Ryan Fitzgerald and Jack Elliott play, but Loyola’s defense dominates Mount Carmel in a statement win

Loyola and Mount Carmel have combined to win 20 state championships. The schools have been especially dominant lately, winning the last two Class 8A and 7A titles.

This season has been different, at least so far. Injuries at the quarterback spot have left both teams vulnerable. Some chinks in the armor have shown.

Heading into Friday’s matchup it was unknown if the starting quarterbacks would even play. Mount Carmel’s Jack Elliott is nursing a sore shoulder. Ryan Fitzgerald of Loyola has been dealing with a hamstring injury since Week 2.

The quarterbacks both played, but with far different results. Fitzgerald and No. 4 Loyola rolled to a 31-7 win on the road at No. 2 Mount Carmel.

Elliott threw for 260 yards but had trouble finding the end zone. Mount Carmel (6-3, 1-2 CCL/ESCC Blue) scored on a 67-yard pass from Elliott to Quentin Burrell midway through the first quarter and was shut out the rest of the way.

“You can move the ball all you want, you can throw the ball all you want,” Caravan coach Jordan Lynch said. “You have to score inside the 25. We can’t do that. We haven’t been able to do that against Loyola.”

Elliott was 22 for 43 for 260 yards with one interception.

“They are an explosive play team,” Loyola coach Beau Desherow said. “They got one on us in the first quarter. We knew if we could limit that and make them go the length of the field we would be in pretty good shape.”

Mount Carmel only had 11 rushing attempts. Starting running back Danyil Taylor Jr. had one carry for two yards.

“We are going to take what is there,” Lynch said. “We thought we could attack their secondary.”

Fitzgerald was 17 for 23 for 238 yards and 2 TDs for Loyola (7-2, 3-0).

Elliott and Fitzgerald are both tough, devastating runners. That was off the table due to the injuries. There were no running plays called for Elliott and Fitzgerald had just two.

Fitzgerald was sacked twice but stubbornly refused to go down on either. On the second sack, it was 6-5, 255-pound USC recruit Braeden Jones and a teammate trying to force Fitzgerald to the ground with no luck.

“Obviously this game means something to everyone,” Fitzgerald said. “To send that message that I don’t care how good you are, I don’t care who you are. I’m just going to be better than you.”

“[Fitzgerald] is a dog,” Ramblers running back Drew MacPherson said. “You see it on the field. He’s a dog in the weight room. He’s a dog in the film room. When you have a quarterback like that pumped up and fired up all the time, it gets the team going. We feed off of him.”

MacPherson had 20 carries for 83 yards and two TDs and three catches for 75 yards. He’s been the beneficiary of Loyola’s vastly improved offensive line.

“We’ve had injuries and we’ve had guys that didn’t play their best and we made changes,” Fitzgerald said. “They have come together. You saw it last year too.”

With a healthier Fitzgerald, an improved offensive line, and a defense that shut out Mount Carmel at home for three quarters, Loyola appears to have overcome its early-season struggles.

“I’m lost for words on what the defense did,” Fitzgerald said. “From Week 1 to now is such a big turnaround. We wanted to make a statement and we did.”