What might it feel like to be a high school student and call your school’s football game on live national TV? For a group of Mount Carmel students, that dream actually came true when the school’s Media Group got to broadcast a game on Marquee Sports Network in front of thousands of people watching at home.
On October 3, the Caravan Media Group had a huge moment, producing and commentating the football game against Brother Rice High School live on the same national network that broadcasts Chicago Cubs games and other Chicago sports content. Sophomores Brendan Daigler and Cal Covotsos were the announcers, while sophomore Matt Clark and junior Wyatt Knight ran the cameras and sound behind the scenes with help from Ms. Eleanore Menke, the group’s advisor.
Marquee picked MC for a student-run broadcast for the second year in a row. The team spent weeks testing cameras, microphones, and software to make sure everything worked perfectly. For many of them, it was their first time ever on national television.
“It gave me an opportunity as a sophomore to announce on live TV,” Daigler said. “Some people go through four years of college and never get that chance.”
Daigler joined the Media Group last year and quickly became one of the main announcers. He said he gets his spirit for the media group from older students who helped him along the way.
“I get my confidence from people like [MC senior] Rocco Lopez and [2025 graduate] Matt Malloy,” Brendan said. “Matt texts me before every game and helps calm my nerves.”
Covotsos found being part of the broadcast to be an amazing experience.
“It was surreal,” Covotsos said. “They told me there’d be about 30,000 viewers watching. I never thought my second game ever would be in front of that many people.”
Covotsos hopes to keep announcing and maybe study sports broadcasting in college one day. Club president Lopez said he was proud of how well the younger students did.
“I was kind of nervous throwing Covotsos on the air for only his second game,” he said, “but he did fantastic. The whole group did.”
Ms. Menke said a lot of planning went into the event.
“Marquee reached out in August,” she said. “We tested everything, cameras, sound, and graphics before the big day to make sure it met their standards.”
She added that Daigler and Covotsos “work really well together” and that their teamwork “shows on screen.” Rocco also acknowledged Ms. Menke for all the time she gives to the club.
“She takes so much time out of her day to help us do great things,” he said.
For MC’s young broadcasters, being on Marquee Sports Network was more than just calling a football game, it was a chance to live out a dream.
“It gives me confidence and skills I’ll use for life,” Daigler said.
