Joey Quinn, Mount Carmel rout Lincoln-Way East

Growing up, Joey Quinn was an offensive lineman. He played as a tight end as a sophomore at Mount Carmel, but moved last season to defensive line.

It was a very successful approach. Quinn, now a senior defensive end, has become a Division I recruit. And he’s definitely having fun playing defense.

“After they replaced me, I thought the feeling of sacking the quarterback was way better than scoring a touchdown,” Quinn said. “So, I love it.”

Quinn experienced that exhilarating feeling often Saturday night against Lincoln-Way East.

He constantly harassed star senior quarterback Jonas Williams and sacked him three times, leading Mount Carmel to a dominant 48-6 victory in a Class 8A state quarterfinal in Chicago.

Emmett Dowling completed 20 of 31 passes for 395 yards and four touchdowns for the Caravan (12-0). Nathan Samuels ran for 102 yards and three touchdowns on 12 carries and added six catches for 91 yards, while Quentin Burrell finished with five catches for 72 yards and two touchdowns.

Tavares Harrington and Roman Igwebuike each had an interception for Mount Carmel, which will face Fremd or Bolingbrook next weekend in the state semifinals.

“I think a lot of people who play Jonas Williams back off because of his popularity,” Igwebuike said. “I liked the way during the week we recognized him.

“We were excited about the game and the challenge it brought.”

Williams completed 13 of 25 passes for 198 yards, including a 35-yard touchdown to Jack Murphy, who finished with five catches for 90 yards to lead the Griffins (9-3).

Williams, a USC recruit, broke the Illinois High School Association record for career passing yards when he hit Jayden Cawthon for 20 yards in the first quarter.

This allowed him to surpass the record of 11,190 yards set by Logan Malachuk of Nazareth.

But that was about the only highlight for the Griffins as Mount Carmel’s pass rush wreaked havoc all night.

“Throughout the season we haven’t shown how good the D-line is,” Quinn said. “There was a lot of talk about how we couldn’t pass the race. We can’t do this or that. I think in this game we showed what we’re worth.”

When Quinn moved to defense, he fully invested in learning the new position. And he had a good role model in USC recruit Braeden Jones.

“I put my all into it with all my training and everything,” Quinn said. “Braeden is a friend of mine. I always saw him as someone to look up to, learn from and try to get on his level.

“I worked with him and all my coaches and used my potential (Saturday).”

The Caravan already led 28-7 midway through the first half when Quinn hit Williams just as he was about to make a throw, forcing the ball to sail directly into Igwebuike’s arms for an interception.

On the next play, Dowling hit Burrell for a 29-yard touchdown and Mount Carmel was well on its way.

“I’m proud of Joey,” Igwebuike said. “I wouldn’t have had this pick without him. Then he gets three sacks. We couldn’t have done it without him.”

Offensively, the Caravan scored touchdowns on its first six possessions. And they were certainly grateful to have that support on the other side of the ball.

“The defense had a great game,” Burrell said. “Everyone was talking about Jonas Williams and his quality, but we have to talk about our defense and its quality.

“They came out, executed the plan, only let them get in the end zone once. It’s awesome.”

Quinn, meanwhile, decommitted from Vanderbilt in October and is reevaluating his future.

But that can wait.

“It’s something I haven’t focused too much on because the season is underway,” Quinn said. “I’m mainly focused on winning state. I’ll worry about that later.”