Caravan goal: Keep Ramblers from going 2-for-2

Font Size

Email

Bookmark

Black Text

White Text

Loyola coach John Holecek calls it ‘‘quite a challenge’’ to face Mount Carmel in a Class 8A quarterfinal at Gately Stadium.

What makes the game even more challenging is that the Ramblers never have beaten their Catholic League Blue rivals twice in a football season.

Mount Carmel played at Gately in the first round as the road team against Simeon. The Caravan then hosted Stevenson at Gately on Friday night.

Mount Carmel coach Frank Lenti remembers just two times that his team lost to an opponent twice in a season. During his first season in 1984, De La Salle beat the Caravan twice. In 2004, Providence beat the Caravan twice — the second time 16-15 in a state semifinal at Gately when a two-point conversion that would have won the double-overtime contest was stopped inches from the goal line.

‘‘That was the only time we lost a semifinal, and the team that beat us won the state championship,’’ Lenti said.

‘‘We don’t have a home-field advantage that other teams get when they just walk out the doors [of their school]. We don’t get to practice there.

‘‘Since we played Loyola the first time [a 28-15 loss in Week 4], we’ve changed some personnel. And a lot of the guys who played on the offensive line were kids who played defense last year. Now, the kids are buying into what we’re doing.’’

‘‘These games become a chess match,’’ Holecek said. ‘‘You can’t do the same things on defense that you did the first time to stop them.’’

VIKING MUSCLE: Fremd's offensive line appears to be as good as advertised — center Brian Bobek (6-2, 240 pounds), guards Michael Rumps (6-3, 202) and Michael Metzen (6-3, 282), tackles Christian Lombard (6-6, 295) and Evan Schaeffer (6-2, 221) and tight end Jack Konopka (6-4, 235).
They block for Evan Wright, who has rushed 345 times for 2,130 yards and 27 touchdowns.

DYNAMIC DUO: Is there a more prolific passing duo that has advanced to the quarterfinals than Marist’s Mike Perish and Dan Piko? Perish has completed 184 of 269 passes for 2,708 yards and 31 touchdowns; Piko has caught 68 for 1,059 yards and 13 touchdowns.

IMPRESSIVE DEBUT: In his first season of varsity competition, Montini quarterback Brandon Pechloff, a 6-6, 225-pound senior, has put up some impressive passing numbers: 165-for-279, 2,385 yards, 33 touchdowns.
His main receiver, sophomore Jordan Westerkamp — son of former Montini star Bob Westerkamp — has caught 40 for 939 yards (23.5 per catch) and 13 touchdowns.