Till's thrilled as Lake Zurich rolls
A Till took a toll on Zion-Benton's football team Friday night.
Lake Zurich senior quarterback Zach Till rushed for a school-record 5 touchdowns in the Bears' 41-3 defeat of visiting Z-B.
The tallies covered 2, 16, 1, 4 and 3 yards in a North Suburban Conference Lake division regular-season finale.
Former LZ star running back Jacob Brinlee ran for 4 TDs in a game three times, including last year's 45-0 win over ZB.
Jon Janus did it once.
And so did Chris Redding.
Big names, all of them.
"I don't know what to say," said Till, stunned at what he had accomplished.
The 5-foot-11, 170-pounder paused.
Then, moments later, he knew what to say - and it was ultra-modest.
"The blocking I had, the play-calling - I can't take much credit," Till said. "I mean, on a couple of those, I walked in."
On the Bears' second TD Friday night, senior defensive lineman William Hussey had to run 25 yards, maybe more. Hussey blocked a Z-B punt, hustled to near the Zee-Bees' goal line and, as the ball arrived in the end zone, fell on it for 6 points.
LZ's defense when Till wasn't establishing his second and third homes in both end zones was up to its ol' stifling tricks again. It held Z-B to 11 total yards in the first half.
Bears senior linebacker Taylor Coleman set a resounding tone, stopping Z-B quarterback Chris Williams after a 1-yard gain on the first play from scrimmage.
Three plays later, LZ junior defensive back Grant Soucy came down with an interception.
Till (52 yards rushing, 110 passing) capped the ensuing 42-yard drive with a 2-yard TD saunter.
Till's arm helped LZ (7-2, 5-1) gain 58 of its 59 yards on the final TD of the first half. He found junior wideout Jake Stauner for 7 yards and senior wideout Brandon Markert for a combined 51 yards on two tosses (9, 42).
Till then rushed - no, strolled - for a 1-yard TD, upping LZ's lead to 26-0.
"That doesn't surprise me," Bears coach Bryan Strortz said, when told Till took the humble route after all those TD trips.
"Zach," he added, "is a guy who plays for his teammates, not for himself. All of our guys play for each other."
Z-B (3-6, 1-5) scored on senior Hannah Magiera's 27-yard field goal at 0:36 of the fourth quarter.