Mundelein ends Libertyville's season
It was a make or break game for the Libertyville football team Friday night at Mundelein.
And the final game of the 2009 regular season turned out to be quite an adventure for the visiting Wildcats as they left their familiar home field turf to take part in an anticipated "mud bowl" against the upset-minded Mustangs.
The Mustangs led 7-0 at halftime and that score would hold up as they broke the Wildcats' back with a 7-0 victory to knock Libertyville out of the playoffs in a North Suburban Lake battle between the two long-time rivals.
After Libertyville (4-5, 2-4) was stopped on its opening drive, Mundelein (2-7, 1-5) stunned the Wildcats by marching 85 yards in 10 plays on its opening drive.
Senior running back Mike O'Donoghue was the workhorse for the Mustangs on the drive as his 66-yard run took the ball down to the Libertyville 23. Then on third-and-1, O'Donoghue (95 yards on 17 carries) dove into the end zone over left guard before he kicked the extra point for a 7-0 lead with 1:32 left in the first quarter.
The score remained 7-0 at halftime as the Wildcats were stopped just inches short of a first down at the Mundelein 33 early in the second quarter.
"That is the first time in 23 years that we've beaten Libertyville at the varsity level," said Mundelein coach Bob Stone, whose team did not have a first down in the second half. "Libertyville is a good football team and our defense shut them down every time. The conditions were terrible, but we both played on the same field and this is a big win for these kids."
O'Donoghue's 66-yard run early on was the only really big gainer of the contest as the quagmire of a field prevented either team from really throwing the ball downfield or breaking off any long runs.
"The line opened up a big hole for me, but I just ran straight ahead and turned on the jets," O'Donoghue said. "Our season was basically done so to beat a team that was 4-4 and fighting for the playoffs just speaks volumes about our team."
The Wildcats did move the ball effectively throughout the game as quarterback A.J. Schurr threw for 125 yards on 9-for-26 passing. Kevin Penny added 60 yards on 13 carries while teammate James Zotto had 45 yards on 14 attempts despite changing from jersey No. 11 to No. 27 at halftime due to all of the mud.
But when push came to shove Libertyville could not get the job done as Mundelein's Cam Barker came up with a big tackle for a loss on a fourth-and-1 play with 8:30 to play.
The Mustangs' defensive line kept good pressure on Schurr when he dropped back to pass as Mundelein's Jake Pawlicki intercepted a pass in the final seconds to seal the win.
"That one play in the first half was the ballgame and you have to hand it to Mundelein," said Libertyville coach Randy Kuceyeski. "They fought the whole way, and it's not the way we wanted to end the season."
Libertyville did have the ball first-and-goal at the 8 late in the third quarter before a 3-yard run put the ball on the 5-yard-line.
But a 5-yard penalty pushed them back to the 10, and an incomplete pass on fourth-and-10 would killed the scoring chance.
Mundelein punter Matt Hiestand also played a big role in the Mustangs' win as his punting helped keep the Wildcats at bay despite Libertyville having good field position for the better part of the second half.