It all comes down to this. After two straight wins against Zion-Benton and Mundelein, the Lake Forest Scouts varsity football team has snuck back into the IHSA playoff picture. The Scouts will need to defeat the struggling Waukegan Bulldogs, who are winless this season, in order to clinch a spot in the playoffs.
The Waukegan Bulldogs record sums up their 2017 season: 0-8 overall and 0-6 in conference play. Waukegan hasn’t been in many close games either. In fact, there hasn’t been one game where the have lost by fewer than ten points. In their most recent defeat, the Bulldogs fell to the Stevenson Patriots 42-0, and the week prior lost to Warren Blue Devils 34-0. With a matchup against the scalding-hot Lake Forest Scouts football team, who have their eyes on a playoff berth and are highly motivated to win, everything will have to go right for Waukegan in order to win their first game of the season in their last game of the season.
20 points. No, that’s not their average amount of points per game, or their highest scoring contest, but rather it is the combined amount of points they have scored all season. To put that in perspective, the Scouts offense last week was able to put up 15 more points than Waukegan’s offense was able to score all season. The offensive issues continue to pile up for Waukegan. They have plenty of athletic players, but are poor communicators on the field and don’t really seem to back each other up. Quarterback Eriberto Soto has shown some offensive strengths this season, but does not have any reliable receivers that have the potential to boost his statistics in a positive direction. With a very punishing Lake Forest Scouts defense, including Division 1 recruit John Deering, it would not surprise me to see Soto throw a couple interceptions along with many of three-and-out possessions. After all, this is a rebuilding year, and their offense is something that they really need to improve.
The Waukegan defense has also had its fair shares of struggles this season. Part of the reason why the offense has struggled so much this year is because they haven’t been given a chance. The Waukegan defense has really struggled in the first half of play, allowing their opponents to take commanding leads that typically result in blowout victories. The Bulldogs also lack a standout player on the other side of the ball. Most of the teams in the NSC have one player who has drawn attention from college scouts, such as Wisconsin-commit and Lake Zurich’s inside linebacker Jack Sanborn, or the Scouts’ very own Bryan Ooms, who has received an offer from the Butler Bulldogs of Division 1-AA. Waukegan does not have a leader, which every team needs in order to be successful. Lake Forest has surely had their offensive struggles this year, but not as of late. The Bulldogs will need to have a strong defensive presence in order to at least give themselves a chance at pulling an upset.
This has been yet another down year for Waukegan. The head coach of the Bulldogs, Jonathan Hadnott, has specified that this year would be a rebuilding year for the team, but now the question remains: how many more years will they take rebuilding their team?’ As of now, it doesn’t seem like Waukegan will have a winning record anytime soon.
This will be the Lake Forest Scouts easiest matchup this year, but that does not mean that they should come in arrogantly to their final regular season tune-up before a potential playoff match-up. The Scouts still need to perform like they have in the past couple games in order to secure a win and a playoff spot. It would take a lot for the Scouts to lose, but you can never rule anything out in the sport of football.
Jack Mislinski and the Scouts offense should have a similar game compared to last week’s contest. The Scouts will probably use their passing game more often, especially because the Bulldogs cornerbacks are one of the main weaknesses in their defense. The main goal for Lake Forest is to get a big, early lead and then rest their starters as the game approaches the 4th quarter. They should have no problem doing so given the circumstances they will be going up against.
Lake Forest should expect to allow no more than ten points on defense. The only thing that could go wrong is if Waukegan gets an early lead. They have not been able to do so all year and the Scouts need to keep it that way in order to provide their offense a chance at building a solid lead early. It would not surprise me if Coach Spagnoli had the Scouts blitz more often as well, seeing as the offensive line for Waukegan is limited and inexperienced. The Bulldogs’ susceptible o-line will make Eriberto Soto very vulnerable to the sacks and loss of yardage plays. If all goes well Saturday afternoon for the Lake Forest defense, a shutout wouldn’t be entirely shocking.
The Scouts will play a 1:00 Saturday day game at Waukegan high school. This is the first time since last year’s playoff game against Prairie Ridge that they Scouts will play in daylight. The Scouts will likely win big tomorrow afternoon and as long as that happens, it will be up to IHSA to determine if Lake Forest will make it into the playoffs based on playoff points. The Scouts seem to be very confident that they will make the IHSA playoffs in 6A–considering their strength of schedule–and are trying to enjoy the final games of the season. It has been a fun season and the Lake Forest Scouts are getting hot at the right time. The season will definitely not end tomorrow afternoon and the Scouts will enter the playoffs with a three game win streak.
Players To Watch:
Ryan Cekay (WR): Cekay will see more passes thrown to him than usual considering Waukegan’s lack of talented cornerbacks. He has proved to be one of the best receivers in the area and should make a considerable impact in tomorrow’s game.
Patrick Yale (LB): Yale has flown under the radar this season as one of the Scouts’ most consistent players on defense. Look for a big game from Yale in the final regular season game of his career, including multiple tackles and sacks from the experienced senior.
Eddie Scheidler (DB): One of the star defensive backs on the Scouts’ roster will again make a strong impact on defense. There is a good chance that Soto will try utilize his receivers a lot tomorrow, and Scheidler, along with the rest of the defensive backs and safeties, will need to be at the top of their game in order to prevent any Bulldog scoring opportunities. Scheidler has perhaps been the most improved player this season for the Scouts. Look for him to continue his progression tomorrow afternoon and in to the playoffs.
About the Bulldogs:
Head Coach: Jonathan Hadnott
Conference: NSC (formerly the CSL-South)
Record: (0-8, 0-6)
Enrollment: 4,263
Furthest IHSA Playoff Advancement: 8A State Quarterfinalist (’02), 6A Quarterfinalist (’94, ’95, ’96)
