Rolling Meadows dominant in all phases against Niles West

Rolling Meadows was in attack mode early and often as it continued to strive for the perfect season in the final Mid-Suburban/Central Suburban League crossover against Niles West.

The Mustangs moved to 4-0 with a 52-0 shutout of winless Niles West.

Six different Mustangs reached the end zone in the blowout led by senior quarterback Carson Schiller (9 of 12 for 238 yards and 3 passing touchdowns). Two of Schiller's tosses were to senior running back Chris Divito for significant yardage (69 and 37 yards, respectively).

Following the opening kickoff, Schiller connected with Divito for a 69-yarder and 6 points on the first possession of the game. The succeeding successful two-point conversion gave Rolling Meadows the early lead. It set the tone for the rest of the game.

"We want to keep pressure on teams," Schiller said. "We have to have that focus. We had high intensity. I feel like this team is doubted a lot. We want to, week in and week out, prove it. This team believes in each other. We're going to keep it rolling and take it one game at a time."

It seemed as if with every possession Rolling Meadows found the end zone. After Rolling Meadows forced a three-and-out, it marched down the field, capping off a 6-yard score by junior tailback Noah Wilson to up the lead to 15-0.

While the offense was firing on all cylinders, the Mustangs' defense was extremely active. Rolling Meadows defense was responsible for 3 scores, including a blocked punt that senior special teams player Nicholaus Greazel put his paws on and landed on for the six-pointer, a safety (runner tackled by senior cornerback Heyden Draper) and an interception returned for a touchdown by senior safety David Zieba from 31 yards out.

"We went back to basics this week," said Rolling Meadows coach Matt Mishler. "I think being able to see other teams we don't see all the time is a good thing and kind of fun. The Deerfield game last week was a dogfight until the end, obviously with the double overtime (victory). We learned a lot from that game.

"We were just about raising our level and making sure we're playing hard. I think Deerfield played harder than us last week. It was a learning experience for us."

Niles West couldn't get a thing started on offense. The Rolling Meadows defensive front held the Wolves to a mere 79 yards of total offense, and only allowed 7 pass completions. Rolling Meadows held Niles West's ground attack to only 27 yards.

All 52 points were scored in the first half and 31 of the tallies were in the first quarter alone. Other Rolling Meadows scorers included juniors running back Charlie Schmidt and wideout Michael Radon.

No. 13-ranked Rolling Meadows opens up MSL East play, as it hosts Buffalo Grove (2-2) in Week 5.

"We're trying to show that we can still be a powerhouse in the MSL East," Divito said.