Mark Orszula’s ear-to-ear smile told it all.
 

A week after seeing his team fall 28-7 at Sandwich, the Westmont football first-year head coach witnessed plenty to be happy for.
 

Happy for his offense to execute two running back screens for touchdowns. Happy for his defense to post back-to-back stands late in the fourth quarter.
 

And, of course, happy to come away with a 14-12 win over Manteno on Friday evening in Westmont — Orszula’s first as a varsity head coach.
 

“We worked hard tonight,” said Orszula. “We’re progressing and building confidence. We just need to do anything we can to have home field advantage.”
 

The Sentinels were able to take advantage of the home atmosphere with 59 seconds remaining before half-time when sophomore quarterback Ian Mertens made a deep drop, sucked in the defense and flipped the ball out to senior running back Kevin Zapinski, who caught the ball in the flat, found some blocks and sprinted into the end zone on a 25-yard reception.
 

“We practiced expecting [Manteno] to blitz every time,” said Zapinski on catching Mertens first ever varsity touchdown pass. “They were real aggressive. Our line was patient and the play worked perfectly.”
 

However, the Panthers showed no signs of being rattled when they scored on the first play from scrimmage of the second half after senior quarterback Austin Fregeau connected with junior wide receiver Brandon Ringler for a 55-yard touchdown pass. Manteno still trailed after missing the extra point.

Although Westmont responded with a three and out, sophomore defensive back Mark McKenzie made arguably the biggest play of the night when he tipped a Fregeau under thrown ball on a fly pattern. McKenzie then juggled with the ball for a brief moment and hauled it in for the interception.
 

“I saw the receiver beat me,” McKenzie recalled. “I turned around and the ball was right there.”
 

But again, the Sentinels were held to a three and out, which led to Manteno driving 58 yards for a one-yard touchdown run with 2:24 left in the third quarter. The score remained at 12-7 after the Panthers’ pass on the two point conversion attempt fell incomplete.
 

However, with 11 minutes left in regulation, Mertens completed an 11-yard screen pass to Zapinski on fourth down and five for the go ahead touchdown.
 

“We stayed up and it spread throughout our team,” recalled Mertens. “I need to give credit to all the seniors.”
 

Westmont finished the game with two fourth down defensive stands to ice the win.
 

“Even though we made mistakes, we bounced back,” Orszula. “They scored and we had to move on. We responded very well.”