Big start helps Lake Forest past Libertyville

Lake Forest’s Hub Cirame returned the opening kickoff 77 yards for a touchdown, and it was just the start for the Scouts.

Lake Forest went on to beat host Libertyville 38-7 in a North Suburban Conference Lake Division football game Friday night.

Lake Forest improved to 6-1 and 3-1 in the NSC Lake. Libertyville fell to 3-4 and 1-3.

“It was a short kick,” said Cirame, the Scouts’ all-state running back candidate. “I picked up the ball and I had a great feeling as I crossed the goal line.”

Cirame scored two more touchdowns in the first half. His second TD was on a 1-yard run midway through the first quarter to give the Scouts a 14-0 lead. Kyle Gattari kicked a 32-yard field goal, and Cirame caught a 15-yard pass from Regis Durbin to build the Scouts’ advantage to 24-0.

“We thought all week that we were the better team,” Cirame said. “We just tried to play our game and follow our game plan, and it worked out real well.”

Libertyville made it to the scoreboard when Conor Simpson scored on a 71-yard pass from Riley Lees midway through the second quarter. Lake Forest led 38-7 at halftime.

“I thought that we played pretty well,” Lake Forest coach Chuck Spagnoli said. “We started strong. Obviously the kickoff return at the beginning was a huge momentum blast for us.”

“Quality team,” Libertyville coach Mike Jones said of Lake Forest, which hosts Stevenson in an NSC Lake showdown next Friday. “We struggled to run the ball. We had some personnel issues, and we let them tee off on us a little.”