Lake Forest passes up Grant
There is more than one way to move a football down the field, as Grant and Lake Forest clearly demonstrated Friday.
On one side, Lake Forest lined up in the shotgun with at least four wideouts and Notre Dame-bound quarterback Tommy Rees rarely missed. He completed 22-of-29 passes for 335 yards and 2 touchdowns.
On the other side was Grant's option specialist Justin Cokefair, who kept the Scouts' defense off-balance and gained 194 yards on 40 carries.
If Grant started scoring a little sooner, the outcome might have been different. But host Lake Forest jumped to an early 21-0 lead and hung on for a 38-35 victory in a North Suburban crossover.
"It was just a great game," Grant coach Kurt Rous said. "I would have loved to be sitting in the stands watching instead of biting my nails on the sideline."
Both these teams are 3-4 and need to win out to become playoff eligible. Grant visits North Suburban Prairie leader Vernon Hills next week, then hosts North Chicago. Lake Forest finishes with road games against Lake Zurich and Zion-Benton.
"We can do it," said Grant cornerback Nolan Hebein, who intercepted Rees to set up the Bulldogs' final touchdown. "We just have to focus and have two good weeks of practice. Vernon Hills is going to be tough, they always are."
A slow start was the biggest difference in this game. On their first three possessions, the visiting Bulldogs went three-and-out twice and fumbled once. In the meantime, Rees completed 12-of-15 passes for 155 yards as Lake Forest jumped to the 21-0 advantage.
Grant finally stopped Rees by keeping the ball for nine minutes late in the first half. First came a much-needed 15-play, 79-yard drive that ended with Cokefair's 6-yard run. Then Dan Hourihan recovered his own onside kick and the Bulldogs drove 47 yards in 8 plays. Hourihan's 10-yard run with 11 seconds remaining before intermission brought Grant within 21-14.
To start the third quarter, Grant tried another onside kick. Hourihan stood over the ball and grabbed it at midfield, but the officials ruled the Bulldogs touched the ball before it went 10 yards.
The Scouts scored quickly, Grant answered with a 66-yard, 13-play drive, then Rees went with a quick strike. His 58-yard bomb to Bo Dever made it 35-20.
The Bulldogs kept moving though, and Cokefair's 1-yard run on the first play of the fourth quarter made it 35-28. Finally, Grant's defense kept Lake Forest out of the end zone. Scott Ray's sack forced the Scouts to settle for a 33-yard field goal by Andrew O'Neill.
Cokefair threw an interception in the end zone, but Hebein's pick two plays later set up an 8-yard Cokefair touchdown run to make it 38-35 with 3:52 left. Grant tried a squib kick and never came close to getting the ball back as Lake Forest used 10 running plays to drive to the Bulldogs' 4-yard line as the game ended.
Connor Moutvic caught 8 passes for 100 yards, while T.J. Jackson had a combined 155 yards running and receiving for the Scouts.
"This past spring, about 10 of us, all the receivers and running backs, we went to the field house in the morning about two or three days a week and we'd throw all of our routes," Rees said. "We try to be a close-knit group. Connor Moutvic and I have been playing on the same team since fourth grade and we're really good friends."