The final two Southwestern Conference teams alive in the Illinois High School Association football playoffs lost their respective semi-final games Saturday.
Image by Roger Starkey
Edwardsville’s fairy tale season came to a horror show ending Saturday at Tigers’ Stadium. Defending Class 8A champion Chicago Mt. Carmel (12-1) ran roughshod over the Tigers (12-1), posting a 34-7 victory in a Class 7A state semifinal game.
Mt. Carmel, which uses the same offense Collinsville implemented for the first time this year, did not throw a pass during the game. Edwardsville All-State junior quarterback Dan Marinko, who completed 63 percent of his passes on the season, managed a 14 for 38 performance against the Caravan, good for 135 yards, two interceptions and a touchdown.
East St. Louis (9-4) had their seven game winning streak snapped by Richards High of Oak Lawn (12-1) in a Class 6A state semifinal game. Julio Chavez’s missed extra point was the difference in the 7-6 loss.
The Bulldogs took advantage of six Flyers turnovers and two blocked punts to punch their ticket to the state championship game. Richards High finished the game with negative yards of total offense, but managed the win thanks to a block punt that set them up at the Flyers’ 5-yard line. The Bulldogs later punched in a 1-yard touchdown.
Mt. Carmal faces Lake Zurich at 4 p.m. Saturday Nov. 30 at Huskie Stadium in DeKalb for the Class 7A championship. The Class 6A champion will be determined when Richards faces Batavia in a 1 p.m. contest Saturday on the same field.
