Cardiac Cougars seek any ol' kind of victory

Once again, Vernon Hills' football team gave its coaching staff and fans heart palpitations.

Last Friday night, the Cougars won yet another close game, this time defeating Antioch 42-38 in the final seconds with a pass from quarterback P.J. Marsek to freshman wide receiver DaVaris Daniels.

This came just a week after a crazy 1-point victory over North Chicago.

"The kids like to joke that they're giving us (coaches) heart attacks," Vernon Hills coach Tony Monken said. "But we're actually having a lot of fun with it. It's been amazing to see the kids play so well with the game on the line."

Vernon Hills has staged last-minute heroics that have also led to a 22-20 victory over Lakes as well.

Plus, they just missed out on getting a last-ditch win over Grant (29-28 final). The Cougars lost that game at the very end as well.

"We're 3-1 in games that are decided in the last 40 seconds," Monken chuckled. "It's really pretty amazing and it's been a great surprise."

The Cougars (5-3, 4-1) host Wauconda (6-2, 4-1) tonight at Rust-Oleum Field in a game that will determine which team finishes second behind Grant in the North Suburban Prairie Division. Vernon Hills needs a victory to clinch a playoff berth.

The Cougars have 33 playoff points going into the game and are guaranteed at least 2 more points. If they lose tonight, they'll be hoping to make the state playoffs as an at-large team.

So what's been the secret to their late-game heroics? How have the Cougars been so consistently good when their backs have been firmly up against the wall?

"All it takes is one (victory)," Monken said. "We won that Lakes game earlier in the year, and all of a sudden, the guys think that they can do that any time they want. Who knows? Maybe had we not gotten that game, it's a different story. Maybe the whole season is a different story."

Flashback: As it became apparent last week that his team was going to officially clinch a spot in the playoffs, Wauconda coach Glen Kozlowski couldn't help but reminisce about some of his teams in the past.

The Bulldogs, who will clinch the program's first playoff berth since 1998, have come a long way since his first few seasons. In 2002 and 2003, they put together back-to-back 0-9 seasons, and they followed that up with a 1-8 campaign.

"I just thought about all of the classes that went through those hard years," Kozlowski said. "I remember telling them that as hard as that was, they were laying the foundation for the teams to come. I told them that they probably wouldn't see their efforts come out in wins but that they were definitely starting something.

"We are where we're at now because of all the hard work of those first few teams."

Hangin' tough: A position change and an injury didn't get the best of Stephen Kent and Dalton Cuchna of Wauconda.

They both had big games last week against Round Lake that particularly delighted their coach.

Kent, Wauconda's starting quarterback last year, made a splash on defense. And Cuchna, out for the first four weeks with a broken wrist, made the play of the game.

Kent had 11 tackles and 3 sacks against Round Lake.

"When you ask a senior to move to a new position, you'll see them put the team first, or you'll see them do the pout routine," Wauconda coach Glen Kozlowski said. "Stephen has been such a team leader. He moved from quarterback and had made big plays for our defense."

Cuchna's 25-yard touchdown reception was a huge play for Wauconda. He jumped over the top of two Round Lake safeties, tipped the ball to himself and caught it while diving into the end zone.

"Dalton had a tough start of the year by breaking his wrist during summer workouts," Kozlowski said. "But he's come back strong. He's got a lot of ability, a lot of moxie and it showed on that play."

Cody's comeback: Mundelein lost four straight games in the middle of the season to North Suburban Lake powers Lake Forest, Stevenson, Libertyville and Warren.

One common denominator between all the losses was the absence of standout middle linebacker/running back Cody Gokan.

A three-year varsity starter, Gokan broke his ankle in Week 3 in the first quarter of a win over Round Lake and didn't get cleared until just before last week's Zion-Benton game.

Mundelein went from being 2-1 at the time of Gokan's injury to out of playoff contention when he returned.

"It definitely hurt not having Cody," Mundelein coach Dave Whitson said. "He's such a big player for us. What he brings to the table is phenomenal. He was also our starting middle linebacker and that hurt our defense, too."

With Gokan back in the lineup last week, the Mustangs got a huge 43-19 win over Zion-Benton. And Gokan was huge, too. He had 2 interceptions, 2 sacks and 2 touchdowns.

Quote of the week: "Our punter (Chris Jahnke) is like the Maytag repairman. He really hasn't done much lately. The last time we punted was the Lake Zurich game (two weeks ago) and the last time before that was against Grant (in Week 5). But I like that. I like it when our punter isn't busy." -- Wauconda coach Glen Kozlowski explaining how his team has been running the ball so well this season and stringing together first downs that Jahnke's services haven't been necessary all that often.