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Chapter 7: Large Schools
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7 Large Schools [54.84.65.73] Project MUSE (2024-03-19 09:40 GMT) Chicago Mount Carmel: Frank Kiszka’s Legacy Frank Kiszka enrolled at Chicago’s Mount Carmel a year after football coach Terry Brennan left to join Frank Leahy’s staff at Notre Dame. He obviously liked what he saw.The 1957 graduate spent the last 36 years of his life, prior to his untimely death in 2005, working in the school’s football program. Kiszka was most visible walking the sideline at Mount Carmel games,serving as the team’s one and only statistician since 1968.He didn’t take statistics for the opponent, only Mount Carmel. And you didn’t dare argue with his figures. The media guide and record book, which he published for 14 years, was testimony to his attention to detail. The former grammar school football coach was Mount Carmel’s Man of the Year in 1978 and Man of the Decade for the 1990s. He was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame in 1986.All the while, he also kept statistics for hockey, basketball, and baseball. For the last 20 years, he was the school’s hockey moderator and worked in the Development Office, specializing in alumni affairs. A single man, Mount Carmel football was the love of his life. He watched the program enter a golden era, beginning with Frank Maloney’s 1967 Prep Bowl champion and continuing with Bill Barz’ first state champion in 1980, then achieving dynastic proportions with Frank Lenti’s run of nine state championships from 1988 to 2002 and the Caravan’s mythic record of 122–12 in the decade of the 1990s. “Mount Carmel was a unique and fascinating place,”said Maloney,a 1958 graduate who was 30–12–2 in five years as his alma mater’s football coach.“It reminded me of the Marine Corps.The spirit of the kids was remarkable. Everyone was involved—the kids, the faculty, the alumni. Sports were huge. Pep rallies on Friday were sensational. The school built its reputation on strong athletic teams. “When I grew up,I saw all the games in 1950,1951,and 1952.They were my heroes. I’d go to Eckersall Stadium on Sunday to watch them.There was something special about that. I was coaching in high school when I was 22 years old. I was very cocky. I thought I could invent the game.” His 1964 team lost to Weber and Chico Kurzawski for the Catholic League championship .But his 1967 squad,led by quarterback Dennis Connell,running back Dave Zuccarelli, end Bill Trapp, and tight end Jerry Schumacher, was 9–2, upset two-time city champion Loyola for the Catholic League title,and then smashed Public League kingpin Dunbar 37–0 in the Prep Bowl. 208 / Dusty, Deek, and Mr. Do-Right Although Dunbar’s defensive strategy indicated that Mount Carmel should run the ball—and Zuccarelli took advantage of the opportunity, rushing 19 times for 127 yards and four touchdowns—the Caravan was noted for its passing game in 1967. After analyzing his returning players from 1966, Maloney determined he had an exceptional passer in Connell and a promising receiver in Trapp. He attended a clinic in Atlantic City and, after hearing USC coach John McKay outline his passing game, came away convinced that it was the wave of future and he had the tools to pull it off with Connell and Trapp.They practiced daily at Jackson Park. Even after Trapp dropped 10 balls in an opening loss to Loyola, Maloney stuck with it. By the end of the season, Maloney was feeling very good about his passing game and opponents still weren’t used to defending it. “I’m an old Catholic League guy.Tom Carey was my coach.I admired Tony Lawless, Jim Arneberg, and Max Burnell from afar,” said Maloney, who currently is the director of ticket operations for the Chicago Cubs.“It was smash-mouth football in those days, run them over. My 1967 team was the first team in my memory that played a wide-open game.We threw the ball first.That was our fundamental philosophy.” Barz, an All-State running back at Rich Central who played on two bowl teams at Notre Dame, arrived at Mount Carmel in 1977. In his last four years, before leaving for Illinois Benedictine College in 1984, he produced teams that went 13–1, 10–2, 10–2, and 8–3, won...