Vernon Hills 22, Lakes 20
Vernon Hills coach Tony Monken was forced to call in a reliever with the game on the line Friday night. And the switch couldn't have worked out any better.
With starting quarterback P.J. Marsek injured while playing defense in the fourth quarter, Monken called on backup signal caller James Hallendorf to lead a last-minute scoring drive to propel the Cougars to a 22-20 home win over Lakes.
"We're just thrilled with our kids for not quitting," Monken said. "Here we had our backup quarterback in the game and he takes us down the field for the win. (Hallendorf) has been working in our two-minute offense, and he might be the better thrower of the two."
Following a Lakes touchdown with 1:40 remaining Hallendorf completed 3 of 5 passes for 57 yards and the decisive touchdown to receiver Herman Lynn. The 9-yard strike had the large Cougars cheering section elated and left Lakes coach Luke Mertens searching for answers.
"We didn't play very well all night long," Mertens said. "We're nowhere near where we need to be to compete in this conference right now."
The loss dropped Lakes to 1-2 and 0-1 in the Prairie Division while Vernon Hills improved to 2-1 and 1-0 in the division.
Two second-quarter Eagles turnovers on their own side of the field netted no points for Vernon Hills, thanks in large part to the play of Lakes' defensive back Nick Valentine. The 5-10, 175 pound senior intercepted a pass on a fake field goal and batted away another fourth down throw in the end zone.
But the Cougars, led by the rushing of senior tailback Larry Guerrero, scored on a 1-yard quarterback keeper by Marsek to take a 10-7 advantage into the intermission.
The Eagles were able to get their passing game untracked in the third quarter. After a pair of nifty catches in traffic by senior wideout Kevin Guirand gave Lakes the ball in the red zone, quarterback Randy Ratajczyk found slot receiver Brent Gruber on a 10-yard slant route in the end zone for a touchdown. The point after was unsuccessful but Lakes had regained the lead at 13-10 inside the final minute of the third quarter.
Vernon Hills answered right back however. With its option-powered offense on display, the Cougars moved the ball at will on its first drive of the fourth quarter. A 4-yard run by Marsek found pay dirt. The extra point kick was blocked to hold Vernon Hills to a narrow 16-13 lead with eight minutes remaining.
Marsek gained 84 yards on 18 carries while Guererro rushed 15 times for 58 yards.
A 36-yard shovel pass from Ratajczyk to Gruber moved the Eagles deep into Cougars territory. Lakes scored on a quarterback keeper to set the score at 20-16 and prompt the heroics by Hallendorf and Lynn.
"We feel pretty good about this win," Monken said. "They got us last year (11-0) so I guess this year it was our turn. We wanted to get out on top in the league this year. We are slowly coming together and we're one step toward where we want to be -- and that's division champions and headed for the playoffs."