Stay Connected with YourSeason
Greer's second half propels Caravan
23524000
Updated: September 8, 2011 6:40PM
Brandon Greer is finally ready to look ahead, rather than behind.
Greer's big second half helped Mount Carmel avenge last year's season-opening loss to Simeon as the No. 4 Caravan shut down the No. 6 Wolverines 23-14 Friday afternoon at Soldier Field.
"It feels good," said Greer, a senior who starts both ways. "I think last year we gave them the game. ... We didn't want to do the same thing again."
One of the things Mount Carmel needed to do was get the football into Greer's hands more often. He had one carry for minus-7 yards in the first half before running 12 times for 147 yards in the final two quarters.
"In the beginning, a couple of our plays weren't working too well so we made adjustments after that to give Brandon the ball a little more," Caravan quarterback Don Butkus said.
Greer ripped off a 36-yard gain on Mount Carmel's first play from scrimmage after halftime and keyed a drive that ended abruptly with his fumble just shy of the goal line. Simeon's Jeremiah Lee recovered at the 3-yard line, but on the next play, Mount Carmel sophomore Steve Richardson dropped Simeon's Sharoid Roach in the end zone for a safety that pushed Mount Carmel's lead to 9-6 at 6:43 of the third quarter.
The Caravan took the ensuing free kick and went 55 yards on five plays - the last 41 on a Greer burst up the middle - to open a 16-6 lead with 3:49 left in the third.
Caravan coach Frank Lenti said he sat down Greer after the fumble and told him, "I'm not going to yell at you, but next time you owe me one. Next time you get the ball, you owe me a score."
Butkus, who hit Jake Gasser with a 12-yard pass for Mount Carmel's first TD in the first quarter, ran 4 yards for a touchdown with 4:15 left to put the game out of reach. The junior ran 13 times for 52 yards and was 3-of-5 passing for 35 yards (all before halftime) in his first varsity start.
"He's always plays very confident," Lenti said. "He's a very cerebral quarterback."
Simeon had a pair of touchdown passes by Robert Gregory (13-of-23, 1 interception, 153 yards), one for 13 yards to John Gardner and another for 32 to Cywettnie Brown with 1:44 left in the game. Gregory, who was coming off an injury to his non-throwing shoulder, also was the Wolverines' leading rusher with 55 yards on seven carries.
"[We] didn't look too comfortable," Simeon coach Dante Culbreath said. "We dropped some balls, Bobby [Gregory] missed some balls. ... We just haven't jelled."
© 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.
Cell Phone Alerts
Comments Click here to view or make a comment