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Add Turner to the list of top Carmel tight ends

Known for its speedy, waterbug running backs who can light up the option offense, Carmel is also quietly assembling a “Who's Who” list of some of the best tight ends in Lake County history.

Noah Turner has just joined the party.

The 6-foot-3, 241-pound junior is getting all kinds of attention from college scouts, and has offers already from Indiana and Illinois. Michigan State and Ohio State have also recently stopped by Carmel to observe him in action at practice.

Turner has been worth watching in games, too. He caught 2 touchdown passes (62 and 55 yards) last week in Carmel's 41-0 win over Marian Catholic.

“We run the option so much that when the safety starts to run to the line of scrimmage, we just look (for Turner) to expose that,” Carmel coach Andy Bitto said. “When you've got a Division I tight end, it helps. We just throw it up there to him.”

Turner joins many other Division I tight ends who got their starts at Carmel. Some even went on to play in the NFL.

Jack Simmons played at Minnesota and played a year with the New York Jets. Jason Kwasigroch played at Northern Illinois, while Jack Baucus played at Arizona. Sean Walker received multiple big-time football offers but went on to play baseball at Michigan State and Chris Miller was turned into a punter at Ball State, where he became an all-American. Finally, Sean McGrath bounced around a bit in college but wound up playing two years in the NFL at tight end, with the Seattle Seahawks and the Kansas City Chiefs.

“Noah is going to be in that category,” said Bitto, referring to his previous stars at tight end. “He's got good size and he runs a 4.6 40. If he was 6-foot-5, he'd probably have about a 100 offers right now. He might still be growing. He's going to go big.”

So far this season, Turner has put up some pretty big receiving numbers for an option offense. He's got 7 catches for 224 yards, which is 32 yards per catch. He's also got 3 touchdowns.

“He can catch the ball,” Bitto said. “If he wants to be really dominating, he just needs to work a little more on his blocking. Then, he's a full-package player. If you want to play a lot at the next level, you've got to catch the ball like a crazy man, but you've also got to block like a crazy man.”

Spud-like:

Insane jumping ability wasn't the only thing that made 5-foot-7 Spud Webb an effective NBA player for his size.

“He was a really good decision-maker,” Carmel coach Andy Bitto said.

At 5-foot-8, Carmel quarterback Michael Huiras has had to take a page out of Webb's book. To compensate for a lack of size, Huiras has had to make sure his decision-making with the ball in the option offense is spot-on.

“Mike is so athletic, but it's more than that,” Bitto said. “He's tough as heck and he makes really good decisions in our offense. He's got a good (quarterback) rating.”

So far this season, Huiras has accounted for more than 500 yards of offense. He's also scored 8 touchdowns, 4 passing and 4 rushing.

Super sophs:

At 0-3 heading into last week's game against North Chicago, Grant went into shake-up mode.

The Bulldogs needed a jolt, so head coach Vito Andriola went looking for some of his best and most eager young talent.

“We started five sophomores (against North Chicago) and it made a difference,” Andriola said. “The best people are going to play in our program, and those guys are all really good players.”

Julius Moran made the most noticeable difference. The sophomore running back scored 3 touchdowns and ran for 169 yards on 20 carries.

“Our running game was really good (against North Chicago),” Andriola said. “We liked what (Moran) did.”

On defense, the Bulldogs started Ricky Allen at tackle, Jared Maravilla at end, Bryan Bajerski at linebacker and Joey Conway at cornerback. Bajerski had an interception.

“I loved everything about the sophomores,” Andriola said. “They brought a bunch of energy. I think they all really appreciated the fact that they were getting the opportunity. Going three weeks without a win is never a good thing. I think this will give all of us some confidence now.”

Fountain of youth:

If only Lake Zurich could turn its youth formula into a beauty product.

The Bears were young at the start of the season. And they keep getting younger.

“A number of injuries have forced us to play even more young players, either actual young players (in terms of age), or players who don't have any experience,” Lake Zurich coach David Proffitt said. “It can be tough because when things go bad with young kids, they can lose their focus and direction pretty easily. They make mistakes that set them back and then it's hard to overcome because they don't know how.”

The young Bears lost two straight games over weeks 2 and 3. Last week's 35-8 win over Mundelein was much needed, but since then they have lost two of their more experienced players.

Not great news for a team that is desperate for veteran leadership.

Starting center Alex Hilt, a senior, tore his anterior cruciate ligament in practice and is out for the rest of the season.

“It was a freakish thing in practice,” Proffitt said. “The really sad thing is that he hurt the same knee a year ago and missed last season as well.”

Running back Nick McCoy has a similar story.

The senior was starting for the Bears this year after missing last season with a severe muscle tear in his leg. He hurt his foot in last week's win over Mundelein and now has a stress fracture.

“He was in there all the time for us,” Proffitt said of McCoy. “He rushed for 100 yards for us against Libertyville. He returned punts. He was a major part of our backfield.

“Losing (Hilt and McCoy), that's two tough losses for us,” Proffitt said. “We're not real deep to begin with.

“Injuries always happen, but when you're 2-2, you feel them even more. If you're 4-0, you might not notice them as much.”

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