Mount Carmel coach Jordan Lynch has heard the complaints, read the social media posts and even seen the signs related to the public school versus private school debate.

For Lynch, it feels personal.

“These guys, you have to bring these kids in when they come to Mount Carmel from different backgrounds and now you have to coach them to the same common goal of winning a state championship and getting them on the right page, that’s hard,” said Lynch, who played at Mount Carmel and later at Northern Illinois University before returning to coach at his alma mater in 2018.

“One team, one goal, what they have, that’s easy. They know where they’re next meal is coming from. We have no idea.”

Lynch’s comments came when he was asked about the debate following his team’s Class 7A state title win over Downers Grove North. His analogy: public schools are guaranteed students from feeder schools while private schools have to convince families to send their children to theirs.

“These guys, you have to bring these kids in when they come to Mount Carmel from different backgrounds and now you have to coach them to the same common goal of winning a state championship and getting them on the right page, that’s hard. One team, one goal, what they have, that’s easy. They know where they’re next meal is coming from. We have no idea.”

—  Jordan Lynch, Mount Carmel coach

Some fan bases and teams have made it a point that their team comes from one town, as opposed to most private schools. Batavia brought a sign that said “One town, one team” to its semifinal matchup against Mount Carmel while Downers Grove North players and coaches made a point to talk about all the players growing up together in the same town after losing to the Caravan on Saturday.

Mount Carmel eliminated Batavia from the playoffs for a third straight year and ended Downers Grove North for a second straight postseason.

“We get kids from all different types of backgrounds,” Lynch said Saturday. “The one town, one team thing that they’re saying, that seems pretty easy to me to be honest with you. Those are kids that grew up playing together and they’ve played together from the ages of Pop Warner all the way to high school. Those guys have team chemistry, those guys know, in my opinion, where their next meal is coming from. Catholic schools have no idea. We have to fight for every single day.”

The long-running debate is’t going away any time soon. Lynch, meanwhile, was proud of what his program has accomplished and the opportunities it created for its players.

“We get kids like Darrion Dupree, Jack Elliott, you think those kids are going to be friends in any other walk of life other than Mount Carmel football?” Lynch said. “So it’s kind of personal when they bring that type of stuff up.”

Roadrunners’ strong culture

Nazareth pulled off the improbable Saturday not only coming back to defeat Joliet Catholic for the Class 5A state title but also from an 0-4 start to the 2023 season.

Roadrunner coach Tim Racki reflected on how his team got to that moment after a tough September.

“I certainly felt like I failed them the first month of the season,” Racki said. “We had a lot of deep talks about where we were, how we got there, what we do well and what we need to do moving forward. Because of the culture, they bought in and I bought into them.”

Nazareth started the season by losing to Kankakee, York, Montini and IC Catholic before winning four straight and losing to St. Francis to end the regular season. The Roadrunners got into the postseason as a 4-5 team and beat Prairie Ridge, Glenbard South, Carmel, St. Francis and Joliet Catholic to win the 5A title.

All five of the teams Nazareth lost to made the playoffs and reached the quarterfinals while three made their respective semifinals. Defensive lineman Gabe Kaminski credited Racki’s culture for helping the players still believe they could pull off the improbable.

“It all starts with the brotherhood and love that coach Racki instills in us,” Racki said. “It starts in the summer with all the team building, everyone on this team would die for each other, we love each other.”

Ramblers’ success continues with process

Loyola players and coaches believed in a system that’s worked since 2006 when former coach John Holecek took over.

This season, the Ramblers had a new head coach in Beau Desherow, a new starting quarterback and plenty of new starters, but many of Holocek’s former coaches remained and helped continue Loyola’s success, leading to a second straight Class 8A title.

“They put in a lot of effort,” quarterback Ryan Fitzgerald said. “They got guys prepared every single week, 14 weeks. Everyone on this team put in so much effort, I think that’s on the coaches too.”

Loyola won its fifth state title in program history and fourth since 2015. The Ramblers became the first 8A team to repeat as champions since 2010 when Maine South did it.

While the players credited all the work the coaching staff to get them ready, Desherow didn’t shy away from sharing the credit.

“They’re just a special group of kids, great group of leaders,” Desherow said. “I’m just very proud to be a part of this program.”

Putting St. Laurence on the map

Not many expected St. Laurence to compete for a Class 4A state title at the beginning of the season, but the Vikings players knew they could accomplish something special once they got to work.

“We walked in as freshmen not too sure how we were going to get here or when we were going to get here, we just knew it was the goal,” running back Aaron Ball said. “This year we all worked toward that goal and bought in together.”

The Vikings qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2019 and set off to accomplish the unexpected. They beat Chicago Vocational and Dixon in the first two rounds before pulling off an upset of IC Catholic in the quarterfinals. The heroics continued in the semifinals when St. Laurence blocked an extra point in double overtime against Wheaton Academy.

Vikings coach Adam Nissen was proud of what his group of seniors accomplished even though they didn’t achieve their ultimate goal.

“Since I’ve taken over, Laurence I don’t really feel like has gotten a lot of respect, I don’t feel like the football program has gotten a lot of respect,” Nissen said. “The guys on this stage have given validity to St. Laurence football again.”

Reflecting on an abnormal high school career

Joliet Catholic coach Jake Jaworski was reflective of not only what his seniors but all seniors had gone through during their high school careers.

Their freshman years were during the pandemic when there was no regular football season in the fall and a short one in the spring. Jaworski was proud of how his group grew through that experience and overcame adversity.

“To see them progress over the four years to get to this point, it’s not the outcome we wanted or maybe hoped for but there’s a lot of teams, players who’d want to be in their shoes right now,” Jaworski said. “I’m so proud of them.”