Nerup, Corsairs dash past Notre Dame

Carmel quarterback Andrew Nerup looks for an open receiver during the first half against Notre Dame.
(Scott Powers/For the Sun-Times News Group)

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Notre Dame wasn’t going to let fullback Mike Taylor again be the reason No. 17 Carmel came out victorious.

With the visiting Dons focusing on Taylor, who had totaled seven touchdowns in the past two games, Corsairs quarterback Andrew Nerup kept the ball himself.

Nerup beat Notre Dame with his own feet as he scored three rushing touchdowns to lead Carmel (5-1, 3-1) to a 21-14 East Suburban Catholic win in Mundelein.

“Three big plays is what it came down to, and we’re the ones who made them,” Nerup said.

The first one came when Carmel linebacker Ryan Hrabak intercepted a pass near midfield and returned it to the Dons’ three-yard line. Nerup put the finishing touches on the drive with a four-yard score.

In the third quarter, Nerup broke off a 38-yard touchdown run for the second big play. The final one came when he sprinted 51 yards for what would be the game-winning score with 3:54 left in the fourth quarter.

Quarterback Eric Hennessey kept Notre Dame (4-2, 2-2) in the game with two second-half touchdown passes, including one to A.J. Fedoruk in the final minute that pulled the Dons within seven points. They followed with an onside kick, but Carmel recovered it.

Notre Dame's Joe Gutierrez caught 12 passes for 74 yards.