Benet (4-2, 2-2 East Suburban Catholic) @ Carmel (3-3, 3-1 East Suburban Catholic), 7:30 p.m.
Last week: Benet lost at Nazareth, 33-0; Carmel beat St. Viator, 21-7
Storyline: Benet hits the road for a second straight week in hopes of putting last week’s 33-0 shutout loss at Nazareth behind it.
Junior quarterback Jack Sznajder left the game early because of a back injury after throwing just one pass as Mike Dunn and Matt Boyle both saw time under center against the Roadrunners.
The Redwings only recorded 75 total yards while the Roadrunners got 136 rushing yards and three TDs from Ivory Kelly-Martin and 100 rushing yards and two TDs from Notre Dame-bound Julian Love.
A victory for Benet over Carmel would get it postseason-eligible as it looks to get to the postseason for the fifth time in six years under coach Pat New.
The Corsairs, meanwhile, sit a game back of Joliet Catholic in the East Suburban Catholic Conference race after last week’s 21-7 victory over St. Viator.
Behind Corsairs’ sophomore safety Zaire Barnes’ two interceptions, their defense picked off St. Viator four times.
Carmel’s offense churned out 366 rushing yards while utilizing its triple option as Rondel Jamison ran for 175 yards and Jeremy Strutzel added 151 yards.
The Corsairs will be without North Carolina-bound tight end Noah Turner for the rest of the year courtesy of a stress fracture in his foot.
Benet beat Carmel, 24-21, in 2014 while Carmel’s last victory in the series came in 2011 – courtesy of a 42-7 victory.
New on Carmel: “We don’t (see the triple option much). So it’s always a week where you just got to really work hard. I’m trying to simulate them at full speed. So (Monday), I was working with the offensive scout unit. I’m basically taking four running backs and putting them at quarterback and the three running backs and just working with them over, over and over again on option and things like that.”
“To get five wins at this point of the season would be pretty awesome. I feel pretty good about (where the team is at). These guys have … if we play like we’re capable of, we can be a pretty, really good team. I think we showed that against Marist a couple weeks ago.”