Zabrin, BG hit Mundelein with early burst

Buffalo Grove defensive back Jeff Zabrin knew he and his Bison teammates would come out ready to play Friday night against visiting Mundelein.

"We were pumped up - home field, first game and all that," said Zabrin. "We came out on defense and set the tone. We've been working hard in practice and getting turnovers tonight was one of our main goals."

A goal that was fully realized, especially in the first quarter as BG stunned the Mustangs with 5 touchdowns in the first 12 minutes en route to a 41-7 nonconference victory.

"This was a great start and a key boost for us," said Bison tight end and kickoff specialist Kevin Tennenbaum, who caught a 24-yard pass but more importantly kept Mundelein consistenly pinned in their own end with his booming kicks.

Tennenbaum credited "team intensity" for the win.

"We've worked extremely hard for 9-10 weeks now, and we've come together as a team."

After BG quarterback Mike Garrity (56 yards rushing, 56 yards passing) ran 9 yards for the game's opening score, Zabrin started the defensive barrage with a pick on the ensuing Mundelein possession, one that led to a Garrity 20 yard pass over the middle to Brian Akialis for a score.

Then defensive back Richard Zirngibl intercepted a Mustangs pass and ran 28 yards for a touchdown, and Dan Recht grabbed an errant pitchout and scampered 25 yards for another score.

A 2-yard td run by Garrity gave the Bison a 35-0 opening quarter lead.

"I can't say we didn't come ready to play," said Mundelein coach Bob Stone, "but everything that could go wrong in the first quarter did go wrong."

BG lineman Joe Damisch got into the act in the 2nd quarter, recovering a muffed punt and rambling 6 yards for a score.

Mundelein quarterback Ryan VanderPloeg recovered from a shaky start to fire a 62-yard touchdown pass to Dave Collins in the waning moments, while Mustangs receiver Brian Grant had 3 catches for 22 yards.

BG running back Taylor Goyke was a workhorse, especially in the 2nd half when the Bison controlled the clock. Goyke finished 68 yards on the ground for the evening.

"The guys were flying around tonight," said BG coach Jim Farrell. "They came out ready to play. When it gets toward the end of camp, they're tired of hitting each other. They had a great night tonight, and now it's on to bigger things next week."

"On both offense and defense, we've been practicing playing fast - and that's a key to making it easier to keep up the momentum in an uptempo game."