The North Shore’s Quentin Burrell could become a hit on the South Side for Mount Carmel.
The sophomore wide receiver made his varsity starting debut Thursday night for the storied Caravan football program and showed a nice mix of good speed and trustworthy hands.
He also impressed coach Jordan Lynch.
“He wasn’t afraid of the lights,” Lynch said of Burrell, who lives in Skokie. “He has a bright future. He’s not afraid of the moment. He wants the ball in big-time situations.
“He’s definitely a name to keep looking out for.”
The 6-foot-3, 180-pound Burrell hauled in five passes for 139 yards and a 30-yard touchdown during a 42-38 nonconference loss in Chicago to the Hun School of Princeton from New Jersey.
Mount Carmel (0-1) took a 38-35 lead on a 34-yard field goal by Nico Mullen with 4:04 remaining. The Raiders (1-0), however, marched down the field and scored with 1:00 left as Jack Moran hit Wake Forest-bound Bryce Kania for a 31-yard TD. Moran, a Charlotte commit, threw for 458 yards and five TDs, including 306 yards in the first half.
The Hun School’s roster features fifth-year seniors and is chock-full of Division I recruits. The Raiders play a national schedule, and after the Chicago trip, they will travel this season to Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Georgia and Maryland.
Vanderbilt recruit Jack Elliott threw for 279 yards and two TDs and ran for 53 yards to lead Mount Carmel. Burrell credited Elliott for some pinpoint passing, even when in those times that a defender was blanketing the receiver inches near the sideline.
“My team prepared me to be where I needed to be,” Burrell said. “It’s all up to Jack. He put the ball where I could catch it. All props to him. The line blocked and everything was working.”
Despite the distance from his home, Burrell was intrigued about playing for the Caravan.
“He and his family came to open house, and he attended a shadow day,” Lynch said of Burrell. “He kind of recruited himself to Mount Carmel.”
“They just made it feel like family,” Burrell said of the school. “They made it feel like home. This is where I want to be and this is where I want to stay.”
During the school year, he gets up early to take a train and then a bus to get to school. During the summer months, his parents, Aaron and McKenzie, wake up early to drive him to practice.
“They sacrifice a lot for me,” Burrell said of his parents. “They have been a great support system.”
Over the summer, he attended camps at Notre Dame and Ohio State.
“They are big-name schools, and I want to be a big-name guy,” Burrell said. “I felt like I want to (be seen) by the big schools.”
He’s also toying with the idea of playing basketball in the winter and running track in the spring.
Mount Carmel, the two-time defending Class 7A champions, has a host of new players like Burrell replacing graduated senior stars from the 2023 team.
Mullen was perfect on five extra points in place of longtime kicker Louie Chappetto (Eastern Illinois). Danyil Taylor Jr. moved from tight end to running back and ran for two TDs in place of Darrion Dupree (Wisconsin).
“We have some new faces with some younger guys and transfers, but it doesn’t matter — they bought into the program and played with us in the summer,” Elliott said in the preseason. “They have that whole Caravan-tough feeling.”
Likewise, Burrell and some of the newer players will get a taste of rivalry action Friday when Mount Carmel returns to action visiting St. Rita.
“We just need to stick together and come back next week with a vengeance,” Burrell said.
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
