Fisher's focus clearing up the Mundelein football picture

Walking down the halls at Mundelein High School as a football player has taken on a whole new meaning lately.

"It used to be people would say, 'Why are you even playing football? You're an athlete. Why don't you play a sport you can win at?' " Mundelein senior quarterback Colten Fisher said.

"Now, people at school are excited about football. They're like, 'Good job!' Even at restaurants and gas stations in town … people come up to me and ask about our games. People are talking about our team."

As well they should be.

Mundelein, the perennial underdog in the North Suburban Lake with a 5-58 record over the last 7 seasons, is suddenly 3-0. It's the Mustangs' best start since 2004, when they shot off to a 4-0 start and ultimately qualified for the state playoffs.

Tonight at Warren (7:30 p.m.), Mundelein has a chance to equal that start in the Daily Herald's Lake County Game of the Week.

By the way, it is not Warren's homecoming game, which is actually unusual for Mundelein this time of year.

"Usually, we're everyone's homecoming game," Fisher said with a shake of his head. "I don't want Mundelein to be everyone's homecoming game anymore, that's for (darn) sure.

"I want us to be a program that people respect and that people get up to play. I want to start a change this year that really lasts."

Fisher, the epicenter of the Mustangs' offense and an occasional stop-gap playmaker on defense, keeps the legacy of him and his fellow seniors top of mind. A lifetime resident of Mundelein and the son of a Mundelein graduate (Jay) who also was a football player, Fisher bleeds a school pride that runs deep. And he loves a challenge. If he ever had the chance to play major college football, he's the kind of kid who would pick a program that's building, like a Northwestern, rather than a program that's running on automatic, like an Alabama.

"When I was playing (youth) football as a kid, there were all kinds of people trying to get me to go to Carmel. They would say, 'We win at Carmel,'" said Fisher, a dual-threat passer and runner who has already racked up 1,080 yards and 15 touchdowns in three games. "I knew the history of Mundelein. I knew that if I went to Mundelein it might be rough and that we would really need to step up and do something special to change things.

"But I like a challenge. And if you tell me I can't do something or that it will be hard, I'm going to find a way to do it and get it done."

Fisher, who is drawing comparisons in versatility to Libertyville standout quarterback Riley Lees, a Northwestern recruit, is certainly off to a good start.

In Mundelein's season opener against Larkin, a 49-25 win, Fisher scored 6 touchdowns and rolled up 460 yards, 327 on the ground and 133 through the air. He has scored at least 4 touchdowns and gained at least 280 yards in each game since.

"He is such a good athlete, a really talented kid and the sparkplug for our entire offense," first-year Mundelein coach Larry Calhoun said. "He's got good speed and good vision and he's just tough as nails. He's started every game at quarterback the last two years and hasn't missed a game in three years. He's played almost every snap and sometimes when we really need a stop, we'll play him at safety.

"Colten is just a playmaker."

It's a rather new role for Fisher. He was a center on the offensive line through seventh grade.

"Then, I grew and thinned out and I knew I couldn't be on the line anymore. I was too skinny," Fisher said. "I tried out for quarterback as a freshman and they were going to go with a couple of other kids, but I really wanted to be a quarterback. I thought I'd be good at it. So I kept coming over (to the quarterback drills).

"I had a good first game, so I got to keep playing."

By the end of his sophomore year, Fisher was brought up to be the starting varsity quarterback.

Last year, in a frustrating 0-9 season for the Mustangs, Fisher finished with about 500 yards, 5 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

So far this season, Fisher has only 2 interceptions in 47 attempts.

"I've been working on that a lot, making better reads," Fisher said. "In our offense, the quarterback is also one of the main running threats and I'll run with the ball a lot. I'm pretty elusive. That's one of my strengths."

Fisher says another strength is that he's a good motivator.

"I know how to rally guys and pick them up," Fisher said. "When you have the history we have had, it's hard not to think about that. It's easy to say, 'I hope we can just hang in there.' But you're not going to win many games thinking that. You can't just want to try your best, and that's it. I tell the guys that we need to set the bar high, that we need to have high expectations."

The most basic expectation this season for Fisher is a playoff berth. It would be only the third in Mundelein history.

"I've told our guys that this is our time and we have to show that we are willing to really work for it," Fisher said. "We want to win and change football at Mundelein. Really change it forever."

• pbabcock@dailyherald.com

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