Antioch falls to Lake Forest

Whew!

This could have been a whole lot worse.

Antioch lost to host Lake Forest 10-7 in the season opener for both teams on Friday night.

But most importantly is that it appears Antioch junior quarterback and Minnesota commit Athan Kaliakmanis is going to be OK.

"He really wanted to get up but we told him stay down for precaution," said Sequoits head coach Brian Glashagel said. "He's a tough kid. He should be ready for next week (when Antioch plays Woodstock North)."

Trailing 10-7 and with 1:25 to play, Kaliakmanis tried rallying the troops.

From his own 23-yadr line, Kaliakmanis fought off Scout defenders but too much pressure forced him into a Hail Mary of sorts, which was picked off by the Scouts' Mac Uihlein.

From there Lake Forest just ran out the clock.

During the play, Kaliakmanis was hit once but a Lake Forest defender fell on him and he landed awkwardly.

"He was hit and then a defender fell on him and he landed on his back," added Glashagel.

Up to that point, Kaliakmanis had completed 10-of-17 passes for 117 yards.

In what was a defensive battle, Lake Forest jumped to a 3-0 lead after a 41-yard field goal by South Carolina commit Kai Kroeger.

Both teams played stellar defense.

Antioch ignited its crowd when senior wide receiver Tre Watson picked off a Jackson Pearre pass and took it 25 yards to the house.

"Our defense was phenomenal tonight," said Glashagel.

"We found our mojo and the defense kept us in it. We had chances. We just need to clean some things up and learn from our mistakes."

Trailing 7-3 in the fourth quarter, the Scouts (1-0) took the 10-7 lead when sophomore running back Jahari Scott dashed 9 yards for what turned out to be the game-winner.

Scott finished with 116 yards on 26 carries.

The loss ended a 28-game regular season game winning streak for Antioch. The last time the Sequoits lost in the regular campaign was to Wauconda in 2015.

It also snapped the Sequoits' season-openening streak, which also dated back to 2015.

"I think we were pressing too much," noted Glashagel. "I think we needed a little 'shock' to the system."

Senior linebacker Ryan Shaputis also picked off a Pearre pass in the second quarter.

Lake Forest's Uihlein also recovered a fumble in the fourth quarter, while senior defensive back Jonathon Jasica also picked off a Kaliakmanis pass in the third frame.

The Lake Forest defense also recorded 5 sacks on the evening.