Scoring on five of their first six possessions, the Highlanders cruised to a 42-0 triumph over Mt. Carmel, Ill., on Friday to claim a second straight Class 4A title at Memorial Stadium.
Last year Driscoll edged Mt. Carmel 42-41 in double overtime.
“Before the game I told Coach [Tim Racki] that this was going to be magical,” said quarterback Matt Mahaney, who completed 8-of-10 passes for 183 yards and four touchdowns. “I said we were going to end it this time after four quarters.”
Actually, it took less than two.
On the opening drive Mahaney hit Anthony Gebhart with a 26-yard touchdown pass. Next possession, it was Mahaney to Billy Morris on a 56-yard scoring pass play.
Midway through the second quarter Gebhart made two dazzling cutbacks and raced 44 yards for a score.
Three-and-a-half minutes later Mahaney connected with second-team All-State receiver Greg Turner on a 25-yard touchdown pass.
Just before halftime Turner made a splendid catch in the corner of the end zone on a 10-yard fade pass, dragging both feet on the Memorial Stadium’s turf to make it 35-0.
“If someone had told me last night that we would put a running clock on Mt. Carmel, I would’ve thrown him out of my hotel room,” Racki said. “What I’m feeling is euphoria. I’m in awe.”
Mt. Carmel (13-1), which averaged 39 points a game, was completely shut down by the Highlanders defense. Driscoll had 365 yards of total offense to 127 for the Golden Aces.
“We’ve played against teams with two or three fast players,” Mt. Carmel coach Darren Peach said. “But they had good overall team speed everywhere?on offense, defense and special teams.”
Turner and Gebhart stayed up until midnight going over the game plan.
“Gebhart and I roomed together at the hotel, and we’re like a tag-team duo,” Turner said. “We said we’d take turns making big plays the whole game. Everything came true.”
Gebhart ran for 128 yards on 14 carries and scored a touchdown. Turner was limited to two catches by double-team coverage but scored twice. Morris caught three passes for 84 yards and one TD.
After the game, the Highlanders interrupted their raucous celebration and formed a tunnel for the Immaculate Conception players, who were taking the field for its 3A title game against DuQuoin.
Driscoll’s players chanted “SCC” in honor of their Suburban Catholic Conference rival.
“Normally, we’re trying real hard to beat each other,” Racki said.
“For this one week?actually, for the whole playoff run, we’re all on the same team.”
Driscoll 42, Mt. Carmel (Ill.) 0
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Mt. Carmel (Ill.) (13-1) 0 0 0 0 - 0 Driscoll (13-1) 14 21 7 0 - 42
SCORING
1st 07:55 DRISCOLL – Gebhart, A. 26 yd pass from Mahaney, Matt (Albreski, Rick kick), 8 plays, 63 yards, TOP 4:05, CARMEL 0 – DRISCOLL 7
00:28 DRISCOLL – Morris, Billy 56 yd pass from Mahaney, Matt (Albreski, Rick kick), 5 plays, 69 yards, TOP 2:20, CARMEL 0 – DRISCOLL 14
2nd 06:34 DRISCOLL – Gebhart, A. 44 yd run (Albreski, Rick kick), 3 plays, 67 yards, TOP 1:18, CARMEL 0 – DRISCOLL 21
03:09 DRISCOLL – Turner, Greg 25 yd pass from Mahaney, Matt (Albreski, Rick kick), 4 plays, 61 yards, TOP 1:45, CARMEL 0 – DRISCOLL 28
00:03 DRISCOLL – Turner, Greg 10 yd pass from Mahaney, Matt (Albreski, Rick kick), 6 plays, 58 yards, TOP 1:48, CARMEL 0 – DRISCOLL 35
3rd 07:52 DRISCOLL – Schulz, Jason 2 yd run (Albreski, Rick kick), 4 plays, 50 yards, TOP 1:50, CARMEL 0 – DRISCOLL 42
STATISTICS
CARMEL DRISC
FIRST DOWNS 8 14
RUSHES-YARDS (NET) 26-74 34-182
PASSING YDS (NET) 53 183
Passes Att-Comp-Int 19-6-2 10-8-0
TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS 45-127 44-365
Fumble Returns-Yards 0-0 1-14
Punt Returns-Yards 1-2 1-2
Kickoff Returns-Yards 6-96 1-27
Interception Returns-Yards 0-0 2-5
Punts (Number-Avg) 3-28.0 2-38.0
Fumbles-Lost 2-1 0-0
Penalties-Yards 0-0 5-45
Possession Time 23:41 24:19
Sacks By: Number-Yards 1-7 1-10
RUSHING: Mt. Carmel-Drone, Luke 12-32; Buss, Tyler 5-22; Summers,
Jake 4-15; Morris, Ryne 5-5. Driscoll-Gebhart, A. 14-128; Schulz,
Jason 5-52; Senese, Joe 2-5; Sramek, Mike 3-3; Mahaney, Matt 5-1; Hohenzy,
Tom 1-0; Segretti, Mike 4-minus 7.
PASSING: Mt. Carmel-Drone, Luke 6-19-2-53. Driscoll-Mahaney, Matt 8-10-0-183.
RECEIVING: Mt. Carmel-Brewer, Michael 5-50; Witsman, Blake 1-3.
Driscoll-Morris, Billy 3-84; Gebhart, A. 3-64; Turner, Greg 2-35.
INTERCEPTIONS: Mt. Carmel-None. Driscoll-Batts, Mike 2-5.
SACKS (UA-A): Mt. Carmel-Johnston, Chris 0-1; Lewis, Judd 0-1.
Driscoll-Mroz, Luke 0-1; Hohenzy, Tom 0-1.
TACKLES (UA-A): Mt. Carmel-Lewis, Judd 6-4; Summers, Jake 0-6;
Hammel, Wayne 4-1; Winters, Nick 4-1; Drone, Luke 3-2; Cheesman, Mike 4-0;
Johnston, Chris 2-1; Dougherty, C. 2-1; Noland, Nick 0-3; Buttler, Jacob
2-0; Morris, Ryne 1-0; Buss, Tyler 0-1. Driscoll-Cwik, Danny 3-4;
Tranchitella, J 3-3; Hohenzy, Tom 1-5; Batts, Mike 4-1; Schukz, Jason 2-3;
Mroz, Luke 1-3; Segretti, Mike 2-1; Kish, Matt 2-1; Grezenko, David 0-3;
Turner, Greg 1-1; Nudo, Justin 0-2; Morris, Billy 1-0; Tenuto, Frank 1-0;
Laraia, Joe 0-1; Lesniak, Ryan 0-1; Gebhart, A. 0-1; Sramek, Mike 0-1;
Burja, Brian 0-1; Gonzalez, Frank 0-1; DiLeo, Mike 0-1.
Stadium: Memorial Field. Kickoff time: 4:53 p.m. End of Game: 6:47 p.m. Total elapsed time: 1:54. Officials: Referee: Robert Steeves; Umpire: John Steeves;
Linesman: Henry Wilson; Line judge: Robert Flores; Back judge: Thomas Holba;
Scorer: John Fredrick. Temperature: 55. Wind: SW @ 23 mph. Weather: Overcast.