Scouting Marmion at Mundelein
Marmion (1-0) at Mundelein (0-1)
When: 7:30 p.m. today
Last week: Marmion d. Batavia, 14-7; Mundelein lost to Buffalo Grove, 41-7.
Skinny: Marmion defeated Mundelein 24-8 in Week 2 last year and went on to finish 9-2 in making the state playoffs for the second time in three years under coach Dan Thorpe. The Cadets rallied on Opening Night last Friday, marching 73 yards to score with 1:27 left. Mitch Loehmann scored the go-ahead touchdown. He and two-way star T.J. Lally lead an offense that outgained Batavia 181-47 on the ground. Lally was the Suburban Christian Blue Division player of the year last season. Marmion's defense got 2 sacks from Ryan Glasgow and one from Lally. Glasgow's brother Graham is a 6-7, 295-pound offensive tackle. ... Mundelein got off to a rough start against Buffalo Grove, falling behind 35-0 after the first quarter. The Mustangs' only score came in the fourth quarter on QB Ryan Vanderploeg's 62-yard TD pass to Dave Collins.
Outlook: Looking back at last week's game, Marmion coach Dan Thorpe thought the Cadets' lack of a large point total was more a credit to Batavia's defense than to faulty Marmion offense. True, he said he'd prefer a greater surge from the offensive line, and would have liked more than 6 points out of 35 first-half offensive plays stymied by 4 fumbles. Yet the Cadets rallied when necessary with a game-winning 73-yard touchdown drive capped by Mitch Loehmann's 24-yard run. Nick Scoliere, who scored the Cadets' first touchdown on a 19-yard pass from Bobby Peters, also sealed the win with an interception in the end zone. "It was gut-check time and we responded," Thorpe said. A defense that featured 2 sacks apiece from linebacker T.J. Lally and lineman Ryan Glasgow, and 6 tackles with 3 hurries from defensive end Nate Pacer, also held Batavia to 47 yards rushing. Scouting Mundelein, Thorpe noted their bad breaks in quickly trailing 28-0 in part by Buffalo Grove scoring on an interception return and a fumble recovery and return. "If that doesn't happen that game's totally different," Thorpe said. He cited emotional hitter Bill McMahon, a linebacker, plus speedy skill guys David Tramill and D.J. Lewis who Marmion must contain. A two-platoon squad with size at the tackles, Mundelein also offered quarterbacks who rotated in with similar success: Gable Leppert and Ryan VanderPloeg. Thorpe called the Mustangs a bunch of physical hitters who like to blitz defensively and, like Marmion, have speed on the flank. "We're happy to be 1-0," Thorpe said. "We've got to eliminate the mistakes."