When he played rugby for the first time, Anthony Guerra was hooked immediately.  However, his younger brother, Andrew, took some convincing.  After a tough first practice with the team at Mt. Carmel High School, Andrew was ready to move on. But with some encouragement from his brother, Andrew kept with it.  Read more about this piece on the Guerra brothers here.

SAINT LOUIS – University of Dayton senior cornerback/kick returner Christian Searles was named the Pioneer Football League's Special Teams Player of the Year as part of the PFL's 2017 Major Awards announcement. Searles finished his career among the Dayton career top ten in both categories, averaging 22.0 yards per kick returns and 9.7 yards per punt return.  Read more about Searles' accomplishments here.

Mount Carmel senior Alek Thomas (Bronzeville, Chicago) was named the No. 49 top draft prospect in the latest rankings from MLB Pipeline.  If he follows through on his commitment to Texas Christian, he wants to try to double as an outfielder in baseball and a slot receiver in football. Gatorade's 2017 Illinois baseball player of the year as junior, he has the hitting ability and athleticism to get drafted high enough to forego college.

Mount Carmel High School raised $73,090 in its third year of participating in the global movement, #GivingTuesday. The funds raised on the aptly named, #BrownTuesday help aid Mount Carmel students with resources to help further their academic careers and extend passions for co-curricular activities they participate in.

Max Vandeveld is a senior captain on Mount Carmel's football team.  When a player in that role doesn't like what he sees from his teammates, he's expected to step up and demonstrate leadership.  Read more here.

This game marks just the second time ever that Lake Zurich and Mt. Carmel have met up in the IHSA playoffs. For Lake Zurich fans, and the current players, the first time was memorable and forgettable all at the same time. In 2013, when the current seniors were eighth graders and likely very dialed into Lake Zurich football, Mt. Carmel shut out the Bears in the Class 7A state championship game, 30-0.  Read more on the game's scouting report here.

The Chicago Tribune names the 32 greatest teams in Illinois high school football history with Mount Carmel receiving five nominations.  Read all about it along with the entire list here.

When the Gophers visit Northwestern on Saturday, it’ll be a Chicago homecoming for several members of the team.  But the trip to Chicago might mean the most to Steven Richardson, the senior defensive tackle who is winding up a productive career as a four-year starter while toiling in the trenches.  Read more about it here at the Minneota Star Tribune.

Mount Carmel was certainly the underdog on Nov. 11 when it welcomed the defending Class 7A state champions, East St. Louis, to Gately Stadium.  The Flyers hadn’t lost to a team from Illinois in over two years, but Caravan quarterback Radomir Premovic and his teammates are accustomed to being doubted.

Mount Carmel's Aristotle Nakos didn't have to wait long for his chance at redemption.  Two plays after his fumble kept East St. Louis' hopes alive Saturday night, Nakos, a senior running back/defensive back, intercepted Eric Johnson's pass with 33 seconds left. That sealed the Caravan's 21-18 upset over the defending state champions in a Class 7A quarterfinal at Gately Stadium.  Read more about the Caravan upset here.

Mount Carmel High School, 6410 S. Dante will host an open house on Sunday, Nov. 19.  The 100-plus-year old, all-male Catholic high school prides itself on college readiness and its curriculum that attracts students from across the city and in Northwest Indiana.  Read more on the Open House coverage here at The Hyde Park Herald. 

As a first-year head coach for the Mount Carmel freshman football team in 2016, Laki Hatzelis had a surprise in store for his team members if they won the Chicago Catholic League (CCL)-Blue title.  But, it wasn’t to be.  However, in his second season as the freshman head coach, Hatzelis saw the Caravan step up in a big way, rolling to a perfect 9-0 season and a 4-0 mark in the CCL-Blue and earning a championship belt.

Read more about the undefeated season here at The Beverly Review.

On Tuesday, October 24th, Mount Carmel’s Fathers’ Club hosted the annual Father-Son Dinner. The well-attended evening event started with a talk from the president of the Father’s Club, Greg McKay. He talked about what the Fathers’ Club is, what they do, and encouraged all the fathers to join. McKay then introduced many members of the Fathers’ Club before the secretary, Tom Pasciak, led prayer. First, the fathers blessed their sons, which was followed by the sons blessing their fathers.

John Haggerty, principal of Mount Carmel High School, announced today that Zachary Pasciak (Bridgeport, Chicago; Santa Lucia Parish), Luke Ehrenstrom (Oak Lawn, IL; St. Gerald Parish) and McLean Milavickas (Evergreen Park, IL; St. John Fisher and formerly Sacred Heart Palos Hills), have been named Commended Students in the 2018 National Merit Scholarship Program. A Letter of Commendation from the school and National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC), which conduct the program, will be presented to these scholastically talented seniors.

Abdel Raoul 2019 was selected to attend the First Tee National Golf Academy in West Palm Beach, Fla., next month. Raoul, who is a part of The First Tee of Greater Chicago, is one of 24 junior golfers from the First Tee, in the 15-18-year-old age group that was selected by a national panel of judges to participate in the academy for elite players.

In its 32nd year of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company, today announced Alek Thomas of Mount Carmel High School as its 2016-17 Gatorade Illinois Baseball Player of the Year. Thomas is the first Gatorade Illinois Baseball Player of the Year to be chosen from Mount Carmel High School. The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field, distinguishes Thomas as Illinois’s best high school baseball player. 

In Class 7A, seventh-seeded East St. Louis (10-1) will play No. 18 Mount Carmel (8-3) at 5 p.m. at Gately Stadium in Chicago. The Flyers advanced with a 40-18 win over Buffalo Grove in the second round.  Read more here.

The three defections will force the tradition-rich Catholic League to realign to three divisions of five schools. Included in that shift will be 11-time state champion Mount Carmel dropping from the Blue to the Green division, and Montini moving into the ultra-competitive Blue. Read about the CCL division shifts and more from Elmhurst Local Sports.

Normal Community was ahead 25 spots in the state rankings, but in this case the rankings didn't correspond to the results. It couldn't have suffered a more disappointing defeat last week as it lost by a narrow 14 - 13 margin to Mount Carmel. The outcome was a definite jolt of excitement for Normal Community after its previous game, where the margin was anything but close.  Read more about it here.

Being on Mount Carmel's kick-block unit might not seem like one of Eddie McGee's most important responsibilities, but the junior defensive back spent plenty of time this week preparing for it.  "When the offense was doing individual drills, we have these (tackling) dummies and I set them up and worked on my technique," McGee said. "I worked on getting low and getting around the end. It paid off in a big game when we needed it."  Read more about it here at the Daily Southtown.

Mount Carmel advanced to the Class 7A quarterfinals with a win against Normal at Gately Stadium.  See the highlights here.

The Ironmen held Mount Carmel to 167 yards of total offense, but two Ironmen turnovers and a blocked extra point were costly as the Caravan escaped with a 14-13 victory in a Class 7A second-round playoff game.  Read all about it here at the Bloomington Pantagraph.

With the Caravan trying to dig out of an early hole, senior forward Josiah Ash kept pounding away, but his shots just wouldn’t go in. He hit the crossbar; he hit the post; he missed high, and he missed left. One had to eventually drop, and it did.  Read all about it here at The Beverly Review.

No. 2 Normal Community (10-0) will travel to Chicago to play Mount Carmel Chicago (7-3) at Gately, this Saturday at noon.  Read more about the matchup and othe IHSA pairings here.

Facing a 27-14 deficit at halftime Friday night, Mount Carmel coach Frank Lenti had a simple message for his team in the locker room.  Don't give up.  Read more on the Caravan combeack here.

The final 20-man roster for the 2017 USA Baseball 18U National Team was announced on Thursday at Target Field following the completion of a six-day trials process in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  Mount Carmel's own Alek Thomas will be on the 20 national representatives and the only one from the state of Illinois.  Read more about it here.

Wiliam J. Harry , O. Carm., has been re-elected Prior Provincial. Carl Joseph Markelz, O. Carm., has been elected Vice Prior Provincial. Additionally, four Carmelites were elected as Councilors for the Province. They are: Paul Henson, O.Carm., First Councilor; Quinn Conners, O. Carm., Second Councilor; Emilio Rodríguez Mendez, O. Carm., Third Councilor, and Daryl Moresco, O. Carm., Fourth Councilor.  Read all about it here.

The high school sports website named the top programs based on a computer-generated points system, factoring in seasons since 2006. Teams that win a state championship earn 20 points and a runner-up receives 10 points. Additional points are awarded based on the final MaxPreps Top 25 state rankings each season. Top of the list are Lombard Montini (256 points), Chicago Mount Carmel (248), Wilmette Loyola (242), Glen Ellyn Glenbard West (227) and Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin (214). Eight of the 15 are private schools, including four of the top five.  Read more about it here.

After lighting up the recruiting trail and landing two commitments in one day last Monday, Cincinnati stays hot one week later by landing 2018 Mount Carmel, IL (Mount Carmel) OG Jeremy Cooper. The 6-foot-3, 295-pounder visited the Bearcats on June 14th, a visit he called “absolutely amazing.” During that visit, he got the full experience and got to see all that Cincinnati had to offer him.  Read all about it here.

There may not be a bigger high school rivalry on Chicago's South Side than the one that exists between St. Rita and Mount Carmel. But this weekend, a student at one school will host an event to help the nephew of a beloved former student of the other.  Click here to read all about it in the Beverly Patch.

Alek Thomas (Mount Carmel High, Chicago) made a difficult play in center field early in the game. On a shallow line drive in front of him, Thomas dove forward and made the catch to rob Groshans of a base hit.  Read more here.

Brian Hurry has witnessed some remarkable feats during his 17-year career as baseball coach at Mount Carmel. He was at a loss for words, however, explaining the season Caravan first baseman Bobby Seymour had in 2017.  Click here to read more about at it.

In a matter of two days, Mount Carmel senior Jeremy Cooper made his college choice and watched the quarterback he might someday protect do the same thing. Cooper, a starting offensive guard and defensive end, committed on Monday, June 26 to Cincinnati.  Read more about it here.

Alek Thomas knows all about the idiosyncrasies of patrolling the outfield at Wrigley Field. The 17-year-old Chicagoan has played at the iconic park and even shagged pre-game fly balls this week prior to the annual Chicago Cubs-Chicago White Sox inter-league clash.  Click here to read more.

Steven Richardson does not believe in playing with a chip on your shoulder. If he did, the senior Minnesota defensive tackle would justifiably have one of the biggest in the Big Ten. Minnesota was the only Power Five school, and one of just three FBS programs, to extend an offer to Richardson coming out of high school even though he played for a Chicago Mount Carmel team that won state championships in both his junior and senior seasons. Recruiting networks, like-wise, were less than optimistic for Richardson’s college career. He was ranked no higher than the 56th best defensive tackle prospect in the 2014 class and as low as the 57th best prospect coming out of the state of Illinois that year.  Read more here.

A South Side community is working to pull itself up by its bootstraps. Residents are coming together to design a 20-year plan that is already reducing crime and is expected to attract new business, investment and new residents just in time for the arrival of the Obama Presidential Center. Residents of Woodlawn say they’re in the midst of a renaissance.