Lake Forest too much for Glenbard East
As a sophomore last sports season, Glenbard East's Kenny Adams scored off an inbounds pass for a dramatic last-second varsity boys basketball victory over South Elgin.
His varsity football debut Friday also was dynamic.
In the first quarter, Adams turned a slant pass near midfield from sophomore quarterback Bret Bushka into a 67-yard touchdown play.
"We've got a young quarterback. His first touchdown pass, it was a big one, a big play," Adams said. "I remember everything about it. That's my first (varsity) touchdown. Many more to come, though."
Perennial power Lake Forest, however, had several big plays and they added up to a deceivingly comfortable 30-6 victory in the season opener in Lombard.
The Scouts scored TDs on their first two possessions with passes of 63 and 58 yards by senior quarterback Charlie Reinkemeyer. After Adams' score, they answered with a 30-yard TD drive and took a 27-6 lead in the third quarter on Chris Cavalaris' 34-yard interception return moments after Zach Netchin stopped Lake Forest's drive at the 12 on fourth-and-2.
"They executed consistently. We didn't. That's what good football teams do," Glenbard East coach John Walters said. "We've got some young guys, but I thought we handled ourselves pretty well. Really, three plays put us behind the 8-ball."
At halftime the Rams only were outgained 190-178 yards as they moved the ball but couldn't complete drives. Three first-half drives ended on downs at the Lake Forest 32, 25 and 40.
"We gave up a long one so our guys needed just to buckle down and they did so that's a good thing," Lake Forest coach Chuck Spagnoli said.
At the 25 the Rams' incomplete pass on fourth-and-8 followed a 27-yard TD pass play negated by a holding penalty.
"It could have been a 6-point game going into half, but again it's going to come down to execution," Walters said. "I don't think the score is necessarily indicative of the athletic contest."
Facing a new opponent, Glenbard East lost its opener for the first time since 2012. In 2015, the Rams started 3-0 and 4-1 but ended up 4-5 with all losses coming to playoff teams. It's the sixth time they've finished 4-5 since their only playoff appearance in 1999.
"Most definitely we still believe. This is just a start of something big," Adams said. "It was only because we've got young players. We've got a lot of potential. We've just got to do a little better."
Bushka completed 12 passes for 147 yards with four catches each by Adams, who had 88 yards, and Jeremy Johnson. Bushka also scrambled for a first down on fourth-and-18 in the second quarter.
Defensively, Camron Simmons and Jalen Perry had sacks and Tom Flood and Jack Baka contributed to tackles for loss.
"I thought (Bushka) showed well," Walters said. "We need to learn (as a team). We need to grow. That's going to be our focus."
By contrast, each of the past six seasons Lake Forest has achieved at least one playoff victory and seven overall victories.
Still, the Scouts also have only a handful of returning starters. Reinkemeyer, their new starting quarterback, passed for 220 yards and had a 12-yard TD run.
"Obviously, we had some good series offensively and defensively," Spagnoli said. "Our kicking game was reasonably solid. For a first game, it's hard to complain. The game was pretty clean. (We) executed pretty well."