Defense delivers under pressure

CHAMPAIGN -- No surprise here.

Defense got Lake Zurich to the Class 7A state championship game. And defense got the Bears their first state championship in school history.

Wheaton Warrenville South failed to reach the end zone for the first time all season, losing 7-3 to a team that seemed determined to make play after game-changing play on the defensive side of the ball.

In the second quarter, the Bears' defense made their first big contribution.

Bears safety Kevin Johnson intercepted a Mike Piatkowski pass to set up the only touchdown of the game, a Jon Janus 5-yard run.

"We watched a lot of film and we really knew their tendencies and took advantage," Johnson said. "I was fortunate enough to pick that ball off. We knew we'd have to play our best game on defense and I think we did that."

The defense made some more noise just before halftime. The Tigers were forced to punt the ball away, but the ball hit a Lake Zurich player before hitting the ground. WW South recovered at the Lake Zurich 6.

But not to worry. All the Bears did was hold on three straight plays, thanks in large part to a monster stop by Tyler Lafontaine and Wade Self on third down. The best Wheaton Warrenville South could do was a 19-yard Dan Conroy field goal.

"That stop, oh my gosh, it was huge," Lake Zurich linebacker Brent Marks said. "They had all the momentum in the world and we just took it all back."

For the game, the Bears' defense allowed just 7 total rushing yards and hurried Piatkowski from start to finish, sacking him three times.

"Stopping WW South and holding them to 3 points is unheard of," Janus said. "We've got the best defense in the state."

Taking a pass: One of the most unique things about Lake Zurich's semifinal win over Carmel last week was that neither team completed a pass.

Bears coach Bryan Stortz was adamant that the same thing couldn't happen if his team expected to win a state title Saturday in Champaign. To beat a powerhouse team like Wheaton Warrenville South, Lake Zurich couldn't afford to be so completely one-dimensional.

So quarterback Bobby DeLeo got the green light to pass the ball against the Tigers. And although he completely only 5-of-11 passes for 59 yards, those five completions made a huge difference in keeping the defense off balance.

"I can't say enough about Bobby's leadership," Stortz said. "He actually got a little banged up out there and played through it and came up with some big-time passes. And Mark (Guinter) and Ricky (Nicolay) had some big catches."

Bears on parade

The celebration of Lake Zurich's state championship continues today. A parade will originate at May Whitney Elementary School at 1 p.m., and a pep assembly will follow in the high school field house.