Lake Zurich charges ahead behind dominant D
Flashes of lightning wiped out or delayed most of the suburban football schedule last weekend.
There was nothing flashy going on Friday at Lake Zurich: Just a couple of strong programs and double-wing offenses running the ball up the middle.
Every once in a while, though, the Bears would run wide and sophomore Ben Klett found daylight. He broke a 21-yard touchdown in the first quarter and a 44-yarder in the third as LZ rolled to a 25-0 victory over visiting Cary-Grove.
“I just saw the blocking by my linemen, that's really it,” Klett said. “They did a wonderful job. We had some struggles in the beginning, but we found the problems and fixed them.”
Meanwhile, Lake Zurich's defense posted its second straight shutout. Perhaps even more impressive was the fact that Fremd — which scored 0 against LZ last week — posted 54 points on Friday against Rolling Meadows.
Cary-Grove didn't record a first down in the second half. The Trojans' best drive stalled at the LZ 26-yard line late in the first quarter. Otherwise, they never crossed midfield.
Defensive lineman Alex Zurawski had a big night, with a fumble recovery and sack, while Dominic McNeil tackled C-G quarterback Jason Gregoire in the end zone for a safety, which made the score 19-0 in the third quarter. Once again, Lake Zurich's defenders fly to the ball and are nearly impossible to beat to the outside.
“Our defense, we're told always be relentless,” Zurawski said. “Always run to the ball, and when the play's over, have 11 hats on the ball.”
Linebacker Colton Moskal, who has committed to Syracuse, spent the second half on crutches after turning his right ankle. But he felt confident about a quick return to action.
“Sort of got rolled up on. I'll be back,” Moskal said. “Zero (points) is good, but the win is the most important thing.”
Lake Zurich's last touchdown came on a 9-yard thread of the needle from quarterback Noah Allgood to Brent Sweetwood. Among the Bears' committee of running backs, Klett finished with 84 yards on 10 carries, while junior Zane Lodico added 58 yards on 14 carries.
For Cary-Grove, it's been a frustrating two weeks. Top running back Joe Scott was lost for the season with a broken leg against Wheaton North. Junior Zach McQuade is recovering from an injury, and wingback Willie Hartke went out with a sprained left ankle on Friday. The Trojans managed just 75 yards of total offense.
On the other hand, that killer schedule should provide solid preparation for the Fox Valley Conference race.
“We were just talking about that,” Gregoire said. “We played two really tough teams; two of the toughest teams in the state in 7A. We're really confident going into conference, there's not a better team than Wheaton North or Lake Zurich. We're just going to get ready for Huntley starting tomorrow.”