Deichl sparks Libertyville past Mundelein

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Libertyville quarterback Jack Deichl fires a pass during Friday's win over host Mundelein. | Buzz Orr~Sun-Times Media

Updated: November 22, 2011 11:16AM

Mundelein had visions of hanging around throughout Friday’s battle with visiting Libertyville, but Jack Deichl changed those plans in a heartbeat.

Deichl, a 6-foot-5, 205-pound junior making his first start, completed 11 of 19 passes for 168 yards to spark the Wildcats to a 28-7 victory. His biggest connection was a 34-yard touchdown pass on a 4th-and-10 play to Austin Williams that boosted the lead to 14-0 late in the second quarter.

“All day, they had a single high safety,” Deichl said. “Austin was running a deep post, and I Iaid it out there for him. I knew I had to come up with a big throw, and that’s what I did.”

Deichl was thrust into the spotlight because senior Hutch Herchenbach has been battling a back injury.

“I was a little nervous coming out on the first pass,” Deichl said. “After about three series, I started to settle down.”

His favorite targets were Williams (3 catches, 76 yards) and Charles Kosmach (6 catches, 65 yards).

“It’s nice to have kids I can trust to come down with the big catches,” Deichl said.

The QB also deflected praise to the offensive line of Matsen Dziedzic, Simo Dragin, Shaun McCracken, Lucas Weis and Brandon Stanfel.

“The offensive line gave me time to throw all night,” Deichl said.

When Deichl began taking reps with the first team on Sept. 12, he began to formulate a plan for Friday night.

“Our job was to ruin people’s homecoming, and we did that,” he said.

The Wildcats will carry a 3-1, 1-0 record into a showdown against rival Stevenson (3-1) at 7:30 p.m. Friday as part of Patriots homecoming festivities.

Recaps: The Mustangs (0-4, 0-2) had a dual celebration. In addition to homecoming, the school also celebrated its 50th anniversary throughout the weekend.

Mundelein came out fired up, moving the ball into Libertyville territory on the first possession. But the Mustangs fumbled the ball away on the Wildcats 31-yard line. Mundelein also threatened to score in the second quarter, but the drive again resulted in a fumble at the Libertyville 25.

“We were ready to play,” said Mustangs coach Bob Stone. “The two fumbles killed us.”

Stat sheet: The Wildcats’ other touchdowns were scored by Joey Salata (1-yard run), Brian Swift (6-yard run) and Jack Crandell (16-yard pass from Herchenbach). Swift finished the contest with 90 yards rushing on 15 carries.

Another solid receiver for Libertyville was Pat Morgan (3 catches, 37 yards).

On defense, leaders included Luke Mathewson (3 fumble recoveries), Stephen Skul (12 tackles), Drew Krinitsky (8 tackles, 2 sacks) and Michael Parker (sack).

In the fourth quarter, Mathewson jumped into the face of Mustangs quarterback Gable Leppert and batted down a lateral pass. He chased the ball about 15 yards before pouncing on it at the Mustang 14-yard line. Three plays later, Herchenbach closed the scoring by lofting a 16-yard TD pass to Crandell.

Mundelein (0-4, 0-2) broke up the Wildcats’ shutout bid in the fourth quarter when Leppert lofted a 19-yard touchdown pass to Drew Malcolm.

“I was just trying to beat the guy to the outside,” Malcolm said. “If Gable has time to throw, he can make a play.”

On the schedule: The Wildcats will travel to Lincolnshire to take on the Patriots Friday night. Stevenson is fresh off a 24-21 victory over Warren in a game that went to double overtime.