Revenge sweet in Mt. Carmel's win over Maine South

Legendary Mt. Carmel football coach Frank Lenti chose to reach into the storied history of the Caravan football program to get his troops ready for their Class 8A quarterfinal against visiting Maine South on Saturday.

The last time the Caravan and Hawks met in the playoffs was in the Class 6A state championship in 1995 -- a game the Hawks won in overtime for their first state title.

Lenti made sure his players remembered how he felt after the loss.

"We talked about how this was the first chance we had at getting back at (Maine South) after the loss," Lenti said. "We wanted to get back at this team real bad."

The way the Caravan got back at the Hawks may not have been the preferred method for Lenti, but it was effective.

Mt. Carmel led from start to finish but had to stave off a wild comeback from Maine South to hold on for a 21-14 win and a semifinal berth.

Mt. Carmel (12-0) will face either Fremd or Glenbard North at 1 p.m. Saturday at Gately Stadium in Chicago.

One way the Caravan has been enjoying success in the playoffs this year has been on the ground. Led by the senior tailback tandem of Edwin Williams and Tim Brown, the Caravan has not had to rely on its passing game at all -- the script was pretty much the same against the Hawks.

After a slow start that saw usually explosive Mt. Carmel gain just 10 first-quarter yards and no first downs, the Caravan unleashed its explosive running game early in the second quarter.

Williams (18 carries, 127 yards) broke off a 34-yard run to put the Caravan in Hawks territory for the first time. Two plays later, Brown (14 carries, 123 yards) reached the end zone for the first of his 2 scores -- and Mt. Carmel led 7-0 lead despite being badly outgained by Maine South (10-2).

"We usually try and do what we can to score as fast as possible," Brown said. "We had some chances to make plays early but didn't quite click. But then we got going."

Just before the half, the Hawks pulled within a score when Charlie Goro hit Craig Hoffman for a 17-yard strike.

But Mt. Carmel answered early in the third quarter to take a 21-7 lead on a 17-yard end-around from Brent Butler.

"We didn't come out and play a very good first half, but we were still down only 7," said Hawks coach Dave Inserra. "We gave up that early score in the third quarter and it forced us to play catch-up again."

Goro and the Hawks weren't done, engineering one last scoring drive. Goro's short touchdown pass to Hoffman with 11:47 to go in the fourth quarter pulled the Hawks within 21-14.

But on what turned out to be the Hawks' final play, Goro's attempt to gain 2 yards on fourth down was snuffed out by Glenn Foster (3 sacks, 7 tackles).