Warren, in desperate need of wins wherever they can be found, will gladly take Friday night’s 21-15 North Suburban victory over visiting Mundelein.
The Blue Devils, who need to win their remaining three games to become eligible for the IHSA playoffs, got another impressive night from senior running back Melvin Pettis. Pettis rushed for 224 yards, including 177 in the first half, and two touchdowns.
Warren jumped out to a three-touchdown lead in the first half, then watched as Mundelein — a team that dressed fewer than 40 players — battled back to the very end. The outcome was finally settled when junior linebacker Luis Ocampo pulled down Mundelein running back Aaron Woolford at midfield on a screen pass with the Mustangs facing fourth-and-12 with under two minutes remaining.
“We just had to stick together and play together and always hope we can come out with the win,” Ocampo said. “We just needed to play as a team at the end.”
“When you look at good programs in any sport, sometimes they win when they don’t play well,” Warren coach Bryan McNulty said. “And that’s the sign of a resilient team. We just have to find a way to be happy with the win and move ahead to next week.”
The Blue Devils (2-4, 2-2) needed just eight plays to score on their first two possessions. Facing a third-and-7 at the Mundelein 45, quarterback Luke Schmitt lofted a pass to Jalin Tolbert near the goal line and the 6-foot senior outleaped his opponents to pull down the touchdown. After a Warren defensive stop on the next possession, the Blue Devils needed just three plays to move 80 yards, 68 of which were gobbled up by Pettis as he ran untouched down the middle of the field for a score and a lead.
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With four minutes left in the half, Pettis brought the home crowd to its feet again, this time busting off a 51-yard touchdown down the west sidelines for a 21-0 Warren lead.
The Mustangs finally got on the board late in the half. Mundelein moved 66 yards on eight plays with junior quarterback Anthony Norris (10-for-18, 133 yards) covering the final 14 on an option read down the middle.
Mundelein (2-4, 1-3) put together its most impressive drive of the game early in the third. The Mustangs moved 80 yards in 13 plays, eating up more than six minutes of clock before Woolford (26 carries, 163 yards) scored from 21 yards out to cut the deficit to 21-15.
Mundelein, which was hurt by eight false-start penalties, drove twice into Warren territory in the closing quarter. But the Warren defense came up with several big plays, including an interception by Theodor Lowe and Ocampo’s final tackle at midfield.
“I’m super proud of these kids,” Mundelein coach Larry Calhoun said. “We thought we could win, but you’ve got to execute in the clutch. It’s hard to accept moral victories because we need the ‘W.’ But our kids grew up tonight. In the past in games like this, maybe there would have been a little bit of quit. There was no quit tonight. They thought they were going win to the last snap.”
Phil English is a freelance writer for the News-Sun.