Lake Zurich braces for WW South
Prior to games, the football coaches at Lake Zurich have their say in the locker room.
Then, they let the players have theirs.
“If the guys want to say something, they can,” Lake Zurich coach Bryan Stortz said. “We want them to talk if they want to.”
Jack Lynn wanted to talk last week.
The junior wide receiver and linebacker had plenty he wanted to say before the Bears' Class 7A semifinal game against St. Rita.
In fact, he even came prepared with a visual.
It was a copy of the newspaper that came out the day after Lake Zurich lost a heartbreaker to Glenbard West last November in the Class 7A semifinals. Lake Zurich's fate, and a 21-17 defeat, wasn't decided until the final moments.
“We were actually ready to break and leave the team meeting and Jack all of a sudden says that he wants to say something,” Stortz said. “He held up the paper, which had an article about that game, and he said that he had waited 365 days for this moment (another crack at the semifinals). It was like one of those moments where you get chills. The rest of the guys were just silent, but nodding like they just knew. Nothing else needed to be said and everyone was ready to play after that.”
The pumped up Bears shut out St. Rita last week 21-0 to advance to today's Class 7A state championship game against Wheaton Warrenville South. Game time is 4 p.m. (Channel 50).
But to be accurate, the inspiration and motivation used before the St. Rita game was the same used before every game in Lake Zurich's magical 12-1 season.
The Bears have been intent for the last 12 months to erase the hurt from last year by winning the ultimate this year: a state title.
“The way that (semifinal) game ended last year, it was a big motivator for us as we prepared for this year,” Stortz said. “Any time your season ends that way, it hurts. And when you have to deal with that for months, it motivates you.
“Our guys just wanted to get back out there right away. They couldn't wait for the first snap of the (2010) season. They've been so motivated for so long. They are just so excited to be down there (in Champaign).”
In the clutch: No deep playoff run would be complete without some big plays along the way and Lake Zurich has had plenty of those. The Bears have come through in the clutch by creating turnovers against St. Rita, getting timely first downs against Simeon and converting every time in the red zone against Prospect.
“Our guys have really responded to some adverse situations in positive ways,” Lake Zurich coach Bryan Stortz said. “We've had our backs up against the wall where we've need to make a certain play and we've done that. Our guys have done very well at handling the pressure of those key situations.”
Shield sticking with it: The playoffs sure haven't been smooth sailing for Lake Zurich starting running back Mike Shield. He sat out the Bears' first round game against Jacobs with a bad ankle. Then, the following week before the Prospect game, he missed three days of practice with the flu and a 103-degree fever. But the good news for Bears fans is that Shield is finally feeling nearly 100 percent, just in time for the state title game. “He might not be at 100 percent, but close enough, 97 percent maybe,” Stortz said. “We're very happy to have him back at basically full strength. “
Deep defense: Mike Shield wasn't the only Lake Zurich starter to miss game time with an injury. The Bears' defense was hit hard by the injury bug this season, not that it was obvious, though. Lake Zurich is allowing just 8.3 points per game right now and has relied on many subs to fill holes left by injured or sick players like lineman Kia McGee, defensive back Chris Rantis and linebacker Danny Minogue. “We've had guys like (lineman) Will Hussey and (linebacker) Tim Sayre and (back) Grant Soucy step up in a big way,” Stortz said. “Every year that we've gotten this far, we've had kids get banged up and we've had to find ways to overcome that. You've got to be able to do that at this point in the season.”
Prolific passer: Wheaton Warrenville South will pass the ball like no other team Lake Zurich has seen this season.
Quarterback Reilly O'Toole, who is headed to the University of Illinois next year and was just named the all-state player of the year for the state of Illinois, has rolled up an obscene amount of passing yards and touchdowns, 3,005 yards and 40 touchdowns to be exact.
How do the Bears put a lid on that?
“He's one of the best quarterbacks in the state and that offense is explosive. We're going to have to play very well on defense to even contain him,” Stortz said of O'Toole. “One key for us is that we're going to have to establish some long drives with our offense and control the clock. We've got to keep their offense off the field. Our special teams will also be key to give us good field position. We're going to have to play ball control.”
Iron man: Running back Jacob Brinlee is to Lake Zurich what quarterback Reilly O'Toole is to Wheaton Warrenville South: the engine of the offense.
Brinlee has been an iron man for the Bears, rarely missing a play and carrying the ball 182 times for 1,477 yards. “He's carried a lot (on his shoulders) and he's stayed strong,” Stortz said. “But one day earlier this year, he rolled his ankle and we didn't let him practice. I think he hated us that day. All Jacob wants to do is be out there playing.”
Been there, done that: Experienced players are usually better players. Likewise, experienced coaches are usually better coaches. That's the way the Lake Zurich coaches feel anyway.
Going downstate hasn't become old hat to the point where it's lost its magic. But the fact that the Bears have been to Champaign on two previous occasions (in 2006 and 2007) does take a bit of the edge off for the coaching staff.
“In 2006 when we went down there, I think we were all a bit overwhelmed just because it was our first time there and you don't really know what to expect,” Stortz said. “When we went back there in 2007, we changed some things about our preparation and even just the way we did things that day (of the game) because we knew better from the year before. That certainly helped us and I think we feel even more comfortable about things this year.
“We've been so fortunate to have had the run we've had to experience things like that.”