St. Rita sophomore Kaleb Brown was a breakout star on the summer football circuit, earning scholarship offers from Illinois, Iowa, Kansas and Minnesota. In the spring he won three medals at the state track finals. So there were some extremely lofty expectations heading into his first varsity football season.
Brown has delivered. He scored on a key 57-yard touchdown reception in the Mustangs’ Week 1 win against Joliet Catholic. Then on Friday against Richards he went toe-to-toe with Iowa recruit Leshon Williams. The Bulldogs won the game, but it would be easy to make the case that Brown was the most impressive player on the field. He finished with 22 carries for 121 yards and three touchdowns. That puts his season totals at 278 yards and five touchdowns in two games against high-quality competition.
Even Williams was impressed.
“Kaleb is nice,” Williams said. “He’s a special talent.”
Brown is being recruited as a wide receiver. He played most of the Richards at running back, but did catch one pass. 247Sports currently has Brown ranked as the 54th best player in the national class of 2022.
The ‘Brook is back
Bolingbrook surprised St. Charles North with a triple-option offense on Friday and rolled to a 21-6 upset win on the road on Friday.
Quarterback Devyn Suggs, a Yale recruit, rushed for 97 yards and two touchdowns and passed for 54 yards. Running back Antonio had 62 yards on the ground and contributed a 60-yard punt-return touchdown in the third quarter. Jaquan Howard added 101 yards on the ground.
It’s clear the Raiders have a number of weapons on offense. The joined the Super 25 this week and will host top-ranked Lincoln-Way East in Week 4.
Defense setting the tone for Mount Carmel
The Caravan shut out Gary Calumet in 42-0 in Week 1. That wasn’t much of an eye-opener. The Week 2 win against Maine South in Park Ridge is another matter. Sure, the Hawks were without their starting quarterback, but that is a difficult place to win.
Mount Carmel held Maine South to 198 yards off offense, forced four turnovers and won 21-7.
The offense is coming along a bit slower. Quarterback Justin Lynch, the brother of coach Jordan Lynch, was just 6-for-16 passing against the Hawks, but he made big plays when it mattered, including a 46-yard touchdown pass to Jaali Parker that put the Caravan ahead for good.
Mount Carmel hosts No. 7 Montini on Friday and No. 2 Loyola in Week 4.
Underrated rivalry
Marist will always have Brother Rice and St. Patrick vs. Notre Dame is one of the city’s best rivalries. But the showdowns between Marist and Notre Dame have been fun the past few years.
Friday’s game at Marist could prove a crucial early-season yardstick for both teams. They each lost a ton of talent to graduation but are sitting at 2-0.
Notre Dame knocked off Grand Rapids Catholic Central in Michigan in Week 2. It’s the first time the Cougars have lost at home since October 2016 and just their sixth loss overall since 2015.
