The Carmel Corsairs were too much for the Saint Patrick Shamrocks to handle in their Homecoming game on September 28.  The Corsairs improved to 5-1, with a 4-0 mark in the East Suburban Catholic Conference with a 35-14 win over the Shamrocks, who fell to 2-4 overall and 1-3 in the conference.  The playoffs start for Saint Patrick next weekend, as the Shamrocks will have to win their final three games to qualify for the Illinois High School Association Playoffs.

The Corsairs took the opening kickoff and drove 69 yards in six plays, with Matt Berg scoring on a seven-yard run, to take a 7-0 lead.  After Saint Patrick was unable to move the ball, Carmel drove 72 yards in nine plays.  Quarterback David Venegoni capped the drive with a 17-yard run to make it 14-0.  The Shamrocks were stopped again, and the Corsairs drove 60 yards in six plays for their third score.  This time the Corsairs had some luck on their side as Venegoni was stripped of the ball at the Shamrock eight yard line, and the ball bounced into the end zone, where Mike Taylor fell on it for a touchdown to make it 21-0 in favor of the Corsairs with 11 minutes to go in the second quarter.  The Shamrocks couldn’t cross midfield again, and the Corsairs drove 74 yards in eight plays, with Geoffrey Fields scoring from two-yards out to make it 28-0.

The Shamrocks finally caught a break, when they stopped a Corsair drive just before the half, and a botched snap on a Corsair punt gave Saint Patrick the ball at the Carmel three-yard line.  Two plays later, Luis Sanchez scored on a two-yard plunge to make the score 28-7 at the half.

The Shamrocks drove the ball into Corsair territory to start the second half, but they were forced to punt.  Carmel then went on a 12 play, 87-yard drive that took 5:32 off of the clock.  Venegoni finished the drive with a one-yard run that made the score 35-7.  The Shamrocks responded with their best drive of the night, an 11 play, 80 yard drive, capped by a 30-yard Mike Fabrizio to Eddie Ortiz touchdown pass with 16 seconds to play in the third quarter.  Neither team was able to move the ball very far in the fourth quarter, and the Corsairs were able to run the clock out on the Shamrocks.

The Corsairs piled up 349 yards rushing and five touchdowns on 58 carries for the game, with Fields gaining a game-high 129 yards on 12 carries.  Venegoni gained 68 yards on the ground, and completed one of four passes for 24 yards.

The Shamrock offense was led by Mike Fabrizio, who completed 17 of 30 passes for 160 yards and a touchdown.  Fabrizio connected with seven different receivers on the night, with Jeff Dicks and Brian Falagario each catching a game-high four passes.  Ortiz snagged three balls for a game-high 48 yards and a touchdown.

Defensively, David Giese had a big game for the Shamrocks with 11 tackles, four tackles for loss, and two sacks on the night.  George Vitzileos (nine tackles), Mike Labek (seven tackles), and Conor Joyce (seven tackles) were the Shamrocks’ other top tacklers.

Saint Patrick travels to Lisle next Friday, where they will take on Benet Academy in the first of three must-win games for the Shamrocks.  They play at Nazareth Academy and host Marian Catholic in the season’s final two weeks.