MSL East spotlight favors Rolling Meadows
When Luka Pavlakis came to Rolling Meadows high school three years ago, he never had played one down of football. Yet on Friday night in Buffalo Grove, Pavlakis found himself starting at quarterback for the Mustangs.
Pavlakis was superb in his debut, throwing for 173 yards and 2 touchdowns as Rolling Meadows upended Buffalo Grove 27-10 in a battle of conference unbeatens to claim sole possession of first place in the Mid-Suburban East.
"It was everything I could have hoped for," said Pavlakis, who also rushed for 94 yards on 11 carries. "All week, I knew it was going to be a tough situation. Antonio (Atencio) ran great and our line blocked so well."
Pavlakis got his opportunity when starting quarterback RJ Mattucci, who is the area's third-leading rusher and fifth-leading passer, was on the sidelines in street clothes after being held out of Friday's game. But the Mustangs looked like they never missed a beat, gaining 391 yards.
"He did a phenomenal job," Rolling Meadows coach Matt Mishler said. "This was a huge game. You don't get games in the East that mean that much more than this. It was a tough spot for him. But he stepped up and the entire team rallied behind him."
Pavlakis, who played some quarterback last season on the sophomore team before fracturing his hip, had been the backup quarterback this year. He also started at linebacker, but moved to quarterback on Monday and took all the snaps in practice.
"It wasn't like we were throwing somebody in there that it was his first time," Mishler said. "I told him he could do it and that we had all the confidence in the world in him."
Rolling Meadows (6-1, 3-0), which clinched a playoff berth with the victory, took pressure off of Pavlakis with its running game. Atencio, running behind an offensive line of Greg Off, Grant Palmer, Francisco Trejo, Jake Owen and Jake Maloney, gained 135 yards on 29 carries while rushing for 2 touchdowns.
"I knew I had to run hard for Pavlakis and my team," Atencio said. "He came into a situation and handled it well. He made the right reads on every single play."
Off said the offensive line made extra sure that they were in control.
"It is a little different when you have a junior stepping up who has not played that much quarterback," Off said. "We wanted to make sure he was comfortable back there. It was paramount that we gave him ample amount of time, and we did."
Buffalo Grove (4-3, 2-1) took a 3-0 lead early in the game on a 28 yard field goal by Tyler Rundquist. It was set up by 50-yard run by Bison quarterback John Maddux on the game's first play from scrimmage.
With his team trailing and Pavlakis, who was 7-for-9 passing, making his first appearance on the field, Mishler relied on the running of Atencio to get the Mustangs back in the game. Atencio carried the ball on 6 of 7 plays, including the last 9 yards where he scored to cap a 66-yard drive and make it 7-3 with 5:59 left in the first quarter.
Maddux, who had 107 yards on 11 carries, again broke loose for a 40-yard gain. He then showed he could throw as well. The senior completed a perfect play-action pass play to Jimmy Trieb for a 26-yard touchdown as Buffalo Grove led 10-7 with 4:43 left in the first quarter.
But it was all Meadows from there.
Pavlakis used his legs and arm to guide the Mustangs to 21-10 lead. He had a 26-yard run and a pair of completions to Devante Amos, the last for 12 yards and touchdown to make it 21-10.
The Rolling Meadows defense, led by Peyton Dezonna, Nick Delaporte, Ryan Kobus and Jack Swindells, held the Bison without a first down until late in fourth quarter. Meanwhile, Antencio added a 2-yard touchdown run to make it 27-10.
The Bison got their offense moving through the air late in the game, when Trey Cervantes, who had been sidelined the last few weeks with a broken arm, came on to play quarterback full time. Cervantes (7-of-13, 108 yards), who made a brief appearance early in the game, completed 3 consecutive passes for first downs. But Swindells intercepted a pass to end the Bison threat.
"If you want to be the champ, you have to beat the champ," Buffalo Grove coach Mike DiMatteo said. "And we certainly did not do that tonight. They deserved everything they got."