WOODLAWN — If Mount Carmel High School wins a second straight IHSA football state championship next week, starting center Luke Cipich knows whom he'll thank in the stands first.
That would be his older brother, best friend and confidant Keith Cipich, who has cerebral palsy and is the Caravan offensive lineman's biggest fan.
"It's because he's the one that always pushes me to keep going and gives me the motivation to finish," Luke said.
Last year, after Luke and the Caravan beat Glenbard North 28-14 to claim the Class 8A title, he immediately went to find Keith.
"The look on his face was just ecstatic, the happiest I've ever seen him," Luke said. "I wanted to tell him we finally did it, and the hard work had paid off."
To repeat, the second-seeded Caravan (11-1), who are now in Class 7A, first must prevail at top-seeded Edwardsville High School (12-0) on Saturday at 3 p.m.
But since the start of the playoffs, Luke has heard a familiar theme from Keith.
"He expects us to win again," Luke said. "I hear it from him every day now, and it's a good thing. Because, if it's in my mind that we're going to win, then we're going to win."
'Everyone Loves Him Here'
Keith Cipich, 20, was born five weeks premature with a collapsed lung, which restricted oxygen to his brain.
He developed cerebral palsy, which has resulted in him using a wheelchair for almost all of his life. He can't walk on his own and has limited ability to speak. He will never be able to drive or hold down a steady job.
Luke Cipich, 17, came into this world about 2½ years later at a solid 10 pounds, 4 ounces and 22 inches long. As a boy he told his mom, Kelly Christie, that "God made him big, so he could help me," she recalled.
Despite being younger than Keith, Luke almost always has acted as the older brother. He carries Keith up stairs. He drives Keith wherever he wants, many times to local fishing holes to catch perch, bluegill or bass. The brothers like to golf, and Luke will help Keith swing the club.
"It's a wonderful thing to know that you've raised somebody with such compassion for people who can't do as much as they can," Christie said.
Said Keith: "Luke is always there for me. I'm proud of my brother, and I love him."
Luke said Keith has always been his inspiration. Keith became an Eagle Scout after he organized a project to refurbish a school's classroom near the family's home in south suburban Crete. So Luke knew he had no excuses not to become an Eagle Scout, too, and completed the task after leading a project to move a multistone monument from one church to another.
Before Luke became a champion, Keith found his own athletic glory, winning state swimming medals in Special Olympics.
"His upper-body strength is amazing," Luke said. "He won because of his will."
Keith still attends Crete-Monee High School, and when it came time for Luke to go there or Mount Carmel, he made sure he received Keith's blessing.
"I asked him if he wanted me to go to school with him, but he told me to go to Mount Carmel because he wanted to see me play football there," said Luke, now 6 feet tall and 250 pounds.
Crete is about an hour south of Mount Carmel's Woodlawn campus, and for Luke's first two years there, he took two-hour bus rides to and from the school. Whenever he tried to complain, Keith was there to tell him "to stop and suck it up."
Luke said Keith has a similar attitude during the football season. He is his younger sibling's biggest critic, letting him know if he misses a block or doesn't play to perfection. The Caravan lost just once this year, to Loyola Academy, and afterward Luke said Keith yelled: "I told you you should have won that game!"
But Keith is beloved by Luke and the rest of the Caravan.
Keith hasn't missed one of Luke's Caravan games in four seasons. Last year, the school made him an honorary captain, including him in a pregame coin toss while he donned a matching No. 66 brown-and-white jersey worn by Luke. After the Caravan's state title — the school's 11th overall — Keith was granted a championship ring, which he shows off proudly.
"I know if he had had the opportunity, he would have been the first one to come to Mount Carmel," Luke said. "He loves the people, he loves the atmosphere, and everyone loves him here."
'I'll Be There to Take Care of Him'
Mount Carmel head coach Frank Lenti said Luke will likely play football at a Division III college.
"He's built low to the ground, he's pretty smart, and he understands the game," Lenti said.
Luke hasn't made a college choice, but stressed Keith made him promise "I wouldn't go far away."
Wherever he goes, Luke plans to major in business administration in hopes of one day owning his own small company. He'd love to hire Keith because "I know he'd be my hardest worker."
And whatever successes find their way to Luke, he knows he will share them with his older brother.
"No matter what I do, he's always going to be there, and I'll be there to take care of him no matter what happens," he said.
