Well worth the drive for Carmel

A mere couple of miles from the site of one of its most memorable drives in team history, Carmel Catholic returned to Chicago's South Side for a football game Saturday.

The Corsairs manufactured a vintage, clock-consuming sequence that conjured up memories of old, great Carmel teams. And when nose guard Mark Curran pounced on a fumble and recovered it late in the game to all but secure a 20-13 win over Phillips on the artificial turf at Mandrake Park, the Corsairs basked in the sun and rejoiced like they hadn't in a long time.

"We haven't had a win like that in two years," said coach Andy Bitto, whose Corsairs won just twice last season and three times in 2012. "That's what we needed. I knew (Phillips) was good. I was sweating it all week long."

Rondel Jamison carried 27 times for 168 yards and a touchdown, and Carmel (1-1) relied heavily on the sophomore fullback during a 15-play, 93-yard, third-quarter drive that Jamison himself capped with a 2-yard TD run. The drive was reminiscent of Carmel's 20-play, 99-yard, second-half drive in its state-quarterfinal win over host De La Salle in the 2007 state playoffs.

Up 14-0 on Phillips (1-1) at halftime, Carmel took possession for the first time in the third quarter at its own 7 after a downed punt with 7:56 on the clock. When Jamison eventually barreled his way into the end zone, only 42 seconds remained in the quarter. Jamison carried 11 times on the drive, while quarterback Michael Huiras completed a 17-yard pass to Kenny Barber on third-and-7 from the Carmel 43.

"Every time I went back in the huddle, I was saying, 'Let's go, boys. Let's keep going and push it (downfield),' " Huiras said. "We had a couple of big plays, but not like huge, 30- or 40-yard gains. I love that. That's old, traditional Carmel football."

Carmel took a 20-0 lead into the final quarter, after the defense got third-quarter tackles for loss from Riley Buncic, Will Hoffman and Liam Griffin, as well as a sack from linebacker Joey Lehman.

"They keep a six-man box so we thought we could outnumber them," said Phillips coach Troy McAllister, whose Wildcats went to the Class 4A state quarterfinals last year. "We weren't having too much success on the line, so we said let's spread them out and get our athletes in space, and it started working."

Facing second-and-15 from the 50 to start the fourth quarter, Phillips got a 25-yard completion from quarterback Dewayne Collins to Quayvon Skanes. Four plays later, Collins (21 carries, 104 yards) scored from 2 yards out with 10:52 on the clock. When the Wildcats got the ball back after a Carmel punt, Collins threw a screen pass to Skanes, who busted tackles in the middle of the field. Skanes (6 catches, 109 yards) outraced the Carmel secondary and scored from 58 yards out with 6:23 to go.

The PAT kick failed, keeping Carmel's lead at 7 points.

"They started making plays," Curran said. "I got to give all the credit to their offense because their offense was spectacular. They had tremendous speed. But our defense also played incredible."

Phillips' defense forced a Carmel punt from midfield and took over at its own 5 with 2:08 left. Collins picked up 16 yards on a scramble and then completed a short pass, which was fumbled. The 6-foot, 207-pound Curran fell on the ball at the Phillips 29. Carmel took over with 1:51 on the clock and ran out the remaining time.

"I got to give credit to Liam Griffin for stripping the ball," Curran said. "That was a great strip."

"That was the hardest I've ever celebrated," Huiras said. "I was going crazy. That was probably the biggest play we've seen in a couple of years."

Carmel had opened the scoring when Huiras threw a 19-yard TD pass to tight end Noah Turner on third-and-7 late in the opening quarter, capping a 10-play drive that covered 70 yards. Just before the half ended, Barber took a pitch from Huiras and scampered 10 yards into the end zone.

With Zavier Barnes (5 carries, 16 yards) limping off the field early in the second quarter with an ankle injury, Carmel got hard yards from Joe Hoy (8 carries, 38 yards). He and the workhorse Jamison ran behind the line of Turner, Sean Foster, Joey Lythcke, Ben Eppel, Adam Stull and Patrick Lyman.

"(Phillips') defense was fast," Huiras said. "They can chase down from back side. We got to give credit to them. They're a great team. They're going to do great things this year."

For Carmel, it was a great win. And much-needed.

"This is the way we used to win them," Bitto said. "We'd win these games 14-13 and 20-13. I love games like this. It builds a lot of character. We beat a good team."