Marist knocks off Lake Zurich in OT
Lake Zurich's student football fans donned Hawaiian shirts for their Bears' game against Marist's visiting RedHawks Friday night.
Some were adorned with leis.
Many punched a beach ball in the bleachers during the game.
But, for Marist - a Class 8A semifinalist last fall - it was no day (make that, night) at the beach.
Marist, which never led in regulation, edged Lake Zurich 24-17 in overtime in a pulsating contest that had a little bit of everything, including two interceptions by LZ senior defensive back Anthony Mangano, slippery scrambles from LZ senior quarterback Jack Moses (19 carries, 121 yards) and hits from the hosts that could be heard 'round Lake County and parts of Cook.
"Tough one," said first-year Bears coach Ron Planz, whose squad fell to Fremd in its opener last weekend. "But you know what? It was good to see us be Lake Zurich this time. We played 'Lake Zurich' football this time; we couldn't say that after the Fremd game. I'm encouraged, but I'm no satisfied.
"Nobody here is," he added.
Bears junior running back Jack Dwyer (24 rushes, 105 yards, 2 touchdowns) opened the scoring with a 1-yard TD burst at 4:45 of the second quarter.
LZ (0-2) led 7-0 at halftime, thanks to Mangano's first pick, this one coming in the end zone, with 5 ticks left.
Marist (2-0) struck for a 37-yard field goal on its first possession in the second half, but LZ answered with a 53-yard scoring trip capped by a 25-yard field goal from senior Jacob Breeman.
The visitors appeared set to tie it at 10 after a 4-yard TD run until yet another "double doink" took place in a Bears game. The point-after try was low, very low, banging off a couple of Bears helmets instead of parts of a structure in an end zone.
LZ then stretched the lead from 10-9 to 17-9 on another 1-yard run from Dwyer.
Marist knotted matters on the ensuing drive, getting an 8-yard TD run with 10.9 seconds remaining in regulation and tacking on a 2-pointer to force the extra session.
Marist started OT at the LZ 10 and needed four downs to finally enjoy its first advantage.
LZ's Dwyer gained 2 yards on first-and-goal from the 10. But Moser's final pass attempt fell incomplete in a shallow part of the end zone.
Senior wide receiver James Piggott came down with the Bears' biggest reception (a 36-yarder) as a beach ball ascended above a sea of bouncing student fans.
The snare preceded Dwyer's first TD run.