By Tim Froehlig
MUNDELEIN --- Aside from the players, coaches and families of both, few knew what to expect from the Mundelein varsity football team this season.
Fresh off a three-year stint that saw the Mustangs win just once in their previous 27 tries, I, like many others, heard the comments that saturated my ears each and every time someone was discussing this school's football program.
Some of those comments weren't kind. Many of them were unfair, unwarranted or just plain downright unnecessary.
But those words from outsiders did little to stop the Mustangs from being one victory shy of playoff eligibility, in what can only be described as a huge culture change that seemingly happened overnight.
"I'm not saying anything negative about what did or didn't go on here before I got here," Mustangs coach Larry Calhoun said. "I can only speak to what I saw with my own eyes these past nine games. It was amazing."
Indeed, when Mundelein raced to a 3-0 start to the 2015 season, it caught a number of people, myself included, off-guard. The Mustangs scored 134 --- yes, 134 --- points in their first three games.
Suddenly, this was a team that didn't just have the attention of sportswriters, it had the attention of an entire community.
"Me, (QB) Colten Fisher, Jake Gokan and Antoine Hicks walked into a few area stores after we started the season on a hot streak, and couldn't believe our ears when people started recognizing us and asking if we were gonna win our next game," said senior Mike Skarzynski. We weren't used to that after the past three seasons of losing.
"And it wasn't just that instance. The entire community really embraced us, and it felt wonderful to be able to give back to those who supported us whenever we could. Our stands were full most nights. That was a big change too. The entire atmosphere was a great way to finish our senior years on a positive note."
The Mustangs now have a train horn they sound off after they score a touchdown that has a retro, old-school kind of feel to it, which adds to that newfound atmosphere.
"Things like that horn are the kinds of little things winning programs do," Calhoun said midway through the season. "We're trying to establish a culture of winning here, not just one season."
Whether or not that happens remains to be seen. But if the way the Mustangs led by example this season is any indication, more good things may be on the horizon a year from now.
One problem Mundelein had this year was a lack of players on its sophomore roster.
"We only had 12 or 13 kids on our JV team this year," Calhoun said. "I don't know if it was the result of the difficulty past teams had, or if there was some other factor involved, but we almost didn't field a sophomore team this year."
The upshot here? There were "between 42-48" kids who played freshman football at Mundelein this year, according to Calhoun. And they have a slew of talented juniors returning.
"You learn so much about life, and about how to overcome adversity in the game of football," Calhoun said. "Yeah, you want to win every game you play, first and foremost. But this game teaches you so much more. About teamwork, about overcoming struggles, about becoming young men. The struggles some of these players went through, and how they responded to them ... well, those are the kinds of lessons they can take with them for the rest of their lives, and use to their advantage."
In two of Mundelein's four victories, they trailed at halftime, yet rallied to win both times. That included a pulse-pounding overtime win over Zion-Benton, another program that's on the rise.
"Honor, character, integrity, pride ... all things we want to teach here at Mundelein," Calhoun said.
Thus far, it's a mission they're accomplishing with flying colors.
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