Buffalo Grove battles, falls to Lake Forest

Buffalo Grove and new head coach Mike DiMatteo knew a quick turnaround wouldn’t be easy.

But the Bison found something to build on Friday.

BG hung tough with host Lake Forest in a scoreless first quarter, but the Scouts used two quick scores in the second quarter and eased their way to a 28-7 opening-night victory.

“I thought they were bigger than us, and faster than us,” said DiMatteo of Lake Forest, “but we stayed in the fight as long as we could. The guys fought really hard.”

Lake Forest senior quarterback Andrew Clifford threw for 231 yards, going 18-for-25, with touchdown passes of 29 and 9 yards both in the second quarter giving the Scouts a 14-0 halftime advantage.

Junior running back Stephen Cirame kept the Scouts rolling in the third quarter with a 48-yard touchdown run pushing the lead to 21-0. Cirame finished the night with 96 yards rushing on 18 carries and also caught 7 passes for 93 yards.

Buffalo Grove senior quarterback Brian Kleczynski had the Bison on the move in the opening quarter, converting two huge third-down plays with passes of 14 yards and 22 yards.

But the drive fizzled on the opening play of the second quarter when the Bison senior was intercepted at the Lake Forest 8.

“They’re a fast team,” said Kleczynski, who went 10-for-19 for 117 yards. “We fought hard. We have to fix our mistakes, that is what it comes down to; we’ll come back next week.”

The Bison defense also fought hard with senior Jack Asquini blocking a field goal at the end of the first quarter, and senior Mario DiCario contributing an interception in the second quarter.

But the Scouts defense led by linemen Richard Daniels, Thomas Kutschke and Austin McIlvaine kept the pressure on Kleczynski and the Bison offense all night.

“I thought we played well in all three phases of the game after a slow start,” said Lake Forest coach Chuck Spagnoli of the Scouts, who added a touchdown in the fourth quarter for a 28-0 lead.

But the Bison showed a bit of fight with senior Adam Steinle punching in a score on a 1-yard plunge with 3:54 remaining.

“One of our mottos is stay in the fight,” said DiMatteo. “They know it’s not going to be an easy road. It was very important that they wanted that touchdown, it’s a big deal.”