Libertyville tops Lakes, completes perfect run
The edge was already off.
With the playoffs looming, both Libertyville and Lakes knew that they had bigger fish to fry next week.
Plus, it's not like there was an official North Suburban Conference championship at stake, even though there could have been since Libertyville won the Lake Division and Lakes won the Prairie Division.
But the league doesn't crown an overall champion, so Friday night's regular season finale at Libertyville was practically just for fun.
Libertyville simply had more fun.
The Wildcats cruised to a 40-6 victory over Lakes, giving them an undefeated 9-0 regular season, and a likely No. 1 seed in the state playoffs, which kick off next week.
Lakes finishes 6-3 and automatically qualifies for the playoffs as well.
“Both teams had nothing to lose,” said Libertyville defensive lineman Ben Kimpler, who had a quarterback sack and is the leader of a defense that is allowing a league-low 10.8 points per game. “But it was a little bit of pressure on us (to finish 9-0). Once we were 5-0, 6-0, the talk in town was 'Are the Libertyville Wildcats going to be able to go 9-0?' Now that we've achieved that goal, that's one other weight off our shoulders.
“In a way, though, the pressure drives this team.”
So does quarterback Riley Lees, regarded as one of the best players in the state.
The Northwestern recruit scored 4 touchdowns for Libertyville, on 2 rushes (62 and 15 yards) and 2 passing plays (25 and 46 yards).
Lees rolled up 143 rushing yards on 12 carries and completed 10-of-18 passes for 175 yards.
One of the touchdown passes (46 yards) went to Henry Schmidt, who sped his way to 116 receiving yards on 6 catches.
“All of our hard work in the off-season has really paid off and it's great to see,” Schmidt said. “We wanted to (be undefeated). But we don't really care who we're playing, we just kind of come out and do our thing. Being in DeKalb for Thanksgiving (in the state finals) is our ultimate goal. We're looking to get there and keep this rolling.”
Libertyville took a 26-0 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Lees opened the scoring with his two rushing touchdowns and then running back Noah Moderwell (10 carries, 55 yards) got in on the action with a 4-yard touchdown run. Lees snuck in a 25-yard touchdown pass to Cam Shaffer just before the half ended.
Moderwell ran in another touchdown in the third quarter and Lees threw his second touchdown pass of the night to Schmidt.
With a 40-0 lead, Libertyville enacted the running clock.
Lakes finally got on the board with 2:48 left in the game when Leon Small ran in a 1-yard touchdown.
“Libertyville is obviously a really good team, ranked in the state, and they obviously lived up to that today,” Lakes running back Cameron Ruiz said. “Sometimes we beat ourselves on the field. But they (Libertyville) also came out strong and fast. They beat us. They overpowered us.”
But Lakes, which has won five straight Prairie Division titles, isn't about to get beaten down by the loss.
Bigger fish to fry.
“We'll be fine. I mean, we had everything to gain and nothing to lose in this game. No one expected us to win anyway, so what's the difference,” Lakes coach Luke Mertens said. “It's all about next week anyway. It's about trying to win in the state playoffs, which has been our focus since the inception of the program.”