By Gavin Flood ‘22

People thought that Brother Rice could not defeat Mount Carmel for a third time in 2021, but they were wrong.

The Crusaders defeated Mount Carmel 41-28 in the state quarterfinals on Nov. 13, 2021. Senior Jack Lausch led the team with four rushing touchdowns, while running back Aaron Vaughn had two.

The Crusaders started out shaky in the first half, trailing Mount Carmel 7-6.

Senior Mikey Fahy, a safety on the Crusader defense said, “We knew that they were going to come out firing at the start of the second half, so we wanted to have a strong second half.”

They certainly did come out with fire in the second half as Aaron Vaugh scored a rushing touchdown on the first play of the half.

After the third quarter, the teams were at a 21-21 stalemate. The defense had a few big stops in the fourth quarter to help Brother Rice take the lead.

Defensive end Jimmy Hogan said, “I knew we had them after the third quarter because we were more confident.”

With four minutes left in the game, the Caravan were down 35-28 and defensive back Khary Shaw intercepted the ball and brought the Crusader offense into Carmel territory.

Star player Danny White, who scored the game winning touchdown against Mount Carmel during the regular season, said, “It felt good, ya know. They are our rival and it’s always good to beat them no matter the circumstance, but a playoff victory over them does certainly taste a lot better.”

All the Crusaders played their hearts out during that playoff game, and it will be exciting to see where they end up after this week’s game against Wheaton North.