advertisement

Klett, Lake Zurich wear out Mundelein

A must-win game turned into a must-wear night for Ben Klett.

Lake Zurich's senior running back/linebacker hustled to the sideline after his No. 30 jersey was torn while rushing for 7 yards in the first quarter at Mundelein Friday night.

Klett quickly pulled off his unwearable jersey and slipped an unused No. 12 over his head. He missed one play and was back in the game.

He might want to hang onto to that No. 12 jersey after he scored on a pair of first-half runs and hauled in a spectacular TD catch in the second half in helping Lake Zurich pull away for a 42-9 win in a North Suburban Lake Division game that the Bears absolutely needed.

"They better order me a new (jersey)," Klett joked.

Klett finished with 108 yards rushing on just 11 carries, and Kyle Roth carried the ball 13 times for 135 yards and a TD, as Lake Zurich (3-4, 2-2) kept alive its hopes of earning a playoff berth for the 14th consecutive year. The Bears can all but officially earn an at-large postseason berth by winning their remaining two regular-season games. They host Lake Forest next Friday night and Warren in Week 9.

"The entire week we were saying how we need to play relentless," Klett said. "We all thought that we hadn't been playing relentless."

Mundelein (4-3, 1-3) lost for the third time in its last four games.

"If we had played our best football game, I think we would have had a chance to beat them," Mustangs coach Larry Calhoun said. "We did not play well, and that's not to take anything away from Lake Zurich. They're a good football team. They're well-coached. They were more physical than us and, based on the way we played, I'd say they wanted it more than we did."

After his jersey was ripped, the 6-foot-1, 190-pound Klett squeezed into the No. 12 jersey usually worn by defensive lineman Kyle McGee, who's listed at 5-7, 165. McGee is out with a broken collarbone.

"We normally bring extra jerseys," Klett said. "But I guess we didn't have any, so (McGee) being the nice guy that he is, he gave his up."

Klett never slowed down in his new threads as Roth's 10-yard run eventually capped an 11-play, 86-yard drive that started after Bears defensive back Dante Manley recovered a fumble.

Mundelein answered when quarterback Colten Fisher's second effort got him into the end zone from 1 yard out for his 19th TD of the season. But the PAT kick sailed wide, allowing the visitors to maintain their lead.

Mundelein's Tyson Cook then came up with an interception, giving the Mustangs the ball at the Lake Zurich 19. Mundelein had first-and-goal from the 5, but on third down from the 1, Bears linebacker Ryan McGeever stopped Fisher for no gain.

The Mustangs opted to kick a field goal, which Isac Banuelos made from 17 yards out to give his team a 9-7 advantage with 9:32 left in the first half.

"That was one of our focal points in practice," McGeever said of the goal-line stand. "We want to stress the Lake Zurich defensive part of always being strong and protecting the goal line."

"My quarterback wasn't happy with it," Calhoun said of the decision to kick a field goal on the 1. "There's probably an 80-percent chance that we put it in the end zone, but I thought the smart thing to do was take the lead."

Lake Zurich responded on its next possession, as Klett broke tackles en route to a 44-yard TD run. He scored from the 5 when the Bears got the ball back after Jeremy Brown's interception.

Up 21-9 at halftime, Lake Zurich scored on its first possession of the second half, as Jared Wynandy made a juggling catch in the end zone on a 13-yard strike from quarterback Joey Lindstrom. When the Bears got the ball back, Lindstrom went deep to Klett, who made a one-handed catch in stride, pulling the ball into his chest and scoring from 52 yards out.

"I bobbled it a little and then brought it in," Klett said.

Lake Zurich finished the game by scoring five unanswered touchdowns. Jake Stevens' TD run from 4 yards out late in the third quarter capped the scoring.

Lake Zurich's defense held the elusive Fisher to 72 yards rushing on 17 carries. Fisher was 10-of-21 passing for 102 yards and was picked off by Brown and Pete Baldaccini. Playing Libertyville all-state QB Riley Lees last week helped the Bears prepare for Fisher.

"We've been practicing this," McGeever said. "So we were ready for him."

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.