Lake Zurich 9, Libertyville 2
The public address announcer at Libertyville's football stadium indulged Cubs fans who were there to see Thursday's tilt against Lake Zurich with frequent updates on the Milwaukee Brewers' loss to the Atlanta Braves.
Ironically, fans not only heard about a baseball game, they watched a football game with a final score that could've been that of a baseball game.
In a flexing-of-defensive-muscle contest, visiting Lake Zurich proved just a tad stronger in edging Libertyville 9-2 in North Suburban Conference Lake Division action.
The victory, which avenges Lake Zurich's only loss of the regular season last year, moves the Bears to 4-1 overall and keeps them perfect in the Lake Division. At 3-0, they sit in first place, a half game ahead of Lake Forest.
Lake Forest hosts Antioch on Saturday.
Libertyville, meanwhile, drops to 2-3 on the season and 0-2 in the Lake.
"It was probably the most fun game I've ever been a part of with momentum going back and forth," said Lake Zurich safety Kevin Johnson, who is also the Bears' placekicker. He kicked a clutch fourth-quarter field goal (36 yards) to put Lake Zurich up by a touchdown.
"That's the way a big game is played, based off momentum and who can get the big plays."
The Bears certainly had a ton of big plays on defense. Not only did they hold Libertyville to a total of just 33 rushing yards, they recovered a Libertyville fumble and picked off two passes thrown by Libertyville quarterback Tom Piazzi.
The second interception was a big one, coming with only 1:39 left in the game and Libertyville driving.
Lake Zurich linebacker Jon Janus halted the Wildcats in their tracks when he plucked the ball right out of the air.
"We harp on defense all the time and those guys give us everything they've got," Lake Zurich coach Bryan Stortz said of his defense. "They really believe in what we're doing.
"And defense is definitely an attitude. Our kids have that. They execute, they perform and they definitely don't give up until the whistle is blown."
Libertyville's defense was also relentless.
Lake Zurich was averaging 35 points a game, but managed to reach the red zone only three times on Libertyville.
The first trip yielded a first quarter touchdown off a 1-yard run by quarterback Bobby DeLeo. The second trip was a bust and the third trip got Johnson close enough for his field goal.
"Our defense played extremely well," Libertyville coach Randy Kuceyeski said. "To hold them to 6 points, we thought we were exactly where we needed to be, just like last year. Last year, we were down 6-3 at halftime. (Libertyville wound up winning that game, 10-9.)
"I really can't fault our defense. We held them. But offensively, we struggled. We moved the ball, but we couldn't cash in. We have problems in the red zone. Mistakes, turnovers, you name it, it's been happening."
Libertyville linebacker Nate Johnson blocked a Lake Zurich punt out of the end zone in the first quarter to give the Wildcats a safety and their only score on the night.