IHSA suspends coach Jordan Lynch for two practices, puts Mount Carmel football program on probation for season

The Illinois High School Association has suspended Mount Carmel coach Jordan Lynch for two practices and placed the football program on probation for the remainder of the season for violating a rule regarding practicing in full pads.

A local reporter shared a photo on X of the Caravan practicing in full pads on Aug. 8. Antioch assistant coach Thor Patrick Swanson shared the image on his X account, prompting a large online discussion.

The IHSA’s rules for its football acclimation practice plan state that teams can not practice in full pads until the sixth day of practice, which was Tuesday.

The practice policy allows teams to be in helmets only for the first two days before three days of helmets and shoulder pads. Official practices started Aug. 5 under a new calendar making its debut this fall, with the season beginning a week earlier due to the playoff fields being expanded to 48 teams per class.

According to the IHSA, Mount Carmel self-reported the violation and proposed self-imposed sanctions, which were accepted.

The punishment will not impact Lynch’s status for the Mount Carmel’s season opener. The Caravan are scheduled to take on East St. Louis in a Week 1 showdown at 6 p.m. on Aug. 22 at Hancock Stadium in Normal.

Lynch, a 2009 Mount Carmel graduate who starred at quarterback for the Caravan and went on to be a Heisman Trophy finalist at Northern Illinois, is 89-12 over eight seasons as the coach at his alma mater.

The Caravan have won four straight state championships, going 14-0 last season, and are the favorite in Class 8A again this fall with a wealth of high-major Division I talent on the roster.