advertisement

Lake Forest turns back Libertyville

It really became as simple as Lake Forest getting a good bounce.

And the Scouts got that on the very first play of the game against visiting Libertyville on Friday night.

On the opening kickoff, Libertyville fumbled the ball, and for once in the early part of the season, things were finally breaking the right way for the Scouts.

Lake Forest senior Elliot Georges was the right man in the right place for the Scouts on the play, and it set off a chain of events that for the hosts on their homecoming night.

Lake Forest jumped out to a 21-7 cushion and held off last year's Class 7A state runner-up Wildcats 28-14.

Lake Forest also snapped its two-game losing streak while handing the Wildcats their first conference loss since 2014.

"That play was huge for a number of reasons," Lake Forest coach Chuck Spagnoli said. "We are at home and have only played here once. Libertyville is on the road for like the second time. Then it gives you momentum, which can be so huge in tight games like this."

Lake Forest (3-2, 1-2) took advantage as senior Liam Pooler rushed in from a yard out to put the hosts up 7-0.

"We got the turnover then capitalized on it as well which was huge for us to have something big happen early," Spagnoli said.

Good fortune also found the Wildcats. On the Scouts' second possession, linebacker Jack Sanders picked off Charlie Reinkemeyer and returned the pick 35 yards to bring the Wildcats even.

That was about all the offense Libertyville (3-2, 2-1) could muster. The Wildcats were minus senior starter Jason Tse, out with a broken right hand, and senior Brandon Rule with a knee injury. Rule hurt his knee in the Batavia game week two while Tse hurt his hand in the Wildcats' win over Warren two weeks ago.

Still, Libertyville had its chances. Trailing 21-7, the Wildcats drove inside the Lake Forest 5-yard line on two separate occasions only to come up empty. The first came at end the first half, and the second in the third quarter.

"We had opportunities, we just didn't finish," said Libertyville coach Mike Jones. "I give (Lake Forest) all the credit. They really came out ready to play."

The Wildcats pulled within 21-14 early in the fourth quarter on a 15-yard scoring pass from Jack Ruskell to Brendan Bazar but couldn't get any closer. Libertyville got the ball back and drove inside the Lake Forest 30 only to have the drive stall on an interception by Lake Forest linebacker Gabe Funk.

"Tonight we just came up a little short," said Libertyville senior Kyle Buncic. "We made some plays then (Lake Forest) would counter and make some plays."

Pooler closed his night rushing for 111 yards on 25 carries including a 17-yard scoring run with 3-minutes left to seal the win.

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.