Even a two-touchdown lead doesn’t seem comfortable this year in the East Suburban Catholic Conference.
So with a 28-14 halftime lead Friday against St. Viator, Carmel’s mission was simple: Keep the ball out of the Lions’ hands.
Mission accomplished.
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The Corsairs held the ball for more than 19 minutes of the second half and ran 73 total plays to stay alive in the ESCC, a game behind Joliet Catholic and Nazareth, after a 38-20 victory in Arlington Heights.
“We came in expecting that we needed to move the ball, and the offensive line did that,” 6-foot-8, 275-pound senior lineman Sean Foster said. “I couldn’t be any prouder of this line or this team.”
The Corsairs (4-2, 3-1) racked up 194 of their 376 yards of offense in the first half. Sophomore running back Rondell Jameson had 101 of his 144 yards and three touchdowns in the half, including scoring runs of 1 and 2 yards for a 14-0 lead.
But St. Viator’s Michael Ragauskis returned a kickoff 99 yards to trim the lead in half. Carmel followed with a 19-yard scoring drive, aided by a 71-yard Zavier Barnes kickoff return, with quarterback Mike Huiras scoring from the 1.
Jameson added his third score with 2 minutes, 25 seconds remaining, capping a 58-yard, six minute drive with a 3-yard score and a 28-7 lead.
Viator moved 86 yards in less than two minutes, with quarterback Tyler Johnston scoring from the 1 to make it 28-14.
The Lions (3-3, 2-2) got a 24-yard touchdown hookup from Johnston to Ben Dickey to draw within 31-20.
“Every time I came to the huddle I told the guys that we believed in the line. They were the MVPs,” Huiras said. “Viator’s offense is explosive, they just make plays. As an offense, we had to keep them off the field by running plays and eating a lot of clock.”
Player of the game: Rondell Jameson, Carmel, 33 carries, 144 yards, 3 TDs.
Key performers: Carmel — Mike Huiras, 15 carries, 151 yards, 2 TDs. St. Viator — Tyler Johnston, 18-for-26, 256 yards, TD; Ben Dickey, 6 catches, 95 yards, TD.