NORMAL — In the middle of the fourth quarter Saturday, junior quarterback Jack Elliott was resting on the bench, sweating and looking exhausted for Mount Carmel.

Teammate Darrion Dupree placed his hand on Elliott’s arm and asked him if he was OK. After stretching his back and grimacing for a few seconds, Elliott declared he was good to go.

The 6-foot-1, 205-pound Elliott had just engineered a physical 17-play, 93-yard scoring drive with successful keepers on third down and two on fourth down, all conversions.

“I was beat up, but I was prepared,” Elliott said. “The offseason workouts at Mount Carmel … (opponents) don’t sacrifice like us. Waking up at 4 a.m. every day. Throwing up. Bleeding.

“That’s what it comes to with those fourth-and-shorts. That’s why we win those games.”

That drive he engineered was huge for the Caravan in a 36-33 win over nationally ranked East St. Louis in front of an estimated crowd of 3,500 at Hancock Stadium.

It gave the Caravan (1-0) a 36-19 lead, even though the Flyers (0-1) later scored twice in the span of one minute and nine seconds to close the gap to a mere three points.

A “beat up” Elliott led another drive in the final 3:46 to run out the clock at Illinois State University, including a 36-yard run on a second-and-15 situation.

Welcome to the Jack Elliott era.

The Orland Park resident completed 13 of 26 passes for 123 yards in his first varsity start. He ran 23 times for 175 yards against a team ranked No. 25 in the preseason by ESPN.

“The kid’s a winner, a big winner,” Mount Carmel coach Jordan Lynch said of Elliott. “He goes 100% every single time and gives us second and third effort.

“We trust a lot of kids with fourth-and-one and the ball in their hands, and he’s definitely one of them.”

Dupree, a senior running back and Wisconsin recruit, finished with 20 carries for 62 yards and two touchdowns. He also caught six passes for 54 yards.

“I’m not going to lie, it was fun at first,” Dupree said. “But then it started to get stressful. I don’t like it like that. We started off strong, but we have to keep fighting to the end.

“We can’t have that (comeback) happen again.”

Navy recruit Alonzo Manning II produced a 16-yard TD catch to open the scoring for the Caravan, while Maine South transfer Maurice Densmore added a rushing TD.

Meanwhile, there were some differing opinions on Elliott’s performance when it came to giving him a letter grade.

“I’ll have to watch the film,” Lynch said. “He gets an A for his effort, for sure.”

“I’ll give him an A-plus,” Dupree said before changing his mind. “I’m not going to spice him that much — B-plus.”

Elliott was much tougher on himself.

“I give myself a C,” he said. “I have a lot of things to work on. I have to make my passes.”

This was a hyped matchup between the Caravan, the reigning state champion in Class 7A, and the Flyers, the defending champ in 6A.

East St. Louis entered this season No. 1 in the state in career wins with 823, while Mount Carmel was second with 795. The Caravan are now 5-1 in six meetings with the Flyers.

After the game, the players celebrated on the field and went to the bleachers to enjoy the moment with their fans as if they had won a state championship.

Hancock Stadium will also be the site of the state finals in November.

“We want to start the season here and end the season here as well,” Elliott said. “We’ll be back here Week 14.”

Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.