Libertyville takes offense in bounce-back win

After being held to 20 points in a loss to Lake Forest last week, host Libertyville really wanted to get the job done offensively Friday night against Zion-Benton.

And with 254 yards of offense in the first half alone, the Wildcats did exactly that as they rolled to a 48-21 North Suburban Conference victory over the Zee-Bees in this Lake Division football game.

Junior quarterback Riley Lees was the difference from start to finish as Lees scored 6 touchdowns in the contest while rushing for 154 yards on 21 carries.

Libertyville (4-2, 2-2) was still having a tough time putting away Zion-Benton (3-3, 1-2) as the Zee-Bees only trailed 28-14 at halftime.

But the Wildcats outscored the visitors 20-0 in the third quarter to take a commanding 48-14 lead in the fourth quarter when Libertyville coach Mike Jones decided to use many of his substitute players.

Zion-Benton added a touchdown very late in the fourth quarter, but Libertyville was very impressive in its 48-21 victory.

"We've still got some things we've got to clean up, but we got a win and we played much better in the second half," said Jones, whose team had 488 total offensive yards. "He (Lees) is a special player, and it's not something he hasn't done all year."

After really focusing on "paying attention to the details" all week in practice, Libertyville methodically marched down field on its first drive with a 5-yard keeper by Lees and the first of 6 extra points by John Lubenow making the score 7-0 just 4:14 into the first quarter.

The Wildcats got the same results on their second possession as Lees' 4-yard keeper off right tackle boosted the lead to 14-0 with 3:03 left in the opening period.

But Zion-Benton showed it had big-play capability on the ensuing kickoff as Devaughn Miller bolted 93 yards down the left sideline for the touchdown 13 seconds later to cut the gap to 14-6.

Early in the second quarter Libertyville struck again with a 68-yard run by senior running back Taylor Rossmann (135 yards on 12 carries) taking the ball down to the Zion-Benton 7.

Two plays later, Lees scored his third TD on a 1-yard keeper for a 21-6 advantage.

The Zee-Bees responded to that score when sophomore quarterback DeAndre Green made a great fake hand off to Eshaunte Williams before Green would go 82 yards down the right sideline for the TD. Green added a 2-point conversion run to cut the lead to 21-14 8:12 before the intermission.

But this was one game that Lees and the Wildcats' offense was not to be denied as they quickly marched 63 yards on only 5 plays to regain a 14-point lead.

This time it was Lees hitting senior teammate Nick Rossetti with a high-lofting, 45-yard TD pass down the left sideline for the 28-14 lead.

"We got into the end zone this week and it was good that we finished drives, we were able to do everything we needed to do tonight, and we bounced back," said Lees, who also passed for 93 yards. "Our linemen did a great job tonight, and him (Rossmann) and Sean (Ferraro) did a great job running hard tonight."

After being out of the lineup due to a high-ankle sprain since week two, Ferraro returned to the lineup with 41 yards on 7 attempts. Libertyville's Noah Monderwell was another effective weapon in the Wildcats' ground attack with 53 yards on 8 carries.

Libertyville owned the third quarter as Lees put a move on Zion-Benton's Barry Moreland near the goal line before Lees scored on the 12-yard keeper to cap an 87-yard scoring drive.

Lees had a 26 and a 20-yard keeper right out of the blocks on that first drive to once again kick the Wildcats' offense into high gear in the second half.

Leading 35-14, Lees made many defenders miss in close quarters on Libertyville's next possession as Lees managed to squeeze down the right sideline en route to a 19-yard TD run and a commanding 42-14 advantage with 4:28 left in the third quarter.

Then Lees put the finishing touches on his fabulous performance as he scored his sixth rushing TD on a 1-yard keeper for a 48-14 lead late in the third quarter.

"These players have high expectations for themselves so they can't be happy with everything, but we ran the ball well," said Jones. "(Ferraro) just came back from a high-ankle sprain so we're happy to have him back in the lineup tonight."

Green rushed for 96 yards on 10 carries, but overall the Zee-Bees offense was shut down with the exception of a few big plays. The Wildcats had 27 first downs in the contest to only 8 first downs for Zion-Benton.