Cherwin's kick lifts Rolling Meadows over Glenbrook North
It was an evenly played game from start to finish when host Glenbrook North faced Rolling Meadows in nonconference football action in Northbrook Thursday night.
But in the end, it was a 26-yard field goal by Gabe Cherwin with 46 seconds remaining that carried the visiting Mustangs to an exciting 17-14 victory over the Spartans.
Glenbrook North (2-2) capitalized on a Rolling Meadows fumble early in the first quarter as Glenbrook North sophomore quarterback J.J. Schlenhardt faked a handoff and raced 22 yards for the touchdown and an early 6-0 lead.
Rolling Meadows quarterback Evan Grace hit Stephen Schiele with a 57-yard pass before his 8-yard TD pass to Ben Petermann put the Mustangs on the scoreboard late in the second quarter. The extra point by lucky No. 13 Cherwin gave the visitors a 7-6 lead.
The speedy Schlenhardt (72 yards on 3 carries) had a 45-yard keeper on the Spartans' second drive. But he left the game after that play with a serious left wrist injury and did not return to the game.
Junior quarterback Jack Philbin stepped in for Schlenhardt and performed well as Philbin scored on an 8-yard keeper up the middle with 48 seconds left in the first half. Then Philbin hit Tarek Taha with a 2-point conversion pass to give Glenbrook North a 14-7 lead at halftime.
After a scoreless third quarter, Grace (18-for-28 passing, 297 yards) hit Petermann near the right pylon for a 10-yard TD pass to deadlock the score at 14-14 with 11:50 to play.
During that 96-yard scoring drive, Grace hit Peyton Wiles with a 47-yard pass to take the ball to the Spartans' 9-yard-line.
"I thought our kids battled really well and we cleaned up a lot of things in the second half," said Rolling Meadows coach Sam Baker. "He (Grace) is doing an awesome job, he's a great kid, and I really like what he's doing."
The Spartans tried to put together a potentially tying or winning drive, but Michael Ingolia's interception sealed the Mustangs' comeback victory.
"Our whole team played awesome, our line was amazing, and that whole last drive we ran the ball," said Grace. "We told ourselves no more mental errors in the second half, and our receivers played awesome."
Philbin (62 yards on 16 rushes) was 10-for-18 passing for 106 yards while Rolling Meadows' Skip Rozanski rushed for 71 yards on 19 carries, including some huge gains on the winning drive.