Friday Night Feels: A Big Boost To Start 2019

Lake Forest 10, Antioch 7

@CN100Sports (Twitter)

Joey Goodsir, Editor-In-Chief
September 2, 2019

Joey Goodsir, Editor-in-Chief

I felt a touch of uneasiness in the halls of 1285 North McKinley Road on Friday. There were plenty of reasons for it to be there.

The Antioch Sequoits were coming to town boasting their perfect regular season record since the conferences realigned Antioch away from Lake Forest, their two Minnesota-bound Kaliakmanis brothers (Athan “The Greek Rifle”, QB, and Dino “The Greek Pistol”, WR) who were quickly becoming household names during the week of build-up, and their quite reasonable quest to win the state. The game was going to be televised as CN100’s “Game of the Week”, making it no secret that it was the biggest regular season game in recent Scouts football history.

No pressure, right?

But by the time all of Lake Forest made it to West Campus and the lights turned on, I knew everyone couldn’t be more ready for the talk to end and for the game to take it from there. The students, the band, the cheer/pom squads, the fans, parents, announcers, reporters, coaches, and most importantly, the team – everyone. The completed preparation was on another level.

It only took a quick look at the sideline to remember the Scouts’ starpower as well, as a certain 6’5”, 275 pound, future Irish strongside defensive end towered over everyone, ready for battle. He and the other leaders of the team held that contagious confidence through warm ups and the coin toss, as the sun set — a rising curtain to begin the season.

From the beginning, the identity of the football game seemed to set in quickly: this was an old school, low scoring field position battle. Nationally-ranked and recent South Carolina commit punter/kicker Kai Kroeger got the important jobs done for Lake Forest early, keeping the Sequoits away from the end zone and getting the Scouts on the board with a 41 yard field goal. 

Unfortunately, not all offensive question marks had been answered quite yet. An interception gave Antioch a shot at taking a 7-3 lead heading into halftime.

However, the defense made Kaliakmanis feel the pressure, and they denied Antioch the chance to score despite their tremendous field position. This was probably the biggest stop by the Scouts of the night, as it dramatically slowed down a quick momentum change before a crucial halftime break. 

A great first halftime show from the band, cheer, and poms was all fed off of the confidence gained on the final drive of the half. A scary Antioch offense is scoreless? The Scouts have the 3-0 lead AND the momentum going into the second half? We’ll take it.

But it didn’t take long for an Antioch punch to finally land. The Sequoits got the 7-3 lead they wanted off of a quick pick-six. 

Despite all of this, the Varsity Field crowd did not dwindle in their support. The Scouts defense finally got a big opportunity of their own, and, upon enthusiastic confirmation from star linebacker Mac Uihlein, took full advantage:

Although the defense sparked the fire with that play, it was up to the offense to finally deliver while the field position was advantageous. They eventually did, and unlocked a whole lot of newfound excitement for the Scouts’ offense.

It was easy to notice sophomore Jahari Scott instantly making a name for himself in this game at running back. However, the viewing angle of the student and band sections helped me and many others see the truck-sized gap offensive linemen Charlie Aberle, Alex Miller, Billy Gardner, Jack Owen and Sam Volpe opened up for Scott to score the game’s only touchdown. Even junior quarterback Jackson Pearre got a solid block in on the play.

I thought this play was an encouraging moment in which the offense seemed to find their base identity. The physical domination was electrifying, and it will be exciting to see how they will build on it moving forward.

After the touchdown, the game came back down to one thing: field position. Antioch was given a solid final shot at tying or winning it late, only for Kaliakmanis’ pressured throw to find DB Jonathan Jasica – his second interception of the game – to quickly wash away all nerves from the home side crowd.


Kaliakmanis and the result of that pressure was a scary sight to see. The quarterback took a stretcher off the field, but more recent reports thankfully say it was only precautionary for a back injury, and he should be okay for Antioch’s next matchup on Friday. 

From there, a jubilant Varsity Field watched the Scouts knee the clock out.

Big wins like these have value as seasons progress, giving momentum, motivation, and purpose to the teams that have them.

The Scouts checked that box on Friday night, and as a season opener? I hope I can speak for all of Scout Nation and say this: we’ll gladly take that and use a whole season ahead to build on it!

As for this week: Go Scouts, Beat Wheaton North.

POSTGAME STUFF ELSEWHERE:

Connor Clark’s TFS Recap, Jon Kerr’s scoutsfootball.com Analysis and Postgame Interviews: Coach Spagnoli, Mills, Aberle, and Williams, Pearre, Morcott. CN100 Player of The Game Interview (Jahari Scott), CN100 Postgame Analysis, Rylie Mills Prep Profile, Highlights. Lake Forest Leader, Daily Herald, Scout Nation.

WHERE TO WATCH IT ALL I.C.Y.M.I. (IN CASE YOU MISSED IT):

See the TV call on reruns throughout the week on CN100 (Comcast Channel 100) or via the “Get Local” tab of Xfinity On Demand. Watch the local call (featuring the voices of TFS editors Connor Clark and AJ Shaw) right here, thanks to the production by LFHS New Media on Facebook Live!