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Mundelein downs Grayslake Central

Shawn Patrick carried the Mustangs a long way with 4 rushing touchdowns on 23 carries and 238 yards, which was more than enough for Mundelein to run past host Grayslake Central 31-13 in a nonconference victory on Friday night in Grayslake.

Patrick scampered on TD runs from 3, 9, 23 and one from 40 yards.

"My O-Line blocked great and by far it was my best game blocking and rushing wise," Patrick said. "I think if we keep working we can put it altogether. We could be a playoff team."

For coach Vince DeFrancesco, it was his first win as new coach for the Mustangs and the first one of the season after a home loss to Maine West last week.

"It's exciting and exciting for the kids," DeFrancesco said. "They've been working hard and we've been preaching for them to finish. We dealt with a little adversity and talked about it before the game. I thought they responded very well. We had a turning point with our program (early in the second half). That adversity hit and how do we respond to it. Our defense got a stop and our offense took over to score."

Mundelein had a comfortable 17-0 lead at the break. But Grayslake Central came out with the intention to make a comeback in a hurry.

The Mustangs had the ball and fumbled on their first play. The Rams took over on a short field and Maurice Edwards (25 carries, 105 yards) scored on a 3-yard run that cut the lead to 17-7 with 7:46 left.

On the kickoff, Mundelein muffed the ball on the return and was penalized 30 yards with two personal fouls on the play.

The Rams had a chance to trim the lead down with a first and goal from the Mustangs' 10-yard line. But, a Grayslake penalty and Edwards cramped up on the next play forcing him to the sideline.

Grayslake Central's offense couldn't get the ball forward before giving the ball up on downs.

"We were trying to be an opportunistic football team and trying to take advantage," Grayslake Central coach Mike Maloney said. "When mistakes happen, we had an opportunity to bust some plays. We were able to pound one in. Then, we had a drive killer type of penalty that brought us back and we couldn't recover from that. We have to educate our kids and get better."

Mundelein took over from there with its offense and Patrick added a couple of touchdowns late in the third quarter and the fourth.

Jonas Sjodin caught a 30-yard pass from Darryl Overstreet for the Rams' other score.

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