A little more than a month before Saturday, the day the Mundelein football team defeated Wheeling 29-22 and, in the words of senior running back Emanuel Jones, “broke the losing streak that felt like a curse,” the Mustangs took a five-day trip to Michigan Tech University.
There, on the picturesque campus overlooking Portage Lake, an offseason of renewed dedication culminated with three practices a day and team-building activities. The most memorable moment was a spirited and rigorous practice on the beach that featured individual work, agility drills on rocks and sprinting in the water.
“We never split up the entire week,” Jones said. “It brought us together as a family.”
That trip to Michigan and day after day of 6:15 a.m. weight workouts were on the mind of every Mustang on Saturday. In recognition of the win — and all the work that went into it — the Mundelein crowd stormed the field following the victory, which snapped an 18-game losing streak.
“It was so rewarding for our coaches and players and energizing and exciting to see the fans out on the field supporting our kids,” second-year coach George Kaider said. “I think this was one of the biggest wins in school history.”
Tied 7-7 at halftime, the teams showcased potent offenses in the last two quarters. No one made more of an impact than Jones, who busted off touchdowns runs of 82, 52 and 79 yards. He needed just 16 carries to rush for 254 yards.
“Seeing him break away on those runs to put us ahead motivated everyone to play harder on offense and defense,” senior fullback Matt Hutchinson said.
The last of Jones’ three touchdowns was a 79-yarder that gave Mundelein a 29-15 lead.
“It was a buck sweep on the short side of the field,” Jones said. “I hit the crease and [tight end] David Adams had a great block to open the hole a lot more. After that, no one could catch me.”
Kaider said Jones is capable of these types of performances.
“He’s 200 pounds, runs a 4.6 [40-yard dash], bench presses 325 pounds. He’s a specimen,” Kaider said. “He’s really developed himself as a person and on the field. It can’t be very fun to tackle him.”
Mundelein’s other touchdown came courtesy of an 18-yard pass to Adams from sophomore quarterback Gavin Graves.
The Wheeling game was originally scheduled for Friday but was postponed for a day because of thunderstorms. Both teams were in the middle of their warm-ups when the game was pushed back.
“We were all really hyped and focused for the game,” Jones said. “It was very disappointing.”
In retrospect, the delay only added to the drama.
“This really gave validation to the year-round commitment of our players, coaches and families,” Kaider said. “We have been a perennial losing football program for decades and we’ve tried to establish a commitment level that we can win with. The kids that are with us now want to be part of it and really believe in what we’re doing. We have a special thing going on right now.”
