Larkin able to hold off Mundelein in wild opening night triumph
In recent years, Larkin's football team might've fallen under the pressure in a big game situation, nor been able to be in one after winning 1 of its last 18 games.
But after Friday night's roller coaster win over Mundelein, this 2016 version of the Royals aren't of years past.
"We knew we were tired of losing so we stuck it out," Royals quarterback David Hibbler said. "We knew what we had to do."
To take out the Mustangs 32-26 at Memorial Field in Elgin Friday to cap a wild, offensive thriller in nonconference play, the Royals (1-0) had to "stick it out," by doing two things they normally don't do: somehow score late to get the lead back and then have to defend said lead for whatever time was left.
After the Mustangs tied it up at 26 on a 27-yard pass play from quarterback Anthony Norris to Isaiah Wellman and the subsequent 2-point conversion to Sabian Rivera, Larkin answered with a lethal dose of Hibbler, which Mundelein couldn't solve all night, and the biggest defensive stop of the night.
Hibbler, who rushed 19 times for 156 yards with 2 touchdowns and was 6-for-9 for 51 yards passing with 1 TD pass, danced his way down the right sideline, zipping and zagging for 47-yards down to the Mustang 16 with 4:30 minutes left. Kindrel "Nomo" Morris' 16-yard touchdown run on the next play with 3:54 left capped a 3-play, 65-yard drive that put Larkin ahead for good.
Mundelein (0-1) nearly answered the Royals in the final seconds. From the Royal 36, the Mustangs used 10 plays to get the Larkin 1 with under 30 seconds to play. Aaron Woolford nearly scored from 8 yards out on second-and-goal but was stopped short of the goal near the right pylon. On third-and-goal from the 1, a bad snap allowed Larkin linebacker Keone Mebane to scoop up the loose ball in the backfield to seal an improbable win with 19.9 left.
"We were trying to come down with the win," Mebane said. "(The ball) was fumbling around in his hands and I went to the ground and fell on it."
"We needed that and it was time we came out on top," Royals coach Dragan Teonic said. "It was time for that to happen and give the kids credit, they fought."
Larkin scored on its first drive with 9:14 in the first quarter for a 7-0 lead on Morris' 44-yard run down the left side. Mundelein followed with a 30-yard field goal by Abram Nazario with a 6-yard run by Woolford for an 11-7 lead with 2:33 left in the first half.
Hibbler re-answered by finding Elijah Hernandez for a 5-yard slant with 5.7 seconds left for a 14-11 Royals lead at the half.
It went back in forth in the third as Woolford scored from 3 yards out 20 seconds into the half for a 18-14 Mustangs lead. Hibbler got the lead right back 9 plays later on a 3-yard run and then scored from 6-yards out with 8:06 in the fourth for a 26-18 lead. Hibbler outrushed Woolford 156-113.
"I thought our effort was outstanding tonight, but we had a really hard time bottling up (Hibbler)," Mustangs coach Larry Calhoun said. "He's an excellent athlete. We got some things to sure up but I thought our effort was good."