After an exhilarating win on the road last week over St. Francis, Lake Forest football now looks to stay undefeated against Carmel Catholic tonight at West Campus.

With their speedy running back, Carmel will rely on the ground game, while the strong Scouts defense will do everything they can to slow him down. The Scouts will also aim to focus on their mental game and staying disciplined. Lake Forest will be mostly flying blind, since Carmel hasn’t been able to play yet due to a Covid outbreak and there is no film on them.

Watch the Scouts face off against Carmel at West Campus tomorrow at 7:30 p.m.

Against a talented St. Francis squad last week, Lake Forest started slow, but the deafening, white-out themed Scouts student section made sure the Scouts came out hot in the second half and got the win.

With the only touchdown being a scoop and score by senior quarterback Leo Scheidler off a punt block by junior outside linebacker Mick Graham, the first half was anything but jam-packed. Regardless of how unbelievably loud both schools’ student sections were, that was the only score for either team in the first half.

Despite a quick touchdown from the Spartans, the Scouts kept their heads up and punched back.  Jahari Scott capped off a long drive with a ten-yard rushing touchdown, putting the Scouts up 14-7 with 9 minutes left in the third quarter.

Off the field, the Scouts student section seemed to be in an all out shouting match with the black-out themed St. Francis student section, going back and forth with “this is our house” chants in the second half.

After a quiet drive from the Spartans, the Scouts rallied once more. Quarterback Leo Scheidler scooped up a loose snap and put multiple defenders on skates to run in a 23 yard touchdown, putting the energy-filled Scouts up 21-7.

The Scouts were on a roll.

In need of a touchdown, the Spartans turned a quick drive into a 30 yard touchdown, putting themselves back into the game and putting some more urgency into the Scouts offense.

Immediately following the touchdown, Scott threw some gasoline on an already lit fire, returning a kick return for a touchdown and stretching the lead from 21-14 to 27-14.

After a multitude of big hits on St. Francis’s first and second string quarterbacks, the Spartans offense was now being led by the third string. After a tough drive, the Spartans drove down to the Scouts thirty yard line and capitalized with a 30-yard touchdown pass, placed beautifully in the hands of their best receiver.

However, the Scouts were resilient, jumping on Scott’s back once again as he responded with yet another kick return touchdown. Absolutely buzzing, the Scouts led 41-21.

As time winded down, the Scouts soaked in the reality of their upset as fans and players rejoiced together, ending with the traditional singing of the Scouts fight song by the players and fans.

A feel-good week 1 win by the Scouts will put some confidence into the players as they play the Carmel Catholic Corsairs in week 2 at home.