QBs help Lake Forest hang on vs. Warren
Something unusual is going on in Lake Forest. The town seems to have a never-ending supply of quality quarterbacks.
Most North Suburban Conference followers already know former Scouts QB Tommy Rees is starting for Notre Dame. Lake Forest displayed a couple of quality replacements during Thursday’s 27-19 win over visiting Warren.
Senior Jordan Beck completed 8 of 10 passes, to six different receivers, for 62 yards on the Scouts’ opening drive. Then Beck’s 1-yard sneak gave Lake Forest an early 14-0 advantage.
Later, though, Beck left the field after a play when Warren was penalized for a horse collar tackle on the quarterback. Beck spent the rest of the game on the sideline with his left, non-throwing arm, in a sling. Coach Chuck Spagnoli said it was an elbow injury.
In came junior Andrew Clifford and without so much as an official’s time out, he drilled a pair of passes to Luke Bernardi for 24 and 21 yards, the second resulting in a touchdown that made it 21-0.
“It’s genetics,” Spagnoli said of his abundant quarterbacks. “I guess we have great families.”
After falling behind 27-0 in the second quarter, Warren produced a valiant comeback, but couldn’t finish it off. The Devils had a fourth-and-1 at the Lake Forest 21-yard line in the fourth quarter, but quarterback Adam Reuss was dropped for a 5-yard loss by Scouts lineman Thomas Kutschke.
Warren got a defensive stop and took possession near midfield with 2:51 left. The Devils picked up one first down, but on fourth-and-6 at the 37-yard line, Reuss’ desperation pass was intercepted by Ben Warren.
Reuss completed 19-of-33 passes on the night for 227 yards. Mitch Munda had 106 receiving yards and a pair of touchdowns.
For Lake Forest (6-1, 4-0), Clifford hit 6 of 14 passes for 100 yards, while Beck finished 10 of 13 for 92 yards. Overall, this was just another frustrating night for Warren and it summed up the season well. After going 0-4 against a tough early schedule, the Blue Devils needed to win out to have any chance of making the playoffs. This loss eliminates that possibility with two games left against Libertyville and Grant.
“We’ve been a family since freshman year, since pee wee,” senior defensive lineman Gabriel Butts said. “For most of us, this will be our last two games. We can only enjoy the moments we have left.”
Warren looked good at times, but made too many sloppy mistakes. The Devils’ first punt attempt of the night resulted in a low snap and Lake Forest fumble recovery at the 20-yard line, leading to its second touchdown.
When Warren put together a nice drive and had a chance to pull within 14-7, it stalled at the 13-yard line and missed a field goal.
Midway through the second quarter, Jay Malone ran for 7 yards, but came up a half-yard shy of a first down at the Warren 25-yard line. So the Devils punted and one play later, Lake Forest running back Owen Williams, who had minus-5 yards on 6 carries at that point of the game, broke loose for a 60-yard touchdown run that made it 27-0.
Warren finally got on the board when Reuss drilled a pass to Mitch Munda from 9 yards out with 2:17 left in the first half.
After pulling within 27-13 in the third quarter, the Devils got a first down at the Lake Forest 13-yard line and couldn’t score. Malone’s 22-yard run made it 27-19 with 9:34 remaining.