Turner helps Carmel hang on against St. Pat

Usually, wins do not come easy in the East Suburban Catholic Conference. Just ask Carmel Catholic coach Andy Bitto.

"I'm just a wreck," said Bitto after watching his Corsairs hang on to a 28-20 win Friday night over visiting St. Patrick. "The last several years these game have come down to the end. We dodged a few bullets tonight. This one could have gone either way."

For the Corsairs (3-2, 2-1), burly tight end junior Noah Turner helped save the day on several occasions.

Turner caught a 10 yard pass from quarterback Michael Huiras to help give Carmel a 14-13 lead following Michael Pabst's extra point kick with 5:24 left in the first half.

Carmel's defense and some miscues by the Shamrocks (2-3, 0-3) kept St. Patrick off the board until late in the game.

St. Patrick had the ball on the Corsairs 2 late in the second quarter but came away empty after having a field goal blocked.

On their first drive of the third quarter, St. Patrick drove to the Carmel 6 but came away empty after a penalty and two incomplete passes.

"We made some key plays on defense when we had to, " said Carmel linebacker Remy Chitwood. "Their off-tackle running surprised us."

Turner came up with a key play in the game when he caught his third pass for 54 yards on a third-and-10 from Carmel's 25.

That set up sophomore Rondel Jamison's 10-yard run that gave the Corsiars some breathing room at 21-13 with 8:55 left in the game.

"It was a big play," said Turner. "Mike (Huiras) was able to get me the ball in that situation. This was a big win for us. We've been a little down the last two years. We want to bring back the Carmel tradition."

"I don't know how he caught that ball," said Bitto. "From what I saw the ball went right through the defenders' hands and to Turner."

Jamison scored from 31 yards two plays after Andrew Smith picked off a Zach Fuller pass at the St. Patrick 39. That gave Carmel a 28-13 lead with 7:52 left.

The Shamrocks drove and scored with 3:11 left on Nicholas Childress' 1-yard run to make the score 28-20.

St. Patrick had a final try but on fourth down from its 22-yard line Fuller could not connect with Trevor Heinlein, who was racing down the middle of the field.

"That 49-yard punt by Pabst put them in bad field position," said Bitto. "Our defense really pulled together when they had to. And Turner, he just makes some great catches for us."