Coming into the season, senior quarterback Blainey Dowling knew Mount Carmel had a team capable of winning a state title with a roster filled with talented, experienced players.
If there was a question mark, Dowling figured, it was himself.
“I would even say some of the guys on the team had doubts about me,” Dowling said. “People outside the team as well. I only threw 11 touchdowns last year, so I don’t blame them. That was my drive in the offseason. It was in the back of my head not to let my brothers down. It’s not that they weren’t riding with me. They were riding with me the whole way.
“But they didn’t know what I was capable of doing.”
Dowling responded by putting together a season that no one saw coming.
The 2022 Daily Southtown Football Player of the Year shattered school records for passing yards and touchdowns and turned a program historically known for its running game into one of the most dominant passing attacks in the state.
Dowling led the Caravan to a 14-0 record and the Class 7A state championship. He completed 205 of 309 passes for 2,977 yards and 43 TDs and ran for five more TDs.
“The season I had this year, I don’t know if anyone knew I was capable of this,” Dowling said. “I don’t know if I knew it myself. The guys around me pushed me to get better and coach (Jordan) Lynch taught me the ins and outs of football.”
As far as Lynch is concerned, Dowling has shown him a few things too. Mostly about how to be the ultimate leader as a high school quarterback.
“You want all your football players to be like Blainey Dowling,” Lynch said. “The kid is the greatest competitor you’ll see. He led us the whole way. This was his team and he got us where we wanted to go.”
Dowling’s work ethic and passion is bolstered by his Mount Carmel-loving family, including his parents Jim and Meg.
Barda-Dowling Stadium, where the Caravan play home games, is partially named after his late uncle Kevin, who died while playing for Mount Carmel.
Blainey’s biggest inspiration, though, is his little brother, Beau, who has battled cancer for most of his life.
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“Beau’s been sick for as long as I can remember,” Dowling said. “He beat it for a while and then got diagnosed again about a year ago. The way he fights, I learn so much from him.
“I look at it like, ‘Oh, I’ve had it rough? What did he go through?’ Any time I’m going through something rough, I just look at Beau. He’s the toughest kid I know. I know not to feel sorry for myself.”
Dowling will leave Mount Carmel with many special memories.
“I hope people at Mount Carmel will say I was a great leader, and I hope I’m a better person off the field,” he said. “There are little kids who look up to you, so you have to stay humble and do the right things.
“I just loved being a part of this team. I’ll be able to call these guys brothers for the rest of my life.”
The next big question is where Dowling will play in college.
He has a couple Division I offers from FCS schools. He anticipates more will come soon for himself and teammates such as Denny Furlong and Damarion Arrington.
“It’s pretty frustrating knowing the season we’ve had and the season I had,” Dowling said. “I hope these college coaches see that we’re all winners and we’re special players.
“I’m a hard worker. I lead from the front. I’ll bring the guys around me up. At the end of the day, you want your quarterback to be a winner.”
Steve Millar is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.