Elk Grove stops Meadows
Elk Grove's Joey Bishoff is an early riser on game days.
“I get real excited and get up about 5:30 am,” said Bishoff who doubles as a wide receiver and outside linebacker. “We knew we were in the playoffs but we wanted to go in with a sense of urgency.”
Bishoff did a little of everything and the Grenadiers (7-2, 4-1) knocked host Rolling Meadows (4-5, 2-3) out of the playoff picture for the first time in eight years with a 35-21 Mid-Suburban East win at Robert Hoese Athletic Field.
Bishoff caught a touchdown pass, recovered a fumble, blocked a pass and pressured Meadows quarterback Kevin Cwynar on numerous occasions. But his favorite play was “the sack,” said Bishoff.
“I haven't had one in a while and it felt really good,” he said.
“Bishoff had just a great game,” said Grens coach Brian Doll. “Considering he was still playing on kind of a bum knee, he showed he is a complete player.”
With the Mustangs trailing 28-21 with 9:01 left in the game after Ryan Gundersen's third touchdown catch from Cwynar, Bishoff came up with several big plays.
Bishoff (6 catches, 56 yards) made two key catches to keep the drive alive before snaring a 5-yard scoring pass from Nick Meyer with 4:24 left in the game to seal the verdict.
“Joe made some real nice catches in that drive,” said Meyer, who finished the night 15-for-24 for 257 yards and 4 touchdown passes. “We showed that a defense might be able to stop our runs but then we can pass.”
Meadows' defense led by senior Colin Buscarini and Sean Connor limited Meyer to 58 yards rushing on 32 attempts.
Buscarini was playing less than two weeks after having knee surgery after a late hit from behind in the seventh game of the season. He played two games after suffering a torn meniscus in the knee against Wheeling.
“Buscarini was just a load,” said Meyer. “He's a heck of a player.”
“Buscarini is one of the most special players I have seen in 11 years of coaching,” said Doll.
The Mustangs took a 7-0 lead on Cwynar's 73-yard pass to Gundersen with 5:25 left in the first quarter. Elk Grove took the lead at 8-7 on Meyer's 3-yard run and Eddie Stahl's 2-point conversion run with 7:58 left in the first half.
Meyer connected with Eddie Solorio on 47- and 68-yard touchdown passes. Mike Wary also had a 47-yard touchdown catch after Greg Johnsen's fumble recovery to make it 28-7.
Cwynar (12-for-24, 254 yards) connected with Gundersen with 5:49 left in the quarter to narrow the gap to 28-14.
“We played hard,” said Meadows coach Doug Millsaps. “Their touchdown passes just split our defenders. Our defense did a good job n stopping their running game but it wasn't enough.”