Libertyville 20, Mundelein 17
After a practice mishap required that he get several stitches on the bridge of his nose, Mundelein linebacker/running back Brian Arnold decided to accessorize by writing the word "believe" on the back of each of his roughed-up hands.
And all during Mundelein's homecoming football game against Libertyville on Friday night, Mustangs on the sideline chanted, "We believe." Their fans did the same.
That was the Mustangs' motto three years ago, when they nearly upset Libertyville in the first round of the playoffs.
"Jake sent me an e-mail (Friday)," Mundelein coach Dave Whitson said of Jake Gaebler, the star of his 2004 team. "I talked to Wade (Leppert, Class of 2007) last night. Wade's dressing (for Iowa) for the Iowa-Indiana game (today). I had some of the alumni kids call me. They just wanted to give me a little boost to get to the kids, because it means a lot to these kids. It means a lot to the people in Mundelein. It means a lot to the alumni that no (Mundelein team) has beaten Libertyville in 20 years. We thought we had our shot this year."
The Mustangs did.
But Libertyville believes in Alvaro Castro, and the strong-legged kicker delivered when it counted. His second field goal of the fourth quarter, from 23 yards out with .7 seconds left, gave the Wildcats a 20-17 win in North Suburban Lake Division action.
Libertyville evened its record at 3-3, including 1-2 in the NSC Lake, while Mundelein fell to 2-4 and 0-3 with its third straight loss.
Whitson called back-to-back timeouts before Castro's game-winning kick.
"We practice this a lot," said Castro, who also plays for Libertyville's soccer team and delivered a game-winning goal earlier this season. "I guess I'm used to the pressure."
"I knew he was good from 45 (yards) in," Wildcats coach Randy Kuceyeski said. "He's kicked 55-yarders in practice, but that's practice. It's not this situation."
Mundelein built a 10-0 lead in the second quarter thanks to Bobby Burnicks' 27-yard field goal and Kurt Mellor's 21-yard fumble return, after Sean Santiago stripped the ball.
Libertyville got a 9-yard touchdown run from Austin Powell to pull within 10-7 at halftime. The Wildcats then took the lead when quarterback Tom Piazzi (208 passing yards) and running back Tim Matheson hooked up on an 80-yard screen.
Back came Mundelein, as Jamell Ross (22 carries, 132 yards) busted off an 84-yard run to the Libertyville 1 and Arnold scored on the next snap.
"That was the longest run they've given up this year," Kuceyeski said of his defense. "But that kid's pretty quick."
The Arnold TD put the Mustangs up 17-14 late in the third quarter, but Castro's 40-yard field goal early in the fourth made it a tie game.
Libertyville got the ball back one final time with 4:47 on the clock, at its own 41. The Wildcats got down to the Mundelein 6 before calling time with 4.7 seconds left and calling on Castro.
"Libertyville beat us," Whitson. "They've got a great kicker. I take my hat off to him."
"It's upsetting, but I think our team showed a lot tonight," Arnold said. "If we still have a shot at the playoffs -- which we do -- I think we can make it because we've showed that we're not going to quit this year. We're going to keep fighting."