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Mt. Carmel downs Nazareth for 13th state title

Mt. Carmel quarterback Justin Lynch ran for 120 yards, passed for 87 and scored 5 touchdowns Saturday to lead the Caravan to a 37-13 win over Nazareth in the Class 7A state championship football game at Huskie stadium in DeKalb.

It was Mt. Carmel's 13th state football title.

Mt. Carmel (14-0) outscored Nazareth 17-0 in the second half as Lynch sealed the win with TD runs of 1 and 2 yards in the fourth quarter.

Kenenna Odeluga led Mt. Carmel's 316-yard rushing attack with 176 yards in 29 carries.

Nazareth (13-1) was held to 137 yards of offense for the game, and just 21 on the ground.

East St. Louis 43, Prairie Ridge 21: The Flyers, who won the ninth championship in program history, denying Prairie Ridge its fourth, in the Class 6A title game. ESL (14-0) broke open a close game by outscoring the Wolves (13-1) 23-7 in the fourth quarter. Tyler Macon (13-for-19, 304 yards) threw for 3 TDs for the Flyers, as well as rushing for 91 yards in 11 carries. Kyle Koelblinger rushed 30 times for 142 yards for Prairie Ridge.

Rochester 42, St. Rita 28: Rochester won its eighth state title in the last 10 years, claiming its first Class 5A championship behind 313 passing yards from Clay Bruno (18 of 25, 4 TDS). Rochester's previous state titles were all in Class 4A. Bruno, who also caught a TD pass, threw three of his scoring strikes to Hank Beatty (12 catches, 212 yards). The Rockets (13-1) rolled up 444 yards of offense and led 42-7 early in the fourth quarter. St. Rita (10-4) was held to 247 yards of total offense.

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