Following Mount Carmel’s loss to Morgan Park,  Caravan senior C/F Henry Hudson was able to look back and realize that his team fought with everything they had. “No one put their head down during the end of the game, everyone played hard until the end.”

That attitude helped the Caravan run with the Mustangs and execute the game plan for most of the game. The plan was to be very aggressive on defense and slow down the game offensively worked as MC led 27-25 going into the half.

However, the end of the third quarter proved to be disastrous for the Caravan. Morgan Park tightened defensively, and put MC in exactly what they were trying to avoid, a quick transition game. After the 10-0 run to end the 3rd quarter, the Mustangs never looked back, hitting many of their free throws down the stretch to seal the deal.

The Mount Carmel offense was anchored by senior Jake Rhode, Elmhurst College, (19 points) and senior Christian Peevy (15 Points). Morgan Park’s leading scorers were Jarrin Randall, Western Michigan, (19 points) and Charlie Moore, Memphis, (17 points).

The Caravan, playing in front of a packed gym, fed off that energy to keep them close for most of the game. MC Athletic Director Dan Lacount credited the Mount Carmel student section for much of that energy.”The student section gave the guys a boost.  They were excellent.”

Despite the playoff loss, MC can point to a successful season that included a Catholic League South title, a Lawless award winner in Peevy, and the sectional semi-final appearance against Morgan Park. “We came up just a bit short in a long season,” Lacount said.

Senior Patrick O’Shea, a member of the “carafans,” had a similar opinion shortly after the game “They played a tough game, and the calls weren’t going our way. As Coach Frank (Lenti) would say, we have to take the refs out of the game, and not put it in their hands.”