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Mike Ling’s efforts lead Stevenson
Updated: October 21, 2011 10:23PM
When the opportunity surfaced, Mike Ling did not squander it.
The Stevenson tailback collected a career-high 109 yards on 27 carries to spark the Patriots to a 41-14 victory over visiting Mundelein Friday night. The 5-foot-6, 160-pound senior barreled into the end zone from 1 yard and 2 yards in the first half to help the Patriots build a 27-7 halftime lead.
Ling, who is in his first year of organized football, earned his first extended action since the Zion-Benton game in Week 3.
“Coach (Bill McNamara) told me on the first day of practice (for this game), ‘if you practice hard enough, I’ll put you in there no matter what the score is,’” Ling related.
The back carried a simple plan to every carry.
“I’m kind of short, so I have to get as low as possible,” Ling said. “I got yelled at for dipping my head.”
For most of the evening, No. 26 heard nothing but cheers. He received plenty of help from the offensive line of Jake Hurcombe, Colin Wetzel, Daniel Laner, Joe Marchese and Samuel Goldsmith.
“Our whole team philosophy is pound it up the middle and surprise them with a pass,” Ling said.
The other Patriot touchdowns belonged to Kevin Foley (1-yard run), Matt Morrissey (27-yard interception return), Christopher Peters (90-yard kickoff return) and Sean O’Connell (5-yard run).
The 21st-ranked Patriots closed the regular season with a 7-2 record. The club grabbed a share of the North Suburban Lake division title with a 5-1 league mark. Lake Zurich and Lake Forest also won on Friday night to finish 5-1 in the NSC Lake.
Mundelein (0-9) did take a 7-0 lead when Gable Leppert lofted a 17-yard touchdown pass to Connor O’Donoghue with 7:39 to play in the first half.
But the lead didn’t last long, as Stevenson’s Anthony Bozin returned the ensuing kickoff 81 yards to set up Foley’s 1-yard TD run.
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