I told you to expect some weird and wild things to happen in Week 3 and they certainly did. From Sandburg’s huge scoring outburst to Mount Carmel’s record-breaking night to Brother Rice and Providence both falling to 1-2 and dropping out of our top 10.
The weeks that look like they will be the most uneventful always seem to turn out to be anything but. Here are my takeaways from Week 3 in the Southland.
Mount Carmel’s big night and the year of the quarterback
Let’s start with the ridiculous, historic performance put together by Mount Carmel’s offense. Senior quarterback Jack Elliott threw for 424 yards and six touchdowns, tying a school record as Jack McBride also had six TD passes in 1968 against Mendel.
Senior receiver Cooper Lehman, a transfer from Neuqua Valley, had eight catches for a school record 255 yards and two TDs.
Surely, the Caravan padded their stats against some poor, weak opponent, right? Wrong. This was against two-time defending Class 5A state champion Nazareth, and Mount Carmel led just 35-33 in the final seconds of the third quarter before pulling away for a 56-33 win.
Elliott is special. Here’s a guy who came into the spring with only offers from mid-major schools. Now, he’s committed to play in the SEC for Vanderbilt, and the Commodores seem to be getting a steal. This kid is good enough to play just about anywhere.
I’d still like to see Mount Carmel establish more of a running game. But, heck, they might not need it if they play like they did Friday night. Elliott is good enough to take them to the top once again.
Elliott is far from the only quarterback putting on a show in the Southland, however.
Obviously, the biggest star in the area is Lincoln-Way East junior Jonas Williams, an Oregon recruit who played less than a half and threw three TDs in Friday’s 49-3 win over Stagg.
Sandburg may have 2024’s breakout star in senior quarterback Anthony Shelton. We knew Shelton was good coming into the season, but he’s showing the state just how explosive he can be after orchestrating the Eagles’ 63-34 blowout of a good Homewood-Flossmoor team.
Throw in guys like Morgan Park’s Marcus Thaxton, H-F’s RJ McDonald and Lincoln-Way West’s Chase Hetfleisch — who will face off Friday night with Shelton and Sandburg — and it’s definitely shaping up to be a special group of quarterbacks in the Southland in 2024.
Suburban showdown
Speaking of Shelton vs. Hetfleisch, I’m hard-pressed to think of many games played in recent seasons between Southland public schools — especially two schools not named Lincoln-Way East — that warranted as much excitement as Friday’s meeting between Sandburg (2-1) and Lincoln-Way West (3-0), set for a 7 p.m. kickoff in New Lenox.
While Sandburg is just starting to attract some attention outside of the area after its statement performance against H-F, Lincoln-Way West has quietly flown under the radar despite making a quarterfinal run last season in Class 7A and returning the bulk of that team.
The state should be watching this game. There is star power on both sides with Shelton sure to target his preschool pal Charlie Snoreck often and Hetfleisch surrounded by dynamic playmakers, including a pair of likely future Division I receivers in DeAndre Coates and Austin Rowswell.
I’ll be there Friday night and I can’t wait.
Most eye-opening score
Lockport 41, Neuqua Valley 14.
Yes, Neuqua is now 0-3 but its opponents are a combined 8-1. The Wildcats — who went 7-4 in 2023 — lost to an Oswego team that looks like one of the state’s best and dropped a 16-14 heartbreaker to Minooka (3-0) before the Porters came into Naperville and took care of business Friday night.
So, make no mistake, this was a good road win for Lockport. Especially by that margin.
And especially when considering senior running back Johnny Wesolowski, who was the Porters’ star through two weeks with 311 yards and six TDs, was out with an injury. Fellow senior Tyler Pospisil, who played tight end last season, stepped right in and ran for 111 yards and four TDs on 20 carries.
The Porters (2-1) now have wins over two Class 8A playoff teams from last year and a last-second 22-21 loss to Wheaton North.
Where will Lockport go from here? That’s hard to say. The schedule is tough, with games against Naperville North, Naperville Central, Lincoln-Way East and Lincoln-Way West.
But this is a hard-nosed Porters team that looks fully capable of surprising someone and finding a way into the playoffs.
