 from the 2-yard line with 1:54 left in the first half. The Dons' defense had forced two Carmel turnovers and had kept the Corsairs from the big play in the first half.
“The coaches were a little uneasy, Panico said.
Still, Bitto said he wasn't too worried.
“They took their best shot at us, and we were still winning (10-7) at halftime, Bitto said. “And we felt we had a little bit of momentum heading into the half after Jordan's nice run.
Also, Notre Dame players like Brugos, Thomas, Connor Gavin and Jack McAndrew played much of the game on both offense and defense, allowing Carmel to wear down the Dons.
“The effect is two-fold, Bitto said. “Not only were they going to get tired, but they weren't getting many reps in practice.
Carmel's defense held Notre Dame to 29 second-half yards and managed 5 sacks on quarterback Tim Whalen.
Carmel reached the 40-point mark with 5 minutes left in the game on a 50-yard field goal a school record according to Bitto by sophomore Steven O' Block.