Mundelein savors first win of the season
The efficiency couldn't have been better.
The Mundelein football team was 4-for-4 last week, and that sparked a big 47-6 win over Waukegan.
It was Mundelein's first win of the season.
The Mustangs (1-3) forced 4 Waukegan turnovers and then scored off all 4 turnovers.
"That was really great for us and our offense," Mundelein coach Vince DeFrancesco said. "We started with great field position and positive momentum."
Mundelein picked off 3 Waukegan passes and also forced a fumble and got the recovery.
DeAngelo McClellan, Isaac Onyeise and Omari Rhinehart each got interceptions while Joey Foreman forced the fumble and Carson Rapp recovered it.
"Our defensive backfield was really strong," DeFrancesco said. "Our entire defense played really well."
Middle linebacker Rudy Osornio was all over the place as usual.
Osornio is the Mustangs' leading tackler on the season (33) and rolled up a team-high 8 tackles against Waukegan.
"He's our captain and a three-year starter," DeFrancesco said of Osornio. "He's a great competitor with such a motor and energy and discipline and work ethic. We always want him to be the center of our defense and he's in a role that puts him in a position to take advantage of that."
Good numbers:
While Mundelein was efficient in turning every Waukegan turnover into a touchdown last week, there was also extreme efficiency within the offense itself.
"We ran only 33 offensive plays in the game and we had 445 yards of offense and scored 47 points," Mundelein coach Vince DeFrancesco said. "We were very efficient. We had a lot of good plays. It was a good day for our offense."
The Mustangs had a nice mix of rushing and passing touchdowns.
Quarterback Brock Paluch threw for 2 touchdowns as part of a 6-for-9, 127-yard performance. He connected with Syam Atade (10 yards) and Drew Wellington (53 yards) for scores.
Meanwhile, Paluch ran for a 14-yard touchdown. He was one of four players who ran in touchdowns.
Shawn Patrick opened the game with a 40-yard touchdown run on his first carry. Joey Foreman (5 carries for 136 total yards) turned on the jets for an 88-yard touchdown run and Luke Pietrusiewicz had 2 touchdown runs, for 6 yards and 29 yards.
"We are a run-heavy offense, but it was nice that we had some success throwing the ball, too," DeFrancesco said. "We feel really good about our quarterback and wide receivers and it was nice for them to get that confidence."
More like normal:
In an effort to provide a semblance of normalcy, Mundelein staged its "Homecoming" last week.
The Mustangs hosted Waukegan and had some of the traditional festivities that would accompany a Homecoming game in a normal season.
"We had a nice crowd and we crowned a Homecoming King and Queen and we had the court and all that. We also had the dance team there," Mundelein coach Vince DeFrancesco said. "I'm not sure if many schools are trying to do that, but Mundelein felt it was important to do that for our kids and our community.
"It was really nice to have a Homecoming game."
Trey Baker, a standout guard for the boys basketball team at Mundelein, was named the Homecoming King.
Hyped up:
It's a game that is always charged for Grayslake North.
Playing Lakes, as the Knights did last week, brings up all kind of emotions because many players at Grayslake North and Lakes went to grade school and middle school together.
"Our kids are always excited to play Lakes," Grayslake North coach Corey Atwell said. "They know those kids so well. But I think our kids got a little too jacked.
Grayslake North ultimately got a 38-8 win over Lakes, but it took awhile to get going.
The Knights were ahead 6-0 at the end of the first quarter, and 12-0 at halftime.
"We were missing things in the first half," Atwell said. "We weren't in the right spots. We missed a few chances to score. We just weren't connecting. We were playing a little crazy."
A reset at halftime was all the Knights needed.
They scored 3 touchdowns over an approximately five-minute stretch early in the second half to take firm control.
"We calmed down in the second half," Atwell said. "What wasn't working in the first half was working in the second half. Things were clicking. I just think we were more relaxed."
More big numbers:
Grayslake North sophomore quarterback Jacob Donohue continues to put up big numbers.
He threw for 4 touchdowns in last week's 38-8 win over Lakes.
Donohue connected with Nathan Atwell for 2 touchdowns (46 yards and 4 yards), a 57-yarder to Tony Hines and a 31-yarder to Christian Johnson.
"Jacob just has a great feel for the game and the offense, and he has grown a lot just from our first game," Grayslake North coach Corey Atwell said. "I've tried to coach that in the past, having a feel for the game, and I don't have to do that with him. He gets it.
"He's got a great chemistry with (Nathan) Atwell. Those two are out playing catch a lot, and then when you've got guys like Tony and Christian, it just makes it nice for Jacob because it's tough for a defense to match up with and cover everyone."
Donohue is 70-of-103 for 996 yards and 16 touchdowns on the season. He has thrown only 2 interceptions.
Fast start:
It was an exciting start to Grayslake Central's 28-20 victory over North Chicago last week.
Senior Jonas Sjodin ran back the opening kickoff 84 yards for a touchdown to give the Rams an immediate lead, and the Rams kept building from there. They played with the lead for the entire rest of the game.
"That was our first kickoff return for a touchdown this year," Grayslake Central coach Mike Maloney said. "It was really exciting and a great way too start the game."
Sjodin was good from start to finish.
The senior tailback who will be going to St. Xavier next year, rushed for a total of 168 yards on 27 carries.
"He was definitely our player of the game," Maloney said of Sjodin.
Grayslake Central also got 2 touchdowns from Colin O'Malley, both on throws (12 yards, 14 yards) from quarterback Darryl Overstreet (8-for-15, 82 yards).
Luca Maravola rounded out the scoring for the Rams on a 1-yard touchdown run.