Quinn Schambow’s big game leads Libertyville past Mundelein, into first in NSC

MUNDELEIN – Quinn Schambow made sure to get a group photo as he asked his girlfriend to homecoming after Libertyville’s 42-0 North Suburban Conference football victory at Mundelein on Friday night.

It was a sizeable shot because Schambow sees the big picture on why he completed a remarkable 23 of 24 passes for 322 yards and five touchdowns in 2½ quarters. And why the senior now has 1,632 yards passing with 26 touchdowns and one interception as the Wildcats (5-0, 3-0) took sole possession of the NSC lead after Lake Forest (4-1, 2-1) lost 17-14 to Lake Zurich.

“I love these guys and couldn’t do anything without them,” Schambow said of his offensive linemen. “I give them all the credit in the world.”

The fact Schambow regularly does so isn’t lost on seniors Rhett VanBoening, Max Frazin and Andrew Langfeldt and juniors Sawyer Kopala and Myles Batesky. They paved the way for Libertyville’s 412 yards of total offense, scores on its first six possessions and a running clock with 5:40 left in the third quarter after Schambow fired a 5-yard laser to sophomore tight end Brock Williams tiptoeing the sideline in the end zone.

“He’s a phenomenal quarterback and he gives credit to us, which is a big thing,” said the 6-foot-3, 275-pound VanBoening, who is committed to Army. “He’s a great arm talent and I’d say he’s probably the best of anybody in the state. I’m excited to see what we continue to do this season.”

Schambow hit his first 13 passes and threw two touchdowns apiece to junior Blaise LaVista (4 catches, 59 yards) and senior Stevan Gavric (6 catches, 105 yards). Senior Sam Seth (4 catches, 68 yards) and Williams (4 for 43) were among the eight players who caught passes.

LaVista had a leaping grab in the end zone over double coverage on a 28-yarder. Gavric made a diving catch in the end zone on a 12-yard slant.

“Honestly that’s not even crazy anymore,” LaVista said of Schambow’s numbers.

“It’s pretty easy for me to ball out,” Schambow said. “We’ve got the hands and line to do it and I can throw the ball around like I did as a kid playing around.”

Senior Steven Strelow’s 1-yard touchdown run capped a 65-yard opening drive. Caleb Baczek had 2 tackles for losses, Jack Truetelaar and Harrison Clarkson had stops for losses and Lucas Murphy had a sack as Mundelein (3-2, 1-2) gained just 122 total yards.

“We seem to traditionally struggle coming over this way,” said Libertyville coach Mike Jones. “We challenged them not to and they certainly took care of business.”

Junior Logan Young threw for 84 yards for the banged-up Mustangs, who lost leading rusher Brody Paluch to injury on the first play last week. It won’t get easier next week against Warren.

“We have to focus all our energy on Warren,” said Mundelein coach Johnny Cowhey, “and look to stop the run and get our offense going.”

https://www.dailyherald.com/20240927/prep-football/libertyville-rolls-behind-schambows-near-perfect-night/