BROOKFIELD, Ill. — On a cold Friday night close to an hour away from home, the Lake Forest Scouts varsity football team faced off against the Riverside-Brookfield Bulldogs as a #15 seed in the 6A State Playoffs. At (8-1), coming off two straight wins against 5-4 teams just like the Scouts, the Riverside-Brookfield Bulldogs were extremely confident that they would come out of the game with a win. Throw in the fact that Lake Forest was missing their star middle linebacker, senior John Deering, and everything would have to go right for the Scouts to pull off an upset. However, Lake Forest was coming in red-hot backed by plenty of momentum. The Bulldogs jumped out early, but as the game went on, the Scouts offense took over and made what seemed like an improbable upset a harsh reality for the home team.
After Bulldogs kicker, Joey Quarino, drilled a 27-yard field goal to get the scoring started in the first quarter, the Lake Forest Scouts offense got right to business. Bryan Ooms, who many expected to get limited reps at running back with Deering inactive, ran for a 15-yard touchdown to give the Scouts their first lead of the night. With momentum heading into the second quarter, Lake Forest may have had their best twelve minutes of the season.
It all started with a fumble recovery four minutes in to the second quarter. The Scouts defense gave their offense a chance to take over the game, and thus, Mislinski, CeKay, Thomas, Ooms did just that. Jacob Thomas crossed the goal line for Lake Forest’s first touchdown of the second quarter, expanding their lead to eleven. Then, three minutes later, Bryan Ooms scored his second touchdown of the game. All of a sudden the Scouts had an 18-point advantage and wouldn’t stop there before halftime. Bryan Ooms scored yet another first half touchdown. This time, however, it wasn’t a touchdown from inside the redzone. This was a 51-yard TD scamper that broke open the game for good. By the end of the first half, Lake Forest had an 28-10 lead, Ooms had 108 rushing yards under his belt, and standout wide receiver Ryan Cekay had 101 receiving yards. Again, that all happened in one half of play. At that point, the Lake Forest Scouts were just having fun and could enjoy the second half with a very comfortable lead.
Following a relatively dull third quarter of play, Ryan Cekay put the finishing touches on the Bulldogs season with a 38 yard touchdown reception with seven minutes left in regulation. The Scouts didn’t just beat the Bulldogs, but dominated them, winning 35-10 and advancing to the second round of the IHSA playoffs.
Everything that could have went right did on Friday night for the Scouts. The story of the game was the Lake Forest defense. Without John Deering and Bryan Ooms playing a lot of reps on offense, players who may not have made a huge impact this year made a mark Friday night. Holding a very talented offense to only ten points with arguably their best player out will be a huge confidence booster for the Scouts heading into the second round.
Up next for the Lake Forest Scouts will be Hoffman Estates, but here is the catch. It will not only be a home game for Lake Forest, but it will be a rare day game at West Campus. The contest is set to kick off at 1 PM as the Scouts will try and continue their cinderella story into the state quarterfinals where they will potentially see the winner of Belvidere North and Grayslake North. This Scouts team has momentum and is very dangerous. Hoffman Estates will need to be at their best in order to have a chance at knocking off the red-hot Lake Forest Scouts on their home turf.
Players of the Game:
Bryan Ooms: With three touchdowns in the first half, Ooms was able to rack up a total of 135 yards, including a 51-yard TD run. His presence on offense was key in the Scouts’ victory Friday night and they will need him to step up again on Saturday in order to defeat Hoffman Estates.
Ryan Cekay: Cekay also had a 100+ yard game Friday night. He had one 38-yard touchdown reception and was one of Mislinski’s favorite targets throughout the night. Finishing the night with a grand total of 125 yards, expect him to have another big day this Saturday.
Will Wisniewski: Wisniewski was one of many key players that helped fill the absence of John Deering on defense Friday night. Leading the team with six tackles along with one TFL (tackle for loss), Wisniewski continues to step up when the games matter the most.
Jack Mislinski: Mislinski came up clutch against the Bulldogs completing 11 of 18 passes for 145 yards. He will need to have another big game Saturday afternoon in order to get his team to the quarterfinals.
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Offensive Stats:
Defensive Stats:
