Butkus leads Caravan past Brother Rice Rice in Catholic League playoffs

CHICAGO | His great-uncle Dick was best known for the savage hits he applied to ball carriers who dared venture into his territory.

Don Butkus swapped hits for runs Friday night at Gately Stadium, but Mount Carmel's junior quarterback was still able to inflict plenty of pain on visiting Brother Rice with both his legs and right arm. His 87-yard touchdown run at the end of the opening period dealt a huge psychological blow to the Crusaders.

That score put Rice into a 9-0 hole, and with the Caravan having a strong wind at their backs in the second quarter, the home team was able to take command. Thanks to a couple short Crusaders punts that enabled them to begin two series inside the Rice 25, Mount Carmel's lead swelled to 29-0 by halftime.

The Crusaders eventually erased the shutout, but the Caravan never lost control of the Catholic League playoff contest and won 39-6. The win moved Mount Carmel (9-4) into the Prep Bowl for the first time in 10 years.

The Caravan will play the winner of today's Simeon-Harper matchup next Friday at Gately Stadium.

"We didn't want to let this family split apart," Caravan linebacker Derrick Bryant said. "Most seniors won't be playing football in college, so the draw was to get a ring. It's not the state playoffs, but 10-4 is better than 7-4."

Butkus was a big reason Mount Carmel lived to play one more week. In addition to his long run, Butkus scored twice on 1-yard keepers and completed two TD passes to Jason Gasser (21 and 12 yards).

The first of those touchdowns occurred three plays after Butkus' end-to-end run, and Rice (8-5) found itself trailing 15-0 with just over 13 minutes gone.

"They're a good team, so we needed to put them away really quick," Butkus said of the Crusaders. "We prepared really well. We know we got another opportunity after losing (in the state tournament) and we're going to take advantage of it."

Rice squandered an excellent scoring chance when it fumbled at the Caravan 5 at the start of the fourth quarter, one of four turnovers for it on the night. Another drop and Joe McNally's ensuing return to the Crusaders' 8 set up Gasser's second TD.

"They destroyed us," Rice coach Steve Nye said of the miscues. "You can't turn the ball over against them like that."

"With the defense and kicking game, we really kept the field tilted (in our favor)," Mount Carmel coach Frank Lenti said.