Comeback kid: After recovering from a torn ACL, Nolan O’Brien lifts Mount Carmel past Brother Rice. ‘I’ve been looking forward to this my whole life.’

Mount Carmel’s Nolan O’Brien could not have picked a worse time to suffer a major injury. When he tore his ACL just before spring 2021 began, it ended up costing him two seasons.

But the senior defensive back worked his way back to the field all with the hope of playing in a game as big as Saturday’s night playoff showdown against Brother Rice.

“The rehab process was long, it was tedious, it was boring at times,” O’Brien said. “But it was all worth it. I’ve been looking forward to this my whole life.”

O’Brien played a big role in a dominant defensive effort as the host Caravan shut out the Crusaders in the first half and rolled to a 48-12 victory in a Class 7A state quarterfinal.

Blainey Dowling completed 15 of 27 passes for 313 yards and five touchdowns — all in the first half — for top-seeded Mount Carmel (12-0). Denny Furlong had four catches for 105 yards and two TDs, while DJ White-Payne blocked a punt and recovered it for a TD.

The Caravan advanced to play in next week’s semifinals against 12th-seeded rival St. Rita (10-2), which beat St. Charles North 28-7. It will be a rematch of the season opener that Mount Carmel won 35-3.

Marcus Brown threw two TD passes to Michael Bos to lead 24th-seeded Brother Rice (7-5).

Brown gave the Caravan fits with his running when the teams battled to the wire in a Sept. 30 game won 28-21 by Mount Carmel.

This time, O’Brien and his defensive teammates were ready.

“We knew coming in what they were going to try to do,” O’Brien said. “We adjusted to it and we played harder.

“This feels sweet. We’re doing it for all the seniors who lost to these guys last year. We did this for them.”

O’Brien had a tackle for loss and broke up a couple pass attempts.

“Having Nolan back is great,” Mount Carmel Jordan Lynch said. “He was one of our top players before he got hurt.

“He stuck to it through some rehab, was one of our leaders in the offseason, and it’s great to have him back out on the field.”

O’Brien has tried to bring leadership and steady play to the defense.

“I get one last shot at it this season, so I just go 100% all the time,” he said. “I just make sure I know the playbook and I’m hustling all the time.”

The Caravan put up 33 points in the second quarter to open up a 40-0 halftime lead.

In the first half, Dowling threw TD passes of 43 and 16 yards to Furlong, 65 yards to Damarion Arrington, 3 yards to Danyil Taylor and 20 yards to Jaden Bossie.

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Dowling said his team was fired up after losing 41-28 to Brother Rice in last season’s quarterfinals.

“A 40-point first half against Brother Rice, that’s huge,” Dowling said. “A shutout by the defense in the first half, that’s huge, too. I thought we had our best week of practice this week and we were ready.

“Now, we’re on to Rita. We’ve got to be even better next week.”

Brother Rice managed just 53 yards in the first half before hitting on a couple big plays in the second half against the Caravan’s backups.

“They’re super talented to begin with, but they were super talented the first time we played them, too,” Brother Rice coach Casey Quedenfeld said. “There are no excuses, but we’re just not consistent on the offensive side of the football.

“On defense, where we’ve been really good all year long, I don’t know what was in the pregame meal, but we couldn’t cover anything. But credit to those guys for getting open, throwing the ball and all that good stuff.”

Steve Millar is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.