No Quit: Aces storm back to beat Benton

MT. CARMEL — "No Quit" is just one of the many defining characteristics of Mt. Carmel varsity football team, which stormed back from a 17-point deficit in the second half to beat the Benton Rangers and advance to the quarterfinals of the IHSA 3A football playoffs, 32-24.

The first half was all Benton, as the Rangers took a 17 point lead into the locker room; but the Golden Aces scored three straight touchdowns in the third quarter to take the lead.

Mt. Carmel’s special teams unit kick started the second half comeback, as senior Shain Meador returned the opening kickoff 80 yards for the touchdown. The Aces found the end zone again for the two point try, making it a two score game, 8-17.

The Aces fired right back during the kick-off, as Mt. Carmel recovered their own onside kick to take back over on offense. Deisher added to his stats again, passing to Meador for another trip to the red zone.

Mt. Carmel kept the ball in the hands of Meador, as the senior found his way into a corner of the end zone for the touchdown. The Golden Aces made it a one point game after this, as Deisher completed another pass to Meador for the two-point conversion, 16-17.

The Golden Aces forced another Rangers punt, and gave themselves a chance to take the lead. Deisher connected to fellow junior, Chase Wiggins, for a 36 yard bomb.

Deisher added another big pass to his stats, connecting with freshman Brantley Krup for a 14 yard pass and a first and goal. Mt. Carmel capped off the drive with a quarterback keeper, as Deisher ran the ball in from five yards out.

Krup caught the two point conversion to put the Aces ahead with 6:42 left in the third, 24-17.

Midway through the fourth quarter, Benton junior quarterback Drake Porter ran the ball in from two yards out. The Rangers kicker nailed the point after try field goal to tie the game at 24 with 5:23 left in the fourth quarter.

The Aces special teams unit cleared the way for Wiggins for an 85 yard kick return. The Aces added two more to their tally after this as Deisher found Meador again, to make it an eight point game, 32-24.

As time was ticking down, Benton was driving downfield, but their series was cut short, as Meador intercepted Porter and slid down. From there the Aces offense chewed the rest of the time off the clock, finishing the game with a kneel in victory formation, 32-24.

The Golden Aces offense ran for 83 yards during the clash, with Deisher leading the way with 59 yards and a touchdown in 20 carries. Senior Sitaleki Militoni gained 23 yards in eight carries, junior Paul-Ray Garrett had a yard in three carries, and Meador made one carry for a yard and a touchdown.

Deisher went 13-for-24 in passing attempts, with 195 yards and no touchdowns. Meador led the Aces in receptions and receiving yards again, as he finished with seven catches for 121 yards. Fellow senior Zadok Fullop was next with two catches for 26 total yards, next were Militoni, Wiggins, Guanipa, Krup with a catch.

Deisher and Meador also swapped roles for a play as Meador completed a pass to Deisher for 16 yards.

Golden Aces' Head Football Coach Michael Brewer said there was no big halftime locker room speech.

“I'd like to tell you, I gave an awesome halftime speech, and that was what it was. But it wasn't. Our kids have hung through some difficult moments in games all year, and it was just that. 'Let's go play',” Brewer said.

Meador said the team has been down before, and that they knew what it took to come back.

“The locker room was quiet at first, but I gave a big shout out to Jackson [injured senior Jackson Kling]. Jackson got us motivated, even though he's not playing. He does everything for us. So I'm just super proud of all of our guys that we battled back and won,” Meador said.

“Special teams was the difference maker, and it was a big one for us today. If we don't have those, we wouldn't have been able to come back,” Brewer said.

He praised the team’s mental toughness and ability to stay cool, saying that if he could pick one attribute for a team, it would be to never quit.

“Because you're never out of it. You hang around and you keep playing. So yeah, I think it's huge. What better thing could a team have? ” Brewer said.

With the win, Mt. Carmel improves to 11-0 and will travel to St. Joseph-Ogden High School on Saturday to play the Spartans in the quarterfinals of the IHSA 3A football playoffs. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.

No Quit: Aces storm back to beat Benton

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