Senior defensive lineman Tavon Rice started Saturday’s game for Mount Carmel in typical fashion, wearing his usual No. 71 jersey. And that’s where all his troubles began.
Playing for a state championship, with all the pomp and pageantry, is not the perfect time for a uniform malfunction. His problem stemmed from two weeks ago in the quarterfinals.
At that time, Rice had his jersey stitched back up and everything was seemingly ready to go for the Class 7A state championship game, which the Caravan won 35-10 over Downers Grove North at Illinois State University’s Hancock Stadium.
No problem, right? Well, wrong.
“It re-ripped the first drive of the game,” Rice said afterward with a smile. “I had to switch to No. 47 until we found a sophomore jersey.”
Of course, that took a little bit of time.
Rice was eventually shown on the Jumbotron with his “new” number, sparking some conversation. The same thing happened when he entered the game later as No. 71.
It didn’t matter much what Rice wore Saturday, however, because he was equally effective for Mount Carmel (13-1).
Rice and the Caravan defense held sophomore quarterback Owen Lansu to just 132 yards passing and no touchdowns for Downers Grove North (11-3). They also sacked him twice.
“They saw a defense that was hungry and aggressive,” Mount Carmel coach Jordan Lynch said. “In this state championship game, we know from watching film that our D-line with Tavon Rice was one of our strengths of our team.
“We knew if we could get pressure to a 15-year-old kid, we’d be in a great position all night.”
This one’s for you: St. Laurence dedicated its season to junior offensive lineman Jaden Arroyo. And what a season it was as the Vikings finished second in Class 4A after Friday’s 59-38 loss to powerhouse Rochester.
Arroyo suffered a leg injury in 2022, and during examinations, he was found to have a bone cancer known as osteosarcoma. He had his left knee removed as well as his tibia and femur.
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He became an inspiration to the 2023 team.
“He’s been to our team dinners in the playoff run and has been to school two or three days out of the week,” St. Laurence coach Adam Nissen said of Arroyo. “He’s merging into that relatively normal high school lifestyle as best as he can.
“Physically, he hasn’t been there, but there’s not a day that goes by in our program where we don’t talk about him. It reminds us there’s obviously a lot bigger things going on than high school football.”
A reflective mood: The result wasn’t what Joliet Catholic’s Dillan Johnson wanted, but for the 6-foot-2, 280-pound defensive end, it was the full journey that mattered.
Like every other senior football player in the state, Johnson’s freshman football season commenced later than normal in spring 2021 due to the effects of the pandemic.
“I just remember being confused for the most part,” Johnson recalled. “That freshman year of football was, what, six games between March and April? Next thing you know, we start back up in June for the sophomore season.
“That singular year, you got to prepare for two seasons in pretty much three months of time.”
Johnson started as a freshman and then won the Class 4A state title as a sophomore. As a senior, he returned to state, a Class 5A championship game the Hilltoppers lost 38-20 Saturday to Nazareth.
While another title didn’t pan out, Johnson moves on to the wrestling season, where he will attempt to repeat as heavyweight state champion for the third time.
After that, he will head to Wisconsin as a football player and wrestler.
Gregg Voss is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.