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Balanced effort powers Stevenson past Lake Forest

Stevenson's football team was in control of all three phases of the game from start to finish in a 23-0 victory over Lake Forest on Friday night in North Suburban Conference play.

While the key to victory for the Stevenson Patriots in Week 1 was letting sophomore standout JeanMarc Etienne carry the load, using a more balanced attack and using the deep ball turned out to be the perfect game plan against the Scouts.

Stevenson got a little help from Lake Forest on its first scoring drive of the game.

Pats quarterback Grayson Kubow launched a long pass that tipped off the hands of the safety into the hands of wide receiver Tyler Porzycki, who streaked down the field for an 86-yard touchdown to give the Patriots a 7-0 first-quarter lead.

"We were kind of stagnant, so I thought it was time to take a shot," said Kubow. "Credit to the safety, he got back there quick and he was right there. Offensive line gave me enough time to make the pass and my receiver did a good job adjusting to it."

Kubow added a 51-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter for good measure to put the Patriots up 23-0.

The balanced attack was needed after the team leaned on Etienne in a 147 yard, 2-touchdown debut against Palatine to start the season. But he didn't have to carry the load this week. He did, however, cap-off the Patriots' only scoring drive of the second quarter with a 1-yard touchdown run.

"They were stacking up the box, not letting us run too much," said Stevenson coach Josh Hjorth. "You gotta take what they're giving you. We had two quarterbacks out there, receivers gotta go out there and catch the ball. I'm really proud of all of them and the job that they did."

Lake Forest's defense played well despite allowing the two, long touchdown passes. The Scouts' defense forced 2 turnovers and gave their offense opportunities with good field position. Unfortunately for Lake Forest, the Scouts' offense gave the ball right back to Stevenson, both times, on a pair of fumbles. The defense was on the field most of the night and wore down as the game went along.

The Scouts didn't pick up a first down until their first series in the second half and didn't make a single trip into the red zone against a Patriots defense that pressured Lake Forest quarterback Jack Mislinski all night long.

"We got better as the game went on and that's the most important part," said Hjorth. "All our offseason, we focus on that. We want to get stronger as the game goes. We did that tonight."

Stevenson moves to 2-1 and will take on Mundelein in Week 4.

Lake Forest falls to 2-1 and takes on Warren next week.

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