A sudden burst, and Lakes takes over against Grant
This was as good an example of "sudden change" as you'll see in a football game.
Grant had a chance to take the lead just before halftime on Saturday afternoon at Lakes. Thanks to a 26-yard run by sophomore Kenyon Jones, the Bulldogs had first-and-goal at the 9-yard line with 21.9 seconds left in the second quarter.
After a spike to stop the clock, though, Lakes linebacker Austin Tiffany made a leaping interception to end Grant's threat. So with the ball on their own 15 with 13.8 seconds remaining, it was time for the Eagles to take a knee, right?
Wrong. Lakes decided to air it out and completed two long passes to tack on another touchdown. First, quarterback Jordan Mercure hit Sean Rafferty for a 50-yard gain. Then Mercure moved to receiver and Colton Jewell connected on a 35-yard Hail Mary to Louie Rodriguez III as time expired, giving Lakes a 20-7 halftime lead.
The Eagles went on to win 34-14, improving to 2-2 overall and 2-0 in the North Suburban Prairie Division.
Mercure finished the day with 307 passing yards and 2 touchdowns, completing 15 of 22 throws.
"They were stacking up the box to stop the run, so the pass was open," he said. "We're going to take what the defense gives us. That's the main thing."
And going for more points at the end of the first half?
"(Taking a knee) is really not my style," Lakes coach Luke Mertens said. "I believe in having fun and going for the win and we've always been that way.
"It's very important to be able to attack a defense both through the air and on the ground. Obviously, we didn't get our running game going the way we would like to, which is a credit to their defense."
To open the third quarter, Mertens tried an onside kick that didn't look like it would travel the required 10 yards. But the ball kept slowly rolling and rolling and when it struck the 50-yard line, Lakes pounced on it.
The onside recovery set up a 38-yard touchdown pass from Mercure to Rafferty on fourth-and-9 to make it 27-7. In the fourth quarter, Mercure connected with Rodriguez for a 64-yard score.
"Throw it up there," Mercure said. "It's a lot easier when every play, when we're running vertical, I know our outside receiver's going to beat their corner up the field and it's an easy throw."
Grant (0-4, 0-2) led 7-6 at the end of the first quarter thanks to a 1-yard run by Jones. The sophomore making his second varsity start finished with 103 yards on 22 carries.
After falling behind 27-7, the Bulldogs' run-intensive offense had trouble keeping up. Grant didn't attempt a pass in the second half.
The Bulldogs closed within 27-14 early in the fourth on an 8-yard run by Ben Schram, but lost senior lineman Issac Ryczek to a knee injury on their first touchdown.
"They made plays and we don't. their program is where we want to be and we're not," Grant coach Vito Andriola said. "It's as simple as that. When I say make plays, just do what you're supposed to do. You saw the last three plays of the first half and the first play of the second half. We have a lot of work to do."