The shoulder injury that Mount Carmel’s Jack Elliott suffered in September has been well-publicized, but the senior quarterback’s season of adversity actually started a month earlier with a late-night trip to the emergency room and a two-day stay in the hospital.
On Aug. 29, after the Caravan lost a season-opening shootout 42-38 to the Hun School of Princeton from New Jersey on a hot night, Elliott suffered severe dehydration and was taken to the emergency room. He spent the next two days in the hospital.
“It was pretty random,” Elliott said. “I thought I was hydrating just fine. It might have just been pure exhaustion from taking all those hits from those guys. We called them the Avengers because of how big they were.”
Three months later, the Vanderbilt recruit was back on top of the high school football world after leading Mount Carmel to its third straight Class 7A state championship.
Elliott, the 2024 Daily Southtown Football Player of the Year, was a dynamic dual threat for the Caravan (11-3). He threw for 3,147 yards and 36 TDs and ran for 770 yards and 17 more scores.
After the hospital stay and the shoulder injury he suffered in Week 5 — oh, and three-regular season losses for Mount Carmel — ending his high school career with another championship could not have felt any sweeter.
“It’s even greater because of all the adversity,” Elliott said. “This was my goal coming into Mount Carmel. I knew they had a state championship kind of program.
“Leave it better than you found it, and I think I did just that.”
Mount Carmel coach Jordan Lynch would certainly agree with that.
“Jack is not only the best player in the state but in the Midwest, too,” Lynch said. “And the country, too, in my beliefs. I’ve never had a player with that much determination and will to win.
“He makes everyone around him better.”
That determination was on display throughout the season. Elliott said he suffered a minor shoulder injury in Week 1. Then, things got much worse when he dove for a TD against Benet in Week 5 and took a hit.
“I completely separated my shoulder,” Elliott said. “I woke up the next day and couldn’t even take my shirt off. Couldn’t do a push-up. I still can’t right now.”
Elliott was told he’d be out four to six weeks but was back on the field two weeks later. After the Caravan lost 16-13 to Brother Rice without him, Elliott returned to lead his team to a 35-21 win over Class 5A state runner-up Joliet Catholic in Week 7.
“I got my full range of motion back and they had no reason not to clear me,” Elliott said. “I got cleared the morning of the JCA game and begged coach Lynch to let me play because he still wanted to hold me out.
“They were shocked that I came back so fast, but there was no way I was missing that many games.”
Elliott said he could not stand sitting out, even in the lowest moments.
“One day we got punished for something and they were out there doing army crawls and running,” he said. “I’m still in the sling on the sidelines, and I felt terrible that I wasn’t out there with them.
“That was just a me thing, wanting to be out there.”
Sophomore receiver Quentin Burrell knew Elliott would do anything he could to lead his team, fully healthy or not.
“It’s the want he has,” Burrell said. “He’s the best player on our team, and he wants to be there for us, and he wants to be a part of us winning a championship.”
That’s exactly what Elliott did, throwing a Class 7A championship game-record six TD passes in the 55-34 win over Batavia.
Elliott is leaving his legacy as one of the greatest quarterbacks in the storied history of Mount Carmel. That list also includes his coach, who starred 15 years ago for the Caravan.
“Jack’s a winner,” Lynch said. “I remember watching him in seventh and eighth grade, and I haven’t seen a leader like that. He’s a perfect fit for Mount Carmel. It’s special to have a kid like that, and it’s hard to replace a Jack Elliott. There will never be another Jack Elliott.
“Kids like him come around every 15 years or so.”
