Lake Park comeback denies Larkin shot at 3-0 start
The Lake Park football players emerged with a 27-18 victory in Elgin Friday night by doing to Larkin exactly what had been done to them the week before.
Larkin dominated the first half of the Upstate Eight Conference opener at Memorial Field. The Royals led 18-7 after two quarters, outgaining the Lancers 203 yards to 105 behind 90 of Larkin running back Jalen Williams' 149 yards rushing.
Lake Park (2-1, 1-0), which led Glenbard East 18-7 at halftime in a Week 2 contest only to lose 22-18, rallied for 20 unanswered points in the second half, fueled by a fumble recovery and 3 interceptions in the third quarter.
"We thought if Glenbard East could do it, we could do it too," said Lake Park senior defensive back Mike Kreiser, who accounted for 2 of the 3 interceptions. "The first half was a little shaky coming off that loss. We just had to put the first half behind us and come out in the second half firing."
Larkin's opening drive of the second half ended after 38 yards due to a fumble.
"They grabbed hold of the opportunity when we fumbled," Larkin coach Matt Gehrig said. "From that point on we never took control of the game back. Kudos to Lake Park for playing four quarters of intense football and staying after us."
Kreiser jumped a route to make a diving interception of Larkin sophomore quarterback Kyle Newquist at the Larkin 16-yard line, and Clay Cooper cashed in 2 plays later on a 10-yard burst up the middle. Artie Monaco's 2-point conversion run cut the deficit to 18-15.
Larkin's next 2 passes were tipped and intercepted by Lake Park's Alex Fischer and Kreiser. The Royals (2-1, 0-1) held defensively after the first turnover, when Monaco missed a 32-yard field goal attempt. However, the Lancers gained another short field when Kreiser's interception gave the offense the ball at the Larkin 23-yard line.
Cooper scored 4 plays later on a 9-yard pass from senior quarterback Larry Nawrot, who was hit as he released the ball. Monaco's extra point gave Lake Park a 22-18 lead with 1:33 left in the third quarter.
The Royals never regained their first-half momentum. They snapped a ball out of the end zone on a punt, giving Lake Park a 24-18 lead early in the fourth quarter. Monaco provided the final margin of victory by booting a 33-yard field goal with 7:43 to play.
"It was a tale of two halves," Lake Park defensive coordinator Robert Nihells said. "We just had to do a better job of tackling and trapping the ball. I think we were in better spots, hunkered down a little bit, made plays and the momentum changed. A couple of tipped balls went our way."
Larkin took a 6-0 lead when Newquist (11 of 27, 134 yards, 4 ints.) threw a 41-yard strike to Trevor Whitehead in the first quarter. Two touchdowns by Williams on runs of 7 and 12 yards accounted for the rest of the Royals' scoring.