When Maine South and Mount Carmel...

...play on Saturday in the Class 8A championship, it will be only the third meeting in history for the two storied programs. Maine South, top, bested the Caravan, 31-28, in the 1995 final, while Mount Carmel, bottom, handed the Hawks their last playoff loss, 21-14, in the 2007 quarterfinals. Together, the two schools have won 14 titles in 21 trips to the final. Maine South, of course, will be trying to make it three in a row. Can the Hawks do it again, or is this the Caravan's year? Let's have a closer look at the two teams, shall we?

Coaches:

Mount Carmel has been coached by the legendary Frank Lenti (above) since 1984. Lenti's overall record of 303-53, playoff record of 83-14 and ten state titles in 24 straight post-season appearances has already landed him in the Illinois High School Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame. Lenti is only the fourth coach in Illinois high school football history to win over 300 games. A 1969 graduate of Mount Carmel, Lenti cut his teeth as a graduate assistant under Lou Holtz at the University of Arkansas.

Maine South may have its own legend-in-the-making in Dave Inserra. In ten years, Inserra is 115-14 with two state titles, and three second-place finishes in 2003, '04 and '05.

Advantage: Tie.
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Offense:

The Caravan's offense is led by quarterback Chris Sujka, top, (30 touchdowns on 1,344 yards rushing and 4 touchdowns on 728 yards passing) and running back Michael Banks, bottom, (16 touchdowns on 1,154 yards rushing). (Banks orally committed to Illinois State last week.) They run an option-style offense the likes of which Maine South hasn't seen this season.

The Hawks, for their part, are led by a sophomore at quarterback, Matt Alviti, top, (11 touchdowns on 531 yards rushing and 23 touchdowns on 2,842 yards passing), and the diminutive Paul Preston, bottom, at running back (19 touchdowns on 1,095 yards rushing). (The Maine South program lists Preston at 5'4" and 161 pounds.)

While Mount Carmel's backfield may have the better athletes, Maine South has the more dynamic offense. The Hawks have always been "pass happy," and this year is no different -- Alviti has several receivers that could give the Caravan defense fits, including Scott Derrick (12 touchdowns on 966 yards), Imran Khan (3 touchdowns on 482 yards) and Luke Mottley (6 touchdowns on 587 yards).

 Advantage: Tie.
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Defense:

Neither the Caravan nor the Hawks are known for their defenses, but both have gotten the job done this year, during the regular season and in the playoffs.

Tyler Fahey leads Maine South with 30 solo tackles and 15 sacks and is joined by Connor Klein and Sean Sullivan.

Mount Carmel's defense is anchored by Conor Flaherty (what's with all these Conors?) with 85 solo tackles and 12 sacks, and Brandon Greer and Derrick Bryant.

Advantage: Tie.
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We're not making much progress, are we? Let's have a look at each team's schedule, beginning with the regular season. Asterisks indicate schools that advanced to the playoffs.

Maine South:

*Schaumburg 29, Maine South 17                            
*Wheaton Warrenville South 44, Maine South 7
Maine South 42, Highland Park 0*                           
Maine South 49, Maine West 0
Maine South 55, Niles West 21
Maine South 49, Evanston 8*         
Maine South 48, Waukegan 12
Maine South 55, Glenbrook South 16*                     
Maine South 42, New Trier 21*                               
---
Maine South 47, Notre Dame 0
Maine South 36, Bartlett 12     
Maine South 20, Stevenson 9  
Maine South 29, Loyola 22                               

So Maine South is 11-2 after losing its first two games to 7A opponents, Schaumburg and Wheaton Warrenville South. While the Hawks scored 496 points this year, they allowed only 194. Six of their regular season opponents made it to the playoffs, with a combined record of 6-5.

Mount Carmel:

*Simeon 47, Mount Carmel 41       
Mount Carmel 45, Lake Forest Academy 8
Mount Carmel 41, Fenwick 7
Mount Carmel 31, Loyola 24 (OT)*                          
Mount Carmel 35, De La Salle 13
*St. Rita 35, Mount Carmel 14                                  
Mount Carmel 42, Brother Rice 7*                            
Mount Carmel 56, St. Laurence 7
Mount Carmel 35, Providence 0
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Mount Carmel 52, Bolingbrook 27
Mount Carmel 21, Neuqua Valley 14 (OT)
Mount Carmel 41, Lyons 10  
Mount Carmel 28, Homewood-Flossmoor 21

The Caravan is also 11-2 and also lost two games to 7A opponents, Simeon and St. Rita. Mount Carmel scored 482 points and allowed 220 against teams of which only four made the post-season with a combined record of 8-4.

The two programs had only one common opponent, Loyola, which they both beat by a comparable margin. Each team has performed well in the playoffs. Maine South handed Stevenson its only loss of the year and came from behind to beat Loyola, both on the road. Mount Carmel dominated Lyons and beat H-F, both teams with 10 victories from good conferences.

So what can we say about Saturday's contest after all this rigorous analysis? Beats me. Enjoy the game!