For St. Xavier’s Blainey Dowling, his first football game in Chicago in four years resulted in a miserable 42-point loss in an even more miserable driving rainstorm.
So how did the senior quarterback, a Mount Carmel graduate, describe the experience?
“It was a blessing to be out there,” Dowling said.
That may sound odd. But not if you consider his career at Eastern Illinois featured two elbow surgeries and two surgeons urging him to take a medical retirement from football.
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“That was kind of my plan,” said Dowling, who originally felt retiring was the best option. “But I decided to come here, and it’s been a blessing every day.”
Yes, that includes Saturday, when he threw for 175 yards and two touchdowns but the Cougars dropped a 59-17 decision to sixth-ranked Indiana Wesleyan in a Mid-States Football Association crossover game at Bruce R. Deaton Memorial Field in Chicago.
Freshman wide receiver Coen Demack caught five passes for 81 yards, including a 56-yard grab for a TD, to give St. Xavier (0-3) a 17-7 lead. Senior defensive back Owen Schickel, another Mount Carmel alum, produced 14 tackles with 10 solo stops and forced two fumbles.
Arjun Lothe threw for 278 yards and three TDs and Batavia’s Ryan Whitwell ran 27 times for 243 yards and two TDs to lead Indiana Wesleyan (4-0). Blake Brumbaugh only caught just three passes, but they went for whopping 170 yards and three TDs.
Meanwhile, the almost-retired Dowling played in front of friends and family in the city for the first time since 2022, when he helped engineer the Caravan to the first of four straight state championships and was named the Daily Southtown’s player of the year.
“I give thanks to the Lord for getting me out here and letting me play another down,” Dowling said. “It’s been forever since I’ve played here. My little siblings were excited to see me play.”
Dowling burst onto the NAIA scene by throwing for 449 yards and four TDs on Sept. 5 in a 38-31 loss to Taylor in Upland, Indiana. He earned MSFA Midwest League Offensive Player of the Week honors.
“He’s already done some great things for us,” St. Xavier coach Mike Feminis said of Dowling. “He can make plays.
“The fact that he can perform like this when he hasn’t played in four years has been great.”
Preaching patience, Feminis expects even more out of Dowling.
“I told him. ‘You can’t be expected to be the guy who won the state championship,’’’ Feminis said. “It’s like a prizefighter coming back and fighting a professional after four years of not fighting.”
Demack, a Bishop McNamara graduate, is becoming a favorite target with 27 catches for 352 yards and four TDs.
“He’s a winner,” Demack said of Dowling. “You can tell by the way he passes and the way he acts, he’s a winner. He wants to win and he’s getting (mad) during these losses.”
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About the Cougars’ record, Feminis prefers huge challenges before diving into the MSFA Midwest season. And he’s certainly getting his money’s worth.
Aside from the opener at Taylor, which is receiving votes in the NAIA poll, the Cougars lost 49-14 to Wisconsin-Whitewater, which was No. 12 in the nation in NCAA Division III.
“We played great teams, but that’s no excuse,” Dowling said. “We need to turn it around.”
Dowling is a communications major whose dream job is opening up a training facility.
“I would love to give back to the younger kids and try to teach them everything I know,” he said. “I hope kids can look at this and learn that you are never out of it.
“You can always claw back and fight back and deal with adversity. No matter what your circumstances are, you can find a way.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.