Metzger, Jernigan rally Mustangs past Z-B
Similar to its passing game this season, Mundelein's attempt at tossing ice water on head coach Bob Stone was a little off target.
When it counted most Friday night. however, the Mustangs were the sharpest they have been all year.
After scoring 3 touchdowns in its first 27 quarters of football this season, Mundelein equaled that total in the final 8 minutes of its North Suburban Lake Division game against visiting Zion-Benton to emerge with a stunning, 25-14 win in its home finale.
It was Stone's first win as Mustangs head coach and the first for Mundelein (1-6, 1-3) since it knocked off Zion-Benton in Week 8 of last season.
"It was something special out there - senior night and our last game on that field," said senior running back Kenny Jernigan, who scored 2 of the fourth-quarters TDs. "It's something you can't explain."
Especially considering Mundelein's offense was essentially non-existent for three quarters. Zion-Benton (0-7, 0-4) was up 14-3 at halftime thanks to T.J. Trepanier's 29-yard pass to Matt Nicklas in the end zone with 42 seconds left, and the Zee-Bees took that lead into the final 12 minutes.
But on the first play of the fourth quarter, Mundelein quarterback Aaron Metzger delivered a perfect spiral to A.J. Spector, who hauled in the pass for a 61-yard gain.
Suddenly, the Mustangs were alive.
"We've had trouble throwing the ball all year, I'll be honest," said Stone, partially dripping with ice water. "We talked at halftime about throwing that pass. We wanted to be on plus-50 (yard line), but we weren't. We said let's throw it anyway. It's funny. We thought we were going to go to our inside receivers, but we ended up throwing to our outside receiver. It was a heck of a ball. It was just all four guys streaking down the field."
Seven plays later, on his third attempt from the 1, on fourth down, Jernigan burst into the end zone.
"I wanted the ball," Jernigan said.
Metzger's conversion pass to 6-foot-6 R.J. Bond pulled the Mustangs within 14-11 with 8:38 left.
After Z-B went three-and-out, Mundelein's offense moved the ball again. On fourth-and-goal from the 2, Metzger rolled to his right and raced into the end zone to give the Mustangs the lead.
"We had play-action to the left side to bring the linebackers in," Metzger said. "We got that two-point conversion with Bond the last time. We just ran the same play and this time it was wide open so I kept it."
Mundelein defensive end Mike Gerton sacked Trepanier twice on the Zee-Bees' next series. When the Mustangs got the ball back, Jernigan sealed the win with a 25-yard TD run.
"Our line got a real good push upfront," Metzger said. "It was just a team effort."