After playing tight end his entire high school career, Mount Carmel’s Danyil Taylor Jr. made the switch to running back for his senior season this fall.
Tight end to running back isn’t exactly a common move. But for Taylor, it was no sweat. After all, the list of positions he’s played on the football field is quite long.
“I’ve played tight end, running back, quarterback, defensive end, safety, wide receiver,” Taylor said. “I played some offensive line in the past. I’ve played linebacker. Almost everything.
“I feel like I can play anywhere.”
Taylor is certainly getting the hang of things in the backfield. He ran for 120 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries Friday night, lifting the host Caravan to a 35-21 win over Joliet Catholic in a CCL/ESCC crossover game in Chicago.
Vanderbilt recruit Jack Elliott returned for Mount Carmel (5-2) after missing last week’s 16-13 loss to Brother Rice with an injury. He shook off a slow start, completing 10 of 19 passes for 238 yards and two TDs. Cooper Lehman added four catches for 59 yards and a TD, plus a 41-yard TD run.
Defensively, Patrick Breakey recovered a fumble and Tristan Pusateri came through with an interception as the Caravan rallied from a 14-7 halftime deficit.
Nate Magrini ran for 116 yards and a TD on 16 carries and Larry Stringham added 103 yards and a TD on 19 carries for Joliet Catholic (4-3). Zachary Beitler and Adam Bailey recovered fumbles.
Taylor, however, has been waiting for his breakout performance. And while he hadn’t found it easy to break off big runs early in the season, he had faith they were on their way.
“The biggest challenge is I just have to learn my O-line,” he said. “I have to be a little more patient and everything will come together. It can be frustrating, but at the end of the day, if I stay patient and keep pressing, I know it’s going to come.
“Before the 40-yarders, we have to keep getting the five and 6-yarders.”
Taylor scored on a 4-yard run in the first quarter and a 1-yard run in the third, both TDs tying the game.
“He’s a playmaker,” Elliott said of Taylor. “He took the load off of me. In this offense, we do (run-pass options) so I always have the option and he took the load off of me.
“I didn’t have to play so safe because I knew he had my back. That’s what this team is all about. We’ve got to have our brothers’ backs and he did, for sure.”
Elliott said he was cleared to play Friday morning. He completed just 2 of 8 passes for 51 yards in the first half, but made several big plays after halftime, including a 77-yard TD strike to freshman receiver Marshaun Thornton.
“A lot of people were cautious about me, but I knew I had to come out here and help my team win,” Elliott said. “Whatever they need.”
Mount Carmel coach Jordan Lynch was certainly one of the cautious ones.
“I just wanted him to be careful running the ball,” Lynch said of Elliott. “I want him to be smart. I know the kid’s tough, but I don’t want to be stupid about it, either.
“Football happens, too, and plays break down. He took a few shots, but he hopped right back up, and I think it only fueled his fire.”
Taylor coming through with his biggest game of the season definitely made things easier.
He also knew it was the perfect time for it.
“I felt like this was the night I had to step up,” Taylor said. “We were coming off a loss last week. Jack got hurt and we didn’t have him last week, so I knew I had to step up for my team and we all had to work harder.”
