Carmel rolls past Benet

Updated: March 22, 2011 5:30PM

Carmel defensive end Mike Cohen takes pride in wrecking opposing offenses. So when the senior speaks about his Corsairs defense it's important to listen to him.

"I'd say we have one of the top five defenses in the state,'' Cohen said.

No. 6 Carmel (6-0) wasn't really tested on Friday night in Mundelein. Cohen and his defensive teammates tossed a shut out at visiting Benet Academy (3-3). The running clock ignited in late in the third quarter as Carmel hammered the Redwings 42-0.

It did take the Carmel offense almost eight minutes of the first quarter to dent the scoreboard. Brian Brennan busted up the gut for a 20-yard touchdown run.

"We were a little slow coming out,'' Brennan said. "They were bigger than us. But we changed a few things.''

The next Carmel touchdown took less than 10 seconds off the clock. Quarterback Brian Serio (4-of-7, 150 yards, 2 TD) hit a wide-open Ryan Cappis in stride for a 66-yard touchdown pass.

Carmel took that 14-0 lead to the second quarter. A 50-yard burst by Jordan Kos (15 carries, 164 yards, 2 TD) set up Serio's two-yard TD run making the score 20-0. Serio went back to the air for the next Carmel score. His short pass to speedster Michael Panico was rewarded with a 62-yard TD pass. Brennan ran in the two-pointer and the lead moved to 28-0 with less than two minutes before the halftime break.

However, Carmel wasn't done scoring. Michael Fitzgibbons' interception set up Kos' 10-yard TD run and it was 35-0 at the break.

The lone score of the second half was helped along when Brennan threw a 30-yard halfback pass to Pat Doherty. Kos got the call again, this time from six yards out.

The closest Benet came to scoring came in the fourth quarter. A fourth down pass play was knocked down by John Salvi.

© 2012 Sun-Times Media, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be copied or distributed without permission. For more information about reprints and permissions, visit www.suntimesreprints.com. To order a reprint of this article, click here.