After taking a huge 30-0 lead, St. Joseph Regional of Montvale fell to Illinois’ Mount Carmel 48-44 on the south side of Chicago. In front of a national audience broadcast on ESPN, the Green Knights were unable to hold on.
It was an outcome nobody saw coming. St Joe’s capitalized on mistakes, turned them into points, and were in front by a wide margin very early. However, errors they made themselves came back to bite them, ultimately costing them a huge win against a national powerhouse.
On the very first drive of the game, the Green Knights forced and recovered a fumble that set up a 27-yard touchdown pass from William Mitchell to a wide-open Stalin Knowlden. They would score again on the next offensive drive when Andrew Wilson ran it 52 yards to the house.
While the defense was forcing turnovers and the offense was scoring touchdowns, the special teams wanted to get in on the action as well. They would do just that when Colton Romanoff recovered a snap that Mount Carmel punter Ryan Scanlan bobbled in the end zone, and just like that it was 21-0 Green Knights.
The madness didn’t stop there. On the first play after the kickoff, defensive back Jonah Parker ran in front of the receiver, stealing it for an interception. While St. Joe’s couldn’t capitalize and score, they would still get some points before the first quarter ended when a bad snap led to Caravan quarterback Thomas Elliott getting sacked in the end zone for a safety.
Mount Carmel started the second quarter, kicking off after the safety. The Green Knights scored when Knowlden returned the kick 75 yards for a touchdown to put the Green Knights up 30 points. They were on top in every aspect, and the Caravan had no answers.
Finally, Mount Carmel would catch St. Joe’s off its guard, as the Caravan scored their first points of the game on the next drive. A fake punt that led to a 47-yard run by Nathan Samuels set up a 27-yard touchdown pass from Brady Cloherty to Marshaun Thornton. They may have been down by 23, but they showed they had juice in the tank with plenty of time.
Halfway through the second quarter, the Green Knights had a punt partially blocking it, giving the Caravan favorable field position. They would finish the drive with a Quinton Burrell one handed catch in the back of the endzone for the 17 yard score and 30-0 quickly turned to 30-14.
Just as St. Joe’s had taken advantage of mistakes earlier, Mount Carmel started to do the same. The Green Knights’ punting unit continued to struggle and it was starting to cost them. A bad snap once again put the Caravan in a great spot, and they would follow through to score. A 12-yard touchdown pass to Duran Sims put Mount Carmel even closer as they were now down only by eight.
With nearly two minutes to go in the half, the Green Knights were facing a fourth and one at their own 29-yard line. They would go for it and it resulted in a turnover as Wilson got stuffed. After the stop, the Caravan countered with a goal line touchdown pass to Thornton for his second of the game. St Joe’s was giving Mount Carmel chance after chance to get back in the game. Despite it being 30-0 at the start of the second, it was 30-28 going into the half.
In the first drive of the second half, the Green Knights scored when Knowlden scored on a 33-yard touchdown pass. It was his third touchdown of the game and while they had blown the lead, St Joe’s ensured they were not going to give it up completely.
The Caravan responded by marching down the field, and ending their drive with a Quinton Burrell goal line touchdown pass. It was his second of the game and they continued to closely trail behind the Green Knights.
Neither team could make a stop at this point. Every drive in the second half resulted in a score. With under four minutes to go in the quarter, Wilson scored his second touchdown of the night, running it in from the three to put the Green Knights up by nine.
Early in the fourth quarter, Mount Carmel scored on a 34-yard touchdown pass caught by the tight end Ty Kennedy. They attempted a two-point conversion and failed, making it a 44-41 game.
For the first time in the half, St. Joe’s was forced to punt and it happened at the most crucial time. The defense needed to play its best all night and put a stop to a charging Mount Carmel. Unfortunately for the Green Knights the Caravan’s momentum was higher and they were able to go down field with Quinton Burrell scoring on a 35-yard touchdown pass. St. Joe’s had not trailed the entire night until now. After the successful extra point, it was 48-44.
The Green Knights were unable to respond and were forced to turnover on downs. They got the ball back after burning their timeouts and once again turned it over when Joseph Tracy intercepted it to seal the game.
It is a gut wrenching loss for St. Joe’s, who had a 30-point lead early in the third quarter. The defense who made all the stops quickly became extinct and were unable to contain Mount Carmel quarterback Brady Cloherty, who threw seven touchdown passes. They did not have head coach Augie Hoffmann, who was suspended the first two games of the season by the school, which definitely made a huge difference. Had he been there, the outcome could have been different.
