Mount Carmel wins a record 16th IHSA state football championship

NORMAL—Jack Elliott burst onto the scene as a sophomore with a pass on a fake punt that helped Mount Carmel beat Loyola.

He took over the starting quarterback job as a junior, and at that point, it seemed that it would be difficult to fill Blainey Dowling’s shoes. Dowling set Mount Carmel passing records and led the Caravan to the Class 7A state title in 2022.

Elliott didn’t fill shoes. He raised the bar. The Vanderbilt recruit led Mount Carmel to 24 wins and two state championships.

He threw for a Class 7A title-game-record six touchdowns in Mount Carmel’s 55-34 victory against Batavia on Saturday at ISU’s Hancock Stadium.

‘‘It’s pretty special,” Elliott said. “Not a lot of things went right this year, especially in the regular season.”

It’s the 16th state championship for the Caravan. That’s a record, breaking the tie with Joliet Catholic, which lost the Class 5A title game to Nazareth earlier in the day.

“We knew if we won that [Joliet Catholic] sat at 15 wins, and we would be the kings of the state,” Mount Carmel coach Jordan Lynch said. “No. 16 and three in a row. It feels special.”

Elliott was 16-for-26 for 301 yards. He rushed eight times for 115 yards and a touchdown.

“He’s a winner,’’ Lynch said. ‘‘Every kid at Mount Carmel is recruited to Mount Carmel. I remember watching Jack in seventh and eighth grade. I haven’t seen a leader like that on the field. He’s a perfect fit for Mount Carmel. It’s special to have a kid like that. Kids like him come around every 15 years or so.”

Lynch, who went on to be a Heisman Trophy nominee at NIU, graduated from Mount Carmel 15 years ago.

The Caravan (11-3) scored two touchdowns in the first three minutes and never trailed. Batavia (12-2) cut the Caravan’s lead to seven on two occasions, but Mount Carmel led 42-21 at halftime.

Cooper Lehman had five catches for 114 yards and a touchdown for the Caravan. Sophomore Quentin Burrell caught three passes for 46 yards and two touchdowns.

The Caravan have dominated the Class 7A playoffs the last two seasons, winning 10 games by a combined score of 499-204. The only team to come within a touchdown of the Caravan during the run was Normal, which Mount Carmel beat 49-42 in the semifinals last weekend.

It’s the fifth consecutive year that the Caravan have ended Batavia’s season.

Batavia quarterback Michael Vander Luitgaren, who only became the featured quarterback in Week 9, was 30-for-48 for 392 yards with three touchdowns and one interception.

“I’m so proud of this team,” Batavia coach Dennis Piron said. “What they did throughout these playoffs was so joyful for our community.”