Mount Carmel tops De La Salle 55-0
By Bill Harrison For Sun-Times Media September 7, 2012 8:32PM
Updated: October 10, 2012 6:27AM
At this point in his career, it probably takes a lot to raise the eyebrows of Mount Carmel coach Frank Lenti. But even he was impressed and surprised by his team’s offensive efficiency Friday night against De La Salle.
At the half and with his team ahead 41-0, Lenti was curious how many offensive plays his team ran. The answer — 14 — left him in awe.
There wasn’t much the No. 2 Caravan (3-0) did wrong during its 55-0 road win over the Meteors (2-1). The offense, defense and special teams provided efficiency across the board.
“I knew it was under 20 plays,” Lenti said. “Going into this I didn’t expect this to be anything like this. They (the Meteors) are a good football team over there and they dominated the first two teams they played.”
The balance started with kicker Ivan Strmic, who had five touchbacks and was seven of eight on extra points. The missed kick was blocked after a penalty. The first-string defense held Meteors star running back Mikale Wilbon to 45 yards on 17 carries; he finished with 48 yards on 19 carries. Wilbon had been averaging more than 200 yards per game.
The Caravan defense was led by James Rooks, Connor Griffin, Enoch Smith and Nick Johnson.
Meanwhile, the first-string offense that raised Lenti’s eyebrows totaled 302 yards on 16 plays. Matt Domer had 202 yards on eight carries, including touchdown runs of 70, 47 and 58 yards. Draco Smith had four carries for 74 yards, including TD runs of 51 and 14 yards. Jimmy Mickens added a 24-yard touchdown run, while quarterback Don Butkus ran one in from 3 yards out and was 2-for-2 for 12 yards passing.
“We practice hard throughout the week and it pays off in the end,” Domer said. “Our defense is amazing, and our offensive line are great blockers. I love them to death.”
The running clock was in effect the entire second half. Lenti played his offensive starters the first series, during which they scored on two plays. From there, the reserves played the rest of the way.
