Stevenson cruises by Eagles

The Stevenson Patriots' offensive line put on a first-half display that any paving company would be proud of Friday night in Lake Villa.

Come to think of it, they were wearing hard-hats. Call it "Patriot Paving, Inc."

The line of Tom Munger, Samson Benjamin, Ryan Urbon, Justin Fauntleroy, and Turron Washington paved the way for 293 first-half rushing yards and 42 first-half points as the Patriots rolled past the host Lakes Eagles 42-7 in a North Suburban Conference crossover.

"That's one thing that we got to establish, and we did it tonight," said Stevenson head coach Bill Mitz. "The whole group did a great job."

Running backs Mark Weisman (12 carries, 101 yards) and Matthew Harris (9 carries, 105 yards) did all their work for the Patriots in the first half. Weisman found the end zone on runs of 3 and 49 yards. Harris scored 3 touchdowns, 2 on scoring runs of 42 and 16 yards, and the third on a 4 yard pass from QB Zach Wujcik (7-12, 98 yards).

Stevenson (4-3) got on the board with Wujcik finding Joshua Vravick on a pass from 23 yards out on a fourth-and-18.

On the ensuing drive, Lakes (2-4) had its opening play result in a tipped ball that led to an interception by Patriot defensive back Bradford Backer, leading to the first Weisman touchdown four plays later.

"We were in position to make the play," said Lakes coach Luke Mertens. "The quarterback made a perfect read, made a great pass, and unfortunately, when it came down to it, the ball was tipped into the other kid's hands."

The Eagles broke through in the fourth quarter as Justin Hotle lofted a deep pass to receiver Kevin Kelly (4 catches, 98 yards) and Kelly continued on a 57-yard touchdown pass.

"That was a great run and catch," said Mertens. "Kevin did a great job of putting it where it needs to be, and I'm happy for Justin too, as he was a little upset over that earlier interception."

While Stevenson took one step toward a possible playoff spot, the loss eliminated the Eagles from playoff contention. Still, Mertens says the last two games of the season do hold plenty of meaning.

"Every conference game matters and that's important enough," he said. "We still feel that we have not played our best game yet this year, and we have two more weeks to play to the best of our ability."