Saturday Night Takeaways: Mt. Carmel vs Loyola

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>What a game!&nbsp; Sometimes the game doesn't live up to the hype.&nbsp; The heavyweight fight between 3 time defending state champions Loyola and 3 time defending state champions Mt. Carmel certainly did.&nbsp; Loyola jumped out early 14-0, but the Caravan struck right back with a score to close the half.&nbsp; They got the run game going and hit a key deep ball in the second half before the defense closed it out as Mt. Carmel won 21-17 to advance to round 2.&nbsp; Here we look at the prospects in <strong>Saturday Night Takeaways: Mt. Carmel vs Loyola!</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Caravan Big Play Ability Comes Up When Needed Most</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>All year long the explosive perimeter weapons for Mt. Carmel have stepped up when they were needed most.&nbsp; That was the case again in this game.&nbsp; After going down 14-0 late in the first half senior quarterback Emmett Dowling threw the bomb down the sideline to #3 overall sophomore and top wide receiver [player_tooltip player_id='1659180' first='Marshaun' last='Thornton'] for a 80 yard touchdown where he got behind the defense and then turned on the burners.&nbsp; The same happened on the game winning score as on one of the first plays over the drive Dowling connected with Thornton on a 94 yard touchdown pass on a go route over the middle where he adjusted to the ball then broke tackles and went to the house.&nbsp; On a night where Dowling couldn't get it to any of the other major weapons he found Thornton for two massive plays that won the game.&nbsp; Dowling is in his first year as a starter.&nbsp; He is a tough competitive kid that makes winning plays especially with his legs scrambling throughout the game for yardage.&nbsp; Thornton has all the tools you look for in a young P4 pass catcher with the size, strength, speed, and instincts.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Underclassmen Backs Show Flashes on Both Sides</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>While the two biggest plays of the game were through the air an important part of the comeback for Mt. Carmel was the running game.&nbsp; The Caravan started to push people around up front and junior running back [player_tooltip player_id='1335440' first='Nathan' last='Samuels'] was racking up the yards inside and out.&nbsp; Slippery in between the tackles.&nbsp; Also really like what he brings as a pass catcher including a nice first down grab on a wheel route.&nbsp; On the Loyola side Carmelo Maldonado continued to produce.&nbsp; The 2028 back is quick and shifty in between the tackles and a solid pass catcher.&nbsp; He had a 1 yard touchdown in the loss.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Both Offensive Lines Are Rock Solid</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>For the most part I thought both offensive lines played good throughout the game.&nbsp; Mt. Carmel protected the passer all night and were more physical in the run game during the second half.&nbsp; Nebraska commit left tackle [player_tooltip player_id='1417782' first='Claude' last='Mpouma'] is an elite pass protector that showed it off all night with his footwork, hands, and strength.&nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id='283927' first='Lamont' last='Miller'], [player_tooltip player_id='1585147' first='Declan' last='Gill'], [player_tooltip player_id='801990' first='Tim' last='Harkins'], and Chase Clark were solid across the board.&nbsp; Loyola also had a good effort out of their line.&nbsp; The studs up front on the defensive line for Mt. Carmel were neutralized in the first half.&nbsp; Good effort out of Miami (OH) commit [player_tooltip player_id='1669564' first='Tommy' last='Fraumann'] at left tackle who recently took a visit to Michigan.&nbsp; Colin Vardijan, Liam Walsh, [player_tooltip player_id='1602387' first='Henry' last='Lemmon'], and Brock Thompson were good especially in the first half helping them jump out to an early lead.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Mt. Carmel Defense Takes Over in Second Half</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It took them a while to get going, but when Mt. Carmel got to the second half they flexed their muscle.&nbsp; Both USC commit [player_tooltip player_id='270192' first='Braeden' last='Jones'] and top ranked sophomore defensive tackle [player_tooltip player_id='1682021' first='Caleb' last='Tucker'] missed a little bit of time in this game with injuries, but made big plays in the second half especially against the run.&nbsp; Huge fan of recent Vanderbilt decommit [player_tooltip player_id='1538329' first='Joey' last='Quinn'].&nbsp; Top uncommitted prospect in state showed a little bit of why tonight with his power bull rush, stoutness against the run, and running after the QB rushing his passes.&nbsp; At the second level it was senior leader [player_tooltip player_id='1524594' first='Stephen' last='Winkler'] who was flying around in the first half taking good angles to the ball and bringing quality coverage.&nbsp; Then the top linebacker in the state [player_tooltip player_id='1598821' first='Roman' last='Igwebuike'] took over late as he had several big tackles for losses and a sack on a big 3^rd down in the 4^th quarter.&nbsp; Long, rangy, and super athletic!&nbsp; Star corner [player_tooltip player_id='476341' first='Tavares' last='Harrington'] had a big time match up in this game.&nbsp; Gave up a couple plays, but also made several including breaking on a ball in one on one coverage in the endzone.&nbsp; Gavin Conjar, Issac Saldana, and Brandon Rogers Jr all were effective tacklers in the secondary.&nbsp; Really liked Rogers play in this game including blanketing the receiver to get the ball back on 4^th down.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Loyola Sophomore Wide Receiver is BIG TIME</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Ramblers best player in this game and all season has been 2028 wide receiver [player_tooltip player_id='974585' first='Jordan' last='McKinley'].  The 6'3” 215 pound pass catcher is a force similar to AJ Brown.  Can be a chain mover using his size to box out, snatches catches out of the air, and is physical racking up YAC.  He had a nice catch settling in with his QB scrambling where he came back then ran with power after it.  Also caught a touchdown on a 6 yard comeback route to the front pilon.  One of the premier prospects in the 2028 class in the state.  Junior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='1597478' first='Dominic' last='Maloney'] did what was asked of him in this game.  Made a few passes, was effective running with the ball moving the chains, and limited the mistakes to keep them in the game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Names to Track on Loyola Defense</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A few names caught our attention for the Ramblers defense.&nbsp; Senior Henry Newton is a physical thumper up the middle that brought the hammer a few times.&nbsp; Gus Vollmer is a junior linebacker who showed good instincts on the outside against the run.&nbsp; Fellow junior Will Mettee had an impressive sack bursting up the middle from his linebacker spot.&nbsp; Class of 2027 safety Tommy Fowler cut in front of a receiver on a deep pass for an interception then had a nice run back to give his offense good field position.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>This Game Should Never Happen in Round 1</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This game could very well be the state championship.&nbsp; The fact that the 3 time defending champs are playing the 3 time defending champs with rosters loaded with college prospects in the first round is beyond insane!&nbsp; As I said earlier in the week it was like when Wichita State had to play Kentucky in the second round of NCAA Tournament and lost.&nbsp; You aren't punishing the lower seeded team by under seeding them, you are hurting the top seed by giving them an opponent they shouldn't have to play that early by earning it all season.&nbsp; Yes I know Loyola was 4-4 and I know it is a computer formula that spits out a result and those are the matchups.&nbsp; I just think there should be some common sense used to step in and prevent this kind of stuff from happening.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->