Tolbert's long TDs lift Warren past Mundelein

Just call Jalin Tolbert "Jazz Hands."

It seems like the perfect new nickname for a wide receiver from New Orleans who seems to be able to catch every football thrown his way.

Tolbert, a junior at Warren who moved from New Orleans before his sophomore year when his military family got transferred, was electrifying Saturday afternoon against visiting Mundelein. He caught all three passes that were thrown his way, and all three went for touchdowns.

And not just run-of-the-mill touchdowns either. Tolbert's touchdown catches were bombs for 55, 44 and 50 yards. Monster touchdowns in Warren's scary good 63-20 North Suburban Conference victory over the Mustangs.

"It was good. It was mainly my quarterback (Kyle Debevec) and the chemistry that we've gotten down over time," said Tolbert, who was easy to distinguish not just for his big plays but also for the long dreadlocks that pour out the back of his helmet and the neon green receiving gloves he wears. "It's been a lot of us staying after practice, throwing extra balls. Me and Kyle, we've been working.

"And I'm a vertical threat. I can get down the field (fast). I've never had three touchdowns in a game, though. That's crazy."

Tolbert's first touchdown catch was a crushing blow for Mundelein.

It came with just 16 seconds left in the first half.

Warren (2-2, 1-0 NSC Lake) had jumped out to a 21-7 first-quarter lead, mainly on the work of running back Darrius Crump, who finished with 114 yards and 3 touchdowns on 8 carries, including an 83-yard touchdown that was Warren's third score.

But Mundelein (3-1, 0-1 NSC Lake) clawed back and capped a 14-play drive in the final minute of the second quarter with a 4-yard touchdown run by quarterback Colten Fisher. That cut Warren's lead to 21-14 with 43 seconds before halftime.

It seemed likely that would be the last score of the first half.

But instead of conservatively running out the clock to head into the break, Warren took to the air. On third-and-10, Debevec hit Tolbert, who was streaking down the sideline, for his 55-yard touchdown. That came with just 16 seconds before halftime.

Suddenly the momentum, all in Mundelein's favor, did a 180-degree turn.

"I don't know if that one was a back-breaker," Mundelein coach Larry Calhoun said of going into halftime down 2 touchdowns instead of just one. "But it was tough, and there were several other plays that jump out where we didn't execute.

"I'm impressed with (Debevec and Tolbert). (Warren is) a good football team and they've got good athletes across the board."

Debevec wound up completing 13-of-23 passes for 300 yards. Nearly half of his yards (149) and 3 of his 4 touchdown passes went to Tolbert. Debevec's other touchdown pass went to Nicholas Marcinkus, a 32-yarder for Warren's first score of the game.

"We have good chemistry and he is so fast," Debevec said of Tolbert. "On the outside, he gets around the corner and we've got him deep. It's every time. I don't think anyone in the league can guard him."

Receiver Zach Schultz also had some nice catches for the Blue Devils. He had 3 receptions for 79 yards, including a 50-yarder.

Warren scored to open the second half on a 10-yard run by Crump with 7:20 left in the third to go up 34-14. But Mundelein wouldn't go away. The Mustangs cut its deficit to 34-20 three minutes later on a 13-yard run by Fisher.

"We could have done better in the second half. I think we came out a little flat," said Fisher, who passed for 100 yards and ran for 150 yards on 29 carries. He scored 2 touchdowns. "We have a lot to learn from this game. But we showed we can compete with these guys. We drove down the field multiple times on them and we had some big plays with some really long drives."

Mundelein, which was trying to go 4-0 for the first time since 2004, finished with 391 yards of offense while Warren rolled up 522 yards and more points than in its first three games combined (50).

"I'm very pleased with that," Warren coach Bryan McNulty said of his red-hot offense. "Any time you put up nine touchdowns on the board, that's pretty good. We'll take it."