Rolling Meadows finishes strong against Elk Grove
Alumni came from as far as Louisiana to witness Rolling Meadows' homecoming game with rival Elk Grove.
They were not disappointed.
The Mustangs escaped with a 28-21 win in the last minute of the game Friday to clinch at least a tie for the Mid-Suburban East title.
Antonio Atencio (18 carries, 119 yards) scored the game winner for the 7-1, 4-0 Mustangs on a 5-yard run with :53 left.
"He's been the workhorse for us all year," said Rolling Meadows coach Matt Mishler. "We call on him and call on him. We feed him the rock, and he keeps playing hard. He ran hard down the stretch."
The Mustangs scored on the three-play drive which was highlighted by junior Luka Pavlakis' 28-yard pass to Jack O'Neill on first down from the Grenadiers 42. Atencio ran for 9 yards to the 5 before scoring.
"I had to trust Alex Rezny on that play," said Atencio. "He's a great player and made a big block on that play. Coach (Mishler) calls me the Mariano Rivera of this team. I had to close out the game as I have been doing. I'm so thankful for my brothers (on the offensive line) - I couldn't do it with out them."
Pavlakis came off the bench to quarterback when RJ Mattucci went down with a left shoulder injury earlier in the fourth quarter.
"The experience he had starting last week paid off," said Mishler. "Luka is a cool customer. He'says 'Whatever you need coach, I'll get it done.' And Jack O'Neill (5 carries, 66 yards) made a great catch staying inbounds."
Mattucci had rushed for touchdowns of 1, 27 and 31 yards to help build a 21-7 lead just into the third quarter. The Mustangs finished with 249 rushing and 76 passing yards.
Elk Grove (0-8, 0-4) showed no quit as Matthew Wary (5 catches, 138 yards, 3 TDs) caught his second touchdown pass with 7:29 left in the third quarter to pull the Grens within 21-14. Quarterback Sean Fege (10-for-20, 1 interception, 114 yards passing) connected with Wary again in the fourth quarter on a 30-yard pass to tie the game at 21.
The Mustangs had a chance to score with 1:48 left in the game, but a 25-yard field goal attempt by Karl Swanson, who made all four conversion kicks, went wide left.
"I am super proud of my players," said Elk Grove coach Larry Calhoun. "We battled them for four quarters. We battled hard but that's not what the scoreboard said in the end."
Daniel Larucci and Brian Keegan made life exceptionally hard for the Mustangs at times with stunning defensive plays throughout the night. The Grenadiers hit the Mustangs with 8 tackles for losses.
"This was the best game we played all year," said Larucci. "The whole team worked hard together to try to win this one. We played out hearts out. They just got some lucky breaks. We did the best that we could."
"They made me nervous all week watching them on film," said Mishler. "It's been a rough year for them. They executed well tonight. Tonight we completed step four towards the conference championship. Our defense stepped up when they had to, forcing the punt that got us field possession on our winning drive."
Elk Grove finished with 64 rushing yards and 204 passing yards.