Marist weathers Carmel

On a small football field just down the street from Marist High School, junior quarterback Mike Perrish spent his summer working out with teammates Nick Valla, Bill Seiler and Dan Piko. No matter the weather conditions, Perrish and his teammates would spend time throwing the ball and thinking about the 2008 season - even in the rain.

"We came out in the rain all the time because we knew we would have to play in it at some point this season," Perrish said.

So when the Redhawks were faced with their first big test of the 2008 season in their East Suburban Catholic opener against visiting Carmel, it was only fitting that Perrish and the Marist offense got to play in a downpour.

Perrish was accurate and efficient running the Marist offense as his 3 touchdown passes led the Redhawks to their first 3-0 start in 22 years with a 21-8 victory over Carmel.

"We had read in somewhere that (Carmel) was looking at this week as a week off after two tough games and we wanted to go out and earn respect," Perrish said. "We played well in tough conditions."

Perrish got Marist (3-0, 1-0) off and rolling on its second possession of the night. Engineering a masterful 11-play, 76-yard drive, Perrish capped it by hitting Valla from 8 yards out and Marist took the lead for good at 7-6.

"Our pass defense tonight was pretty below average," said Carmel coach Andy Bitto. "(Marist) had guys open and they did a good job of getting the ball to them."

Almost all of the highlights for Carmel (2-1, 0-1) came in the first 90s second of play. On the fifth play of the game, senior Sean Madison busted loose to the outside and ran away from the Redhawks defense for a 72-yard touchdown, giving the Corsairs a brief lead. Madison finished with 165 yards rushing on 29 carries.

"I think as a defense we took a deep breath and really relaxed after that," said Marist linebacker Tim Kingsbury. "After that, we did pretty good shutting them down."

Carmel caught a huge break to open the second half as the Corsairs recovered a fumble on the opening kickoff at the Marist 35. But the Corsairs were unable to move the ball and turned it over on downs.

Two series later, Perrish connected with Valla for his second of three scores, this time from 23 yards out.

"We knew the conditions would be tough and I thought the kids came out and played really hard against an excellent Carmel team," said Marist coach Pat Dunne. "We prepared for conditions like this and the kids really responded."

Marist limited Carmel to only 4 first downs in the second half while forcing a pair of turnovers.