Toomey's choice

Updated: March 22, 2011 5:32PM

Like so many other Southwest Side kids, Pat Toomey has been going to Mount Carmel-St. Rita football games for years.

For a long time, he was on the Mustangs' side with his dad, Ed, a St. Rita alum.

But when the Catholic League Blue powers renew one of the state's premier rivalries tonight at St. Rita, Toomey will have a different vantage point.

The senior will be trying to shut down the Mustangs' high-powered offense as a starting defensive back for Mount Carmel.

He'll be lining up against guys he used to play alongside in grammar school at St. John Fisher and against others he knows from other neighborhood parishes such as St. Cajetan.

‘‘It's a big game,'' Toomey said. ‘‘You know everyone on the [other] team.''

He'll know plenty of people in the stands, too, in a crowd that's expected to be in the neighborhood of 7,000.

‘‘When you get a crowd like that, it gives you a little adrenaline rush,'' Toomey said.

He has played in enough big games to know not to get caught up in the hoopla. Hard as it might be for some fans to grasp, this is just another game in the Catholic League Blue, perhaps the state's strongest conference.

Every game urgent

People who believe that got some ammunition a couple of weeks ago when last-place Fenwick was a two-point conversion away from knocking off St. Rita.

It's something Toomey has drilled into his head.

‘‘We've been saying it since Fenwick week, Loyola week,'' he said. ‘‘You've got to win out if you want to win the Catholic League title.''

Winning out for the season went out the window for the Caravan when it dropped a wild opener to Simeon at Soldier Field. That 47-41 loss was a reality check for the Mount Carmel defense.

‘‘We really took it to heart,'' Toomey said. ‘‘They came out and really whipped [us]. I think we kind of got the wind knocked out of us.''

It took awhile for the Caravan's secondary to find its sea legs, which shouldn't have been a huge surprise. Only Toomey, a 5-10, 170-pounder, returns with much experience from last year's Class 8A quarterfinal qualifier.

He came to Mount Carmel as a running back and inside linebacker, and he still has some of that mind-set. Among his favorite NFL players is the Baltimore Ravens' Ray Lewis.

‘‘His intensity and ferocity. I love that in a football player,'' Toomey said.

‘‘The biggest thing right now about Pat, he brings experience to the table,'' Mount Carmel defensive coordinator Dave Lenti said. ‘‘He's really the quarterback of our secondary. We've got two [cornerbacks] who didn't play a lot [last season], and Brandon Greer, the other safety, is a two-way player.''

The Caravan defense has taken some big strides since giving up 528 yards and six touchdowns to Simeon quarterback Robert Gregory.

Big win at Loyola

The signature win was a 31-24 overtime victory at Loyola two weeks ago when Toomey and his fellow defensive backs helped contain the Ramblers' high-octane passing attack.

‘‘We knew we had the talent,'' Toomey said. ‘‘It was just basically getting all of us secondary guys on the same page.''

Now it's time for another big road test for the Caravan, but that's OK. Toomey knew what he was signing up for when he came to Mount Carmel.

‘‘It's a grind,'' he said. ‘‘Especially when you get to the Catholic League.''

And especially when you get guys from the neighborhood lining up against each other.

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