Lakes pops for convincing win

The Lakes football program paid tribute to all of the football dads at Polley Field on Friday night.

Those dads roamed the Lakes sideline in Eagle uniforms and were given a close-up view of the action.

They were all smiles afterward as their sons paid them the ultimate tribute with a 21-7 victory over Woodstock North in a nonconference matchup.

Lakes (2-0) benefited from a stellar defensive effort, especially from one player who usually catches pass but on this night, caught opposing ball carriers.

Senior Justin Bergeron was a standout on the Eagle defense. He had 4 tackles for loss and recovered a key fumble that set up the score that extended the Eagles’ lead to 14.

Bergeron also caught two passes from quarterback T.J. Edwards for 48 yards.

“I didn’t do as well as I wanted to the first game,” said Bergeron. “I came out with something to prove and I wanted to show my teammates what I can do.”

“The defense carried it,” said Lakes coach Luke Mertens. “We started out a little slow on both sides of the ball, but it is a team game and our defense looked like a totally different unit in the second half.”

Drew Recker, Troy Crow, John Gomulka, and Andrew Spencer made their presence known in the Woodstock North backfield. That pressure kept Woodstock North (1-1) off the scoreboard in the second half even as the Thunder marched deep into Eagles territory.

Edwards and running back Direll Clark (game-high 147 rushing yards) provided the scoring for Lakes. Edwards had touchdown runs of 7 and 4 yards, while Clark bulled his way into the end zone on a 3-yard run.

“They (the defense) came up with big stops today,” said Clark. “I give all the credit in the world to the defense. Justin (Bergeron) is an offensive player and he stepped up today and played defense. It was incredible.”

The Thunder’s Grant Wade evened up the contest at 7 in the second quarter with a 3-yard touchdown run. Ryan Wade led the Thunder with 78 yards rushing.