Rolling Meadows stays defensive
There’s no doubt that the Rolling Meadows football team can put points on the board.
That was evident in the Mustangs 53-7 victory at Hoffman Estates in Friday’s a Mid-Suburban League crossover.
Defense will always be the key to a winning season and the Mustangs (3-1) are in the midst of becoming more defensive-minded.
“We’re getting it together and the guys on defense are starting to click,” said cornerback Artie Checchin. “We’re adjusting more and becoming more physical in practice and that came through tonight. We can be a heck of a crew when we stick together and play hard in practice.”
Cheechin had a key fumble recovery in the first quarter from a hit by Ryan Gundersen that led to a 14-0 Mustang lead.
Rolling Meadows forced 6 turnovers from the 0-4 Hawks and intercepted 5 passes.
Quarterback Jack Milas completed 16 of 20 passes for 294 yards and 4 touchdows. Gundersen caught the first scoring pass in the first quarter on a 67-yard pass for a 7-0 lead.
John Burkiewicz accepted a 29-yard pass from Milas for the second score. Steven Royster added a 6 yd run and Gundersen followed with a 52-yard run in the second quarter to build a 27-0 lead.
The Hawks closed to 27-7 when quarterback Jordan Hudak (14-for-27, 125 yards, 4 interceptions) connected with Matt Mednus on an 11-yard pass midway through the quarter.
A 23-yard field goal from Milas gave Rolling Meadows a 30-7 lead at halftime.
Milas completed a 49-yard TD pass to Gundersen on the Mustangs first play in the second half. An interception by Derek Heer set up Milas’ 24 yard pass to Tyler Bobowski to make the score 44-7.
Gundersen kicked a field goal and a 40-yard interception return by Jacob Grant finished the Mustangs scoring.
Rolling Meadows finished with 411 yards of offense to Hoffman’s 222.
“I knew we were better than we looked on defense the first two weeks,” said Mustangs coach Matt Mishler. “The last two weeks we challenged the kids and they are starting to beilve in themselves. They have learned that if we play hard during the week, Friday will take care of itself.”
Hoffman Estates started the game by recovering a onside kick but could not score.
“We couldn’t take advantage of the early break,” said Hoffman coach Bill Helzer. “I thought we might be able to take some wind out of their sails.
“We drove down but then our fake field goal didn’t work and we could not recover. We turned the ball over six times and you can’t do that.”