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Marmion drops heartbreaker to Mt. Carmel

Saturday's contest at Fitchel Field in Aurora between Mt. Carmel and Marmion turned into a battle of the defenses.

Neither side scored in the first half of the CCL/ESCC crossover game.

Both side crossed the goal line only once in the second half.

Mt. Carmel prevailed, 6-0, as Marmion's touchdown was nullified by a penalty.

Including the scoring drive, the Caravan made it to the red zone on only two possessions. Likewise, the Cadets crossed Mt. Carmel's 20-yard line only twice.

"A hard-fought game. Our kids played hard in assignment football," said Marmion coach Dan Thorpe. "I'm very proud of our defensive line and our secondary tackling."

"Marmion did a good job today. They came out and held us to six points," said Jordan Lynch, Mt. Carmel's coach. "I think overall it's a good job on Marmion and a good job by our kids."

Mt. Carmel (5-0) broke the scoreless deadlock on its first drive of the third quarter. Quarterback Justin Lynch scored on a 7-yard run with 7:51 left in the frame. The two-point conversion on a fake kick failed.

The Caravan relied on Lynch, who rushed for 70 yards on 28 carries, for most of their offense.

A Mike Gatze interception of a Justin Lynch pass attempt in the same quarter started the Cadets' best drive of the game. The senior grabbed the ball at Marmion's 30-yard line and returned it to Mt. Carmel's 40.

Two completed passes by Cadets quarterback Padraig Fiztgerald and a Caravan penalty put Marmion (4-1) five yards from the goal line. On second and goal, Fitzgerald found his favorite target, Dane Pardridge (5 completions for 54 yards), all alone in the end zone.

The Cadets' celebration was short lived as the team was called for offensive pass interference which put them back at the 20-yard line. Marmion was unable to advance the ball and turned it over on downs.

"Effort, I applaud the kids for that but you've got to be smart," Thorpe said. "You can't block while the ball is in the air on a touchdown."

Marmion's best opportunity to score in the first half came on its final drive of the second quarter. A 42-yard pass from Fitzgerald to Gatze put the Cadets at the Caravan's 17-yard line. Mt. Carmel's defense held and Marmion could not advance to the end zone.

"Our defense came up big all day," said Jordan Lynch. "They stopped everything inside the 20."

Thorpe did not agree that the wet and muddy field slowed down Mt. Carmel.

"People are going to say the field, I don't know," Thorpe said. "We had people on every one of their men and the field impacted us, too."

Fitzgerald completed 10 of 27 pass attempts for 148 yards.

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