Mustangs survive Bison bag of tricks

Rolling Meadows' football team needed a win to qualify for the playoffs for a sixth consecutive year.

A strong defensive stand that forced a Buffalo Grove safety and a recovered on-side kick did the trick for the Mustangs, who celebrated a 22-17 MSL East victory at BG Friday night.

Meadows (5-4, 2-3) booked its 10th trip to the postseason in school history and hopes of duplicating the 2004 squad's run to the Class 7A semifinals with four losses. The Mustangs were the last Class 7A team to qualify for the postseason with 39 playoff points. Top-seeded Geneva (9-0) hosts 16th-seeded Meadows (5-4) at 4 p.m. Saturday.

"Everybody is 0-0 now," Meadows senior receiver Mick Viken said. "Nobody's got a winning record. It's one game; you're in or you're out. We'll practice hard all week."

Viken is one of four Mustangs players who will make their third consecutive playoff appearance, along with linemen Thomas Davidson and T.J. Kropp and linebacker Brett Lettieri, who is playing with an arm brace. His injured shoulder will likely need surgery after the season.

During a second half played during a steady rain, Daquan Edwards capped Meadows' first possession with a 5-yard TD run to give the Mustangs a 20-10 lead.

The Bison (3-6, 1-4) pulled to within three points on Kevin Mulligan's 42-yard TD run with 5:29 remaining in the third quarter.

It stayed there after Meadows was stopped at the Bison 8 with 2:13 to go in the game. However, the Bison couldn't move the ball either. On 4th-and-20 from the Bison 4-yard, J.P. Kulick (23-of-35, 183 yards) ran into the end zone for a Meadows safety.

Sophomore Brian Akialis then attempted an on-side kick, but the ball was recovered by RM's Craig Jefferson with 45.4 seconds remaining.

Meadows coach Doug Millsaps coached Friday's game from the press box. Illness a few weeks ago forced him from the sideline and he's remained in the press box during the Mustangs' three-game win streak. Millsaps leaves the play calling to assistant coach Steven Henry.

"I thought I can get up there and call some plays," Millsaps said. "It's worse up there. You don't see the eyes of the players, the emotion, you can't shake your head when things go wrong."

Meadows took the lead in the first quarter on a pair of Jim Garoppolo TD passes to Steve Orchell for 39 yards and Viken for 42 yards.