Lake Forest shreds Shepard
Lake Forest coach Chuck Spagnoli knew it was a rarity to get a home playoff game for the Scouts. Little did he know that a playoff win for Lake Forest was almost as unusual.
What wasn't unusual to Spagnoli and the Scouts was the way they played in the school's first home playoff game in 14 seasons.
The Scouts offense, which has hit for over 50 points twice this year, nearly hit that plateau again. Eighth-seeded Lake Forest exploded for 31 first-half points and routed No. 9 seed Shepard 45-25 Saturday night at Varsity Field in Lake Forest.
The playoff win was the first for Lake Forest (7-3) since 1996 and moves the Scouts into the second round against top-seeded and unbeaten Crystal Lake South (10-0). Lake Forest will take on the Gators at 1 p.m. Saturday.
"For us, we just really wanted to take care of our business at home," Spagnoli said. "It's rare to get a home playoff game and when you do you want to take advantage of it."
The Scouts took advantage of the opportunity but in a rather unconventional way than in past seasons.
Instead of relying on the stellar play of junior running back Owen Williams, quarterbacks PJ Carollo and Jordan Beck did the bulk of the offensive damage through the air.
Beck struck first, hitting wideout Jacob Hellinga in stride on a 58-yard touchdown strike to put the home team up 14-3. Five minutes later, Carollo's perfectly placed screen pass to Williams resulted in a 56-yard scoring play and a 28-3 advantage.
Not to be outdone, Beck did it again, this time on a swing pass to TJ Jackson. Jackson's fancy footwork netted a 54-yard scoring play. In a seven-minute span, Lake Forest turned a close game into a rout.
"We have so many ways to put points up," said Williams who rushed for 172 yards on just 11 carries. "It was great to get the passing game going, and that just makes us a much tougher team to play against."
Jackson accounted for another score to open the second half when he took the kickoff 94 yards for the score. Williams 77-yard scoring run with 10 minutes left in the third quarter started the running clock.
The Scouts limited Shepard (6-4) to 86 total yards in the first half and 92 total before the running clock started and the reserves came in.