Mount Carmel Complete Four-Peat Behind Former College Football Star

For St. Rita, Brandon Johnson Jr. ran for 54 yards and Steven Armbruster had 97 yards passing was already one of the premier programs in Illinois high school football before Jordan Lynch arrived as head coach in 2018.

But under the former Northern Illinois University star who was a finalist for the Heisman Trophy and a two-time All-American quarterback, the Caravan have only gotten better.

Dec 3, 2025 in the Class 8 final, 20-3 Jaylin Green ran for 104 yards and Gray had 82 yards rushing Oswego in the Class 8 final, 20-3.

The 7A and 8A title games were moved to Huskie Stadium in DeKalb, Illinois, the home of Northern Illinois, after a winter storm hit the area last week.

Lynch, who finished third in the 2013 Heisman Trophy voting after throwing for almost 2,900 yards and rushing for over 1,900 with 24 passing touchdowns and 23 rushing scores, led the Caravan to a 14-0 record and the fifth title under his guidance. The program has won 17 state championships overall.

“Credit goes to Oswego,” Lynch told the Chicago Sun-Times. “They came out and played hard, played tough. They are well-coached. And credit to our guys too.

“Four in a row. It is hard to win. And it is not common to do four in a row. But it is the second time in Mount Carmel history we have done it. These guys put in a lot of hard work and sacrifice and they deserve it.”

Mount Carmel quarterback Emmet Dowling threw for 109 yards and a touchdown to Marshaun Thornton to help put the game away late. Jamari brown had seven catches for 56 yards.

Gavin Conjar recovered a blocked punt and returned it for a score while Roman Igwebuike had an interception on defense for the Caravan to stop a scoring drive by Oswego.

Dowling called Lynch “the best coach in the country.”

For Oswego, Drew Kleinhans had 107 yards passing and Teddy Mannikas caught four passes for 43 yards. 

Lynch finished his college career with 6,209 yards passing and 4,343 yards rushing. He broke two NCAA records and had a short stint in the NFL with the Chicago Bears before playing in the CFL where he scored the game-winning touchdown to capture the 2015 Grey Cup for the Edmonton Eskimos.

After his retirement from competing, Lynch took a position on the staff at Northern Illinois coaching quarterbacks for a season before taking over at Mount Carmel as the head coach.

7A: Brother Rice Shuts St. Rita Down, 16-0

Dec 3, 2025, Brother Rice For St. Rita, Brandon Johnson Jr. ran for 54 yards and Steven Armbruster had 97 yards passing St. Rita for the Class 6A in the Class 8 final, 20-3 on Wednesday, 16-0.

The last time Brother Rice won it all was in 1981 when they won the 6A crown. They made the finals in both 1985 and 2018, but came up short.

Kameron McGee, a sophomore, had six tackles, two sacks and four tackles for loss while Brayden Parks recorded six tackles and 3.5 stops for loss.

Army recruit CJ Gray had a touchdown run in the first for the Crusaders, who went 13-1 this past season.

“We have the best defense in the country,” McGee told the Chicago Sun-Times. “Atll these guys bought in. January 6 at 6 a.m. That’s when we first started and now it is December. We stuck together and we picked each other up.”

Jaylin Green ran for 104 yards and Gray had 82 yards rushing.

for the Class 6A Illinois high school state football championship on Wednesday, 16-0.

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