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There might not be another game as thrilling as Mount Carmel played on Friday night.
In a nationally televised game, New Jersey visiting St. Joseph Regional High School went up 30-0 on the Caravan just one play into the second quarter. It was the definition of a rout.
Until, the Caravan staged a comeback for the ages. They stunned the high school football world, as Jordan Lynch's Mount Carmel squad overcame that 30-point deficit to shock St. Joseph and win its first game of the season.
The backstory:
It really was a disaster to start for Mount Carmel.
St. Joseph took a 14-0 lead after scoring a touchdown, scoring again after forcing a turnover on downs and recovering a Caravan fumbled punt in the end zone. It was 23-0 when St. Joseph forced a safety.
On the first play of the second quarter, St. Joseph returned the safety kick for a touchdown.
Somedays, it's just not your day. Mount Carmel made it their day.
Getting the ball back down 30-0, Nathan Samuels got the comeback started. He might have fumbled a snap earlier, but came through with a 47-yard run on a fake punt that directly led to the first touchdown of the night.
Mount Carmel quarterback Brady Cloherty got the Caravan on the board with a touchdown pass to junior wide receiver and four-star recruit Marshaun Thornton. Mount Carmel took advantage of some St. Joseph special teams miscues and jumped on a snap that went over the punter's head. The Caravan scored as Cloherty hit Duran Sims for a touchdown.
Mount Carmel's defense rallied, too. The Caravan defense stuffed St. Joseph on a fourth down play on St. Joseph's own 30-yard line. Clohety threw another touchdown to Thornton, and it was 30-28 in the second quarter.
Game on.
St. Joseph went back up two scores, but Cloherty closed the gap with a touchdown pass to tight end Ty Kennedy. After that, Cloherty hit senior wide receiver and Michigan commit Quentin Burrell on the right sideline for a 35-yard touchdown to give the Caravan their first lead halfway through the fourth quarter.
The Caravan sealed the win late in the fourth when Junior defensive back Joe Tracey made an incredible play by tipping a pass into the air and catching the ball as it almost hit the turf. That allowed the Caravan to run out the clock.
Game over.
By the numbers:
Cloherty completed 26 of his 41 pass attempts for 309 yards and a staggering seven touchdown passes. Samuels rushed for 102 yards on 12 carries and hauled in 45 receiving yards on two catches.
Thornton caught two touchdown passes. Burrell caught three touchdowns.
What's next:
Mount Carmel plays Nazareth Academy next Friday.
The Source: Game information was compiled from reports from Twitter, MaxPreps, and High Schools on SI. Statistics were compiled from social media, as well as the Chicago Tribune.