What a rush: Carmel outruns Marian Catholic

For Carmel, it was a case of run, run and run some more.

Carmel Catholic rushed past visiting Marian Catholic 44-20 on Friday night in an East Suburban Catholic Conference game in Mundelein.

The Corsairs (3-1, 3-1) amassed 324 yards of offense every single one on the ground.

Quarterback Brian Brennan (8 carries, 50 yards) rushed for a 14-yard touchdown and was one of four Carmel players who found the end zone.

"The line did their job and we had a great week of practice," Brennan said. "Everyone came out and did their job and made things simple.

"You can see us run up and down the field, and that's what we do best like a machine."

Corsairs running back Jordan Kos (20 carries, 123 yards) led the way, scoring the first two Carmel touchdowns on runs of 5 and 14 yards. Mike Panico (16 carries, 150 yards) scampered for scores of 3 and 16 yards and Matt Maher had the other TD on a 2-yard run.

"The offensive line did the job to open the holes," Kos said. "I give a lot of credit to them, especially to Mike Dyer (6-foot-1, 265 pounds). He was the one that made the holes down the middle."

Carmel only threw the ball twice in the game.

Marian Catholic (2-2, 2-2) tried to stay with the Corsairs in the opening quarter, but saw Carmel extend its lead to 27-13 by halftime.

"We would like to be able to throw the ball better," Carmel coach Andy Bitto said. "We're pretty dynamic running the ball. We scored just about every series. It's hard to defend us when we can run four different guys in four different directions. Our perimeter blocking has been excellent and our offensive line has been pretty good."

The Corsairs' Matt Ryan kicked a 30-yard field goal. Carmel was without its other kicker, Steven O'Block, who missed the game with a thigh injury,

Carmel hits the road next week with a nonconference game against one of Minnesota's top teams, Wayzata.

The teams will compete at the University of Dubuque (Iowa) at 6:30 p.m. on Friday.