Warren 42, Mundelein 21
The topsy-turvy start to Warren's homecoming football game couldn't have been good for Ryan Maguire's stomach.
The Warren wide receiver, after all, became so ill with flu symptoms in the wee hours of Friday that he was admitted to Lake Forest Hospital. He spent basically the whole morning there, while being pumped with fluids.
"I had to skip our team lunch, just because I was so sick," Maguire said. "I got a couple of hours of sleep and just came straight here."
At game's end Friday night, Maguire was feeling much better and no doubt was thrilled to play a big part in a pure thriller. The Blue Devils took Mundelein's best punch early and pulled away in the second half for a 42-21 victory.
Warren improved to 4-3, including 4-1 in the North Suburban Lake Division, with its third straight win and fourth in five games.
The loss for Mundelein (2-5, 0-4), its fourth in a row, officially eliminated the Mustangs from playoff contention.
Warren had plenty of heroes, including sophomore running back Greg Kennedy, who rushed 26 times for 202 yards and 3 touchdowns, and quarterback Zach Shaw, who completed 11 of 16 passes for 158 yards and a pair of TD strikes to Maguire.
Linebacker Aaron Montgomery led the Blue Devils' defense with 3 sacks and an interception.
Jamell Ross had a huge game for Mundelein, rushing for 147 yards and 2 TDs on 22 carries. He returned the opening kickoff 41 yards. Then on the first snap from scrimmage, the tiny speedster sprinted 59 yards to put the Mustangs on top.
Warren answered immediately. On the Blue Devils' first snap, Kennedy busted off a 60-yard TD run.
"I was just glad to get that one back," Blue Devils coach Dave Mohapp said. "When a visiting team scores on your homecoming like that, it takes a lot of air out of you."
Kennedy scored again on Warren's next possession, from 33 yards out. But Mundelein pulled even on its ensuing series, when quarterback Mike Petlak tossed an 8-yard scoring pass to Dan Katz.
"We came out pretty tough," Mundelein offensive tackle Joe Semple said. "We knew we had them on the ropes after the first touchdown. I just think after that we thought we had them and we let up. Our confidence wasn't as high, but it was still pretty high. We played our hearts out, but we had mistakes that cost us the game."
Warren's James Poliquin dragged down Petlak in the backfield on fourth-and-goal from the 1, keeping the score tied at 14-14. The Blue Devils then drove 98 yards on 9 plays, with Shaw firing a 6-yard strike to Maguire in the corner of the end zone with 32 seconds left in the half.
Mundelein regained the lead at 21-20 in the third thanks to Ross' 7-yard TD run and Bobby Burnicks' PAT kick, but Corey Harris returned the ensuing kickoff 85 yards for a score and Warren never looked back.
"It looked like it was going to be close -- back and forth, Ross made a couple of good plays (at the start of the game)," said Maguire, who caught 5 passes for 56 yards and also had 1 carry for 26 yards. "But we answered back. The defense definitely stepped up for us the second half."
Shaw also completed conversion passes to Aaron Dahlke and Marcus Taylor.
"Best game that he's played this year," Mohapp said of Shaw. "I'm glad. We've been really trying to improve our throw game and I think we're moving in that direction. We got to keep on going."