Mount Carmel’s Emmett Dowling never worries about the burden of high expectations.
An heir to the family’s football dynasty, the senior quarterback relishes being under the spotlight
“I mean, everyone doubted me this offseason and questioned whether I could be that player,” Dowling said of the pressure of leading the Caravan. “I just want to keep proving them wrong.”
That proof was put on display again Friday night.
The 6-foot, 190-pound Dowling threw two touchdown passes and also ran for two other TDs to spark Mount Carmel to a 35-24 CCL-ESCC Blue victory over host Loyola in Wilmette.
The Caravan (9-0, 3-0) snapped a two-game losing streak against the Ramblers (4-4, 1-2) and completed a fourth undefeated regular season in the seven years under coach Jordan Lynch.
Dowling erased a 17-14 deficit early in the third quarter with a 31-yard TD strike to Quentin Burrell and a 2-yard TD run. The Caravan scored 28 unanswered points in the second half.
“I think overall, he’s just proven himself as a great quarterback and a terrific leader,” said Burrell, a junior receiver. “He has a great arm and makes all of the right throws.
“There’s a grittiness to his game that I really like.”
Dowling also connected with Marshaun Thornton and scored on a short run in the first half.
“We have a great dynamic,” said Thornton, a sophomore receiver. “We spend a lot of time before school and in practice working together.
“He’s just really dialed in, he makes great reads and he really knows the offense. Even if makes a mistake sometimes, he always come back with the right play.”
Dowling’s last name has been associated with Mount Carmel football for a long time. His father, Jim, played on state championship teams for the Caravan in 1989 and 1990.
The No. 63 jersey is permanently retired in memory of his uncle, Kevin Dowling.
Emmett’s older brother, Blainey, is now playing at Eastern Illinois but was the starting quarterback on Mount Carmel’s 2022 state championship team.
“It always gives me something to play for every time I step on the field,” Emmett said. “I always think about my uncle — I play for him and I play for my family.
“When my brother and I were growing up, we’d always compete and argue about who had the better arm or threw a better spiral. He pushed me every day to be better.”
Blainey was the 2022 Daily Southtown Football Player of the Year. Mount Carmel’s Jack Elliott,a two-year starter at quarterback, earned the same distinction last year.
Emmett Dowling hasn’t shirked from the responsibilities and challenges of the position, either.
“We’ve just dealt with so much adversity the whole year and we knew we had to bounce back,” he said. “We were upset that it was a close game and that we were down like that.
“For me, I’ve always wanted to prove myself and show what I could do.”
Dowling is the middle child in a family of seven and has a twin sister. Off the field, he’s creative, with a fondness for art and drawing.
But whether the subject is his family or the team, he connects to something greater than just himself. And the measurables only tell part of the story.
“I’m just a tough kid,” he said. “That’s probably my best quality. I have a good arm and I’m not afraid to take hits.
“Sometimes, Jack would be out for a whole week last year and I’d get the first team reps. I knew where my receivers wanted the ball. It all just clicked after that.”
With the start of the state playoffs up next, every game is a chance to write his own narrative.
“My favorite part is playing for my teammates,” Dowling said. “Just knowing they have my back and I’m playing for them drives me. We like to say we play as a fist and we’re unstoppable.”
Patrick Z. McGavin is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
