Patrick, Mundelein rout Waukegan
It might be tough to get to 34 this season.
But Mundelein running back Shawn Patrick will find the end zone quite a bit. He seems to have a knack for it.
Patrick scored 34 touchdowns last season as the quarterback of Mundelein's freshman team that went 6-3.
"We could tell last year that Shawn was going to be special," Mundelein coach Larry Calhoun said. "It's hard to get a handle on him and he knows how to find (the end zone). He's going to be a good weapon for us at this level."
On Saturday afternoon, Patrick was just that, showing that he can make big plays as a varsity player too. And at a position other than quarterback.
Patrick scored 3 touchdowns to lead Mundelein to a big 48-6 North Suburban Conference win over host Waukegan.
With the victory, Mundelein improves to 2-2 on the season and 1-1 in the league. Waukegan drops to 0-4 (0-2).
On the game, Patrick rushed for 94 yards on just 10 carries. Also the Mustangs' backup quarterback, Patrick ran the offense late in the game and completed a pass for 10 yards.
It was a familiar position for him.
"I liked getting to play a little quarterback. That was fun," Patrick said. "Playing quarterback last year was fun. I probably score more at quarterback.
"But I'm not that tall. I'm 5-6, 5-7. So it's harder to play quarterback up here (at the varsity level) than it was on the freshman team. I'll do whatever I can (to help the team) up here on varsity."
Patrick got Mundelein on the board quickly after a Waukegan turnover on a fumble. He scored on a 6-yard touchdown run just three minutes into the game.
The Mustangs scored their second touchdown off another Waukegan fumble, this time on a 36-yard run by starting quarterback Isaac Wellman.
On the game, Mundelein scored 3 touchdowns on 5 of Waukegan's lost fumbles.
"Turnovers, turnovers," Waukegan coach Jonathan Hadnott said with dismay. "It's hard to recover from that right there. When you spot a team that many points, I don't care what level you play at, that's a tough bounce back right there."
By halftime, Mundelein had built a 34-6 lead. The Mustangs also got a pair of touchdown passes from Wellman. He hit Eli Daugs for a 40-yard touchdown and Atade Syam for a 1-yard touchdown. And just before halftime, Edder Rebollar picked off a Waukegan pass and returned it 40 yards for a touchdown.
Waukegan's only score came just before halftime on a 38-yard pass from Giovanni Quinones to Mishaun Riddle.
"We're strong and we can make plays, but we just don't focus enough and that's why we make so many (turnovers)," Quinones said. "And it does (build on itself). Sometimes people think we're going to turn the ball over before it even happens. We've got to change our mindset."
The only scoring in the second half was 2 touchdowns by Patrick. It set up a running clock for Mundelein's biggest win of the season.
"I'm excited," Patrick said. "I see great things ahead for us. This is a really good group of guys."