Jack Elliott had one early mistake and nothing but highlights after that on Friday.
The Mount Carmel quarterback lost a fumble that Prospect’s Parker Ray turned into a 70-yard scoop-and-score 23 seconds into the Class 7A second-round game.
Elliott and the Caravan shook it off, running off 49 straight points en route to a 49-15 win in Chicago.
Playing less than a half, Elliott was 6 for 10 for 152 yards and four touchdowns to three different receivers. He also ran 37 yards for a score as the Caravan (10-1) had six scoring drives of less than two minutes.
Mount Carmel plays the winner of Saturday’s Quincy/Wheaton North game in next weekend’s quarterfinals.
“It was my fault,” Elliott said of Prospect’s early TD. “I had to make up for it.”
“Jack made the right read,” Caravan coach Jordan Lynch said. “He just fumbled switching arms and credit goes to them for scooping and scoring. But we weren’t fazed. ... We stayed on track.”
Especially Elliott.
The junior threw TD passes of 17 and 32 yards to Darrion Gilliam, 22 yards to Kevin Gardner and 68 yards to Alonzo Manning II.
“He works hard, great kid,” Elliott said of Gardner. “He just learns and his time came. He was ready.”
Gilliam is an inviting target at 6-6 and 205 pounds.
“He’s one of the go-to guys for sure,” Elliott said. “He’s got a huge frame and he knows how to use it.”
It’s a mark of the diversity of the Caravan passing game that none of the touchdowns went to their top two in receiving yards: Darrion Dupree and Maurice Densmore.
“The first quarter was a really good showing for our offense,” Elliott said. “We kind of struggled early on in the year with Cover 0, Cover 1, [Cover] 2 ... just winning the one-on-one matchups. But tonight we did it.”
Dupree, a Wisconsin commit, also helped loosen up the Prospect defense with his runs, gaining 91 yards on six carries.
But Elliott was the star of the game. Though he didn’t take all the credit for his scoring carry, throwing some Manning’s way.
“My touchdown run wouldn’t have happened [without Manning],” Elliott said. “He fell on the ground, rolled and then ended up pancaking the guy in the end zone. That’s what we need, that’s what we need to win.”
Even with more than 2,100 passing yards and 23 TDs this season, Elliott is just scratching the surface of what he can do, according to his coach.
“He’s only had 11 career starts,” Lynch said. “He’s only going to get better and better. The kid’s a winner and works his butt off.”
The Caravan also had a highlight on the other side of the ball when Charles Miles Jr. returned an interception 30 yards for a TD in the first quarter.
It was his first pick-six. “I dropped a couple so I should have had more,” he said. “I’ve been working on my ball skills.”
Jack Skoog passed for 158 yards and a TD for Prospect (8-3).
Spotting the Knights that early lead didn’t spark any worry, Miles said.
“We were like, ‘It’s OK, we’re going to get that out of our head,’” he said. “‘We’re gonna keep playing. It’s all right, the game ain’t over.’”
Elliott, among others, made sure of that.
