Foresters Shut Out St. Norbert to Claim First Conference Title Since 1983
Team will make first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance
  

Safeties Pat Gillihan (top) and Drew Holman each had a big day in the convincing win.

The game matched up St. Norbert's offense, which entered the contest ranked 4th in the country in scoring (47.1 ppg) and 31st in total offense (416.9 ypg), and Lake Forest's defense, which was listed among the nation's best in total defense (27th - 258.1 ypg), rushing defense (10th - 72 ypg), pass efficiency defense (27th - 90.8), and scoring defense (34th - 14.4). The Foresters strength prevailed, as they gave up just 215 total yards, 20 rushing yards, and picked off three passes in the shutout.

Junior safety Pat Gillihan (Leawood, KS/Blue Valley North) led the defense with 11 tackles, including eight solos. Fellow junior safety Drew Holman (Morris, IL/ Morris) had four solo tackles and intercepted two passes for the second straight game. His seven picks on the season are a new school record, as are the team's 23. Three former Foresters were tied for the individual record with six interceptions in a season and the 1979 squad held the previous mark for a team with 22.

The Lake Forest offense was a balanced attack, racking up 127 yards rushing and 188 through the air. Junior quarterback Don Lackey (Lindenhurst, IL/Antioch) played extremely well, completing 17 of 30 passes for 188 yards and adding six carries for 29 yards and a touchdown on the ground. More importantly, he went without an interception and led a ball-control offense that did not commit a turnover and possessed the ball for more than 35 of the game's 60 minutes. St. Norbert's Ryan Hartman completed 26 of 47 attempts for 195 yards and three interceptions.

The Foresters' running game was employed more than usual and linebacker Casey Urlacher (Lovington, NM/Lovington) lined up in the backfield much more than he has all year. The senior carried the ball a season-high 14 times, logged a game-high 66 yards, and scored his eighth rushing (tenth overall) touchdown of the year. St. Norbert ran the ball 19 times, gaining 45 yards but accumulating 25 in losses for a net of just 20 yards.

Lake Forest's leading receivers were junior Nick Hildreth (Lombard, IL/Willowbrook) and senior Mike Fitzgerald (Aurora, CO/Kent). Hildreth gained 65 yards on a game-high seven receptions and Fitzgerald hauled in six passes for a game-high 84 yards. Nick Llanas caught five passes for 51 yards to lead the Green Knights.

After winning the coin toss, the Foresters chose to defer. St. Norbert gained only one yard on its first drive and a total of just two in the entire first quarter. Lake Forest ran 23 plays in the opening period, gained 89 yards, and possessed the ball for more than 11 of the 15 minutes. On the first play of the second quarter, Urlacher powered into the end zone from five yards out for the game's first score.

The Green Knights finally recorded a first down on the ensuing drive, which gained 35 yards on 11 plays before stalling at the Lake Forest 37 yard line. That was the deepest into Forester territory the home team would advance before halftime.

Lake Forest, on the other hand, followed up Urlacher's touchdown run with additional scores on its next two possessions. Senior kicker/punter Pat Dunne (Palos Heights, IL/Marist) capped off an eight-play, 56-yard drive with a 23-yard field goal, his school-record 14th of the season. The Foresters then took a 17-0 lead after traveling 81 yards on 12 plays. On second-and-goal from the six, Lackey faked the handoff to Urlacher before following him and sophomore linebacker/lead blocker Omar Pickering (Mount Vernon, NY/Port Chester) around the right side of the line and into the end zone. Pickering finished the day with six tackles, including a sack and two others behind the line of scrimmage.

On the opening drive of the third quarter, Lake Forest went 42 yards in 11 plays and took more than five minutes off the clock. The Foresters lined up for a 45-yard field goal, but senior long snapper/linebacker Kevin Krabel (Oakland, IL/Oakland), who was second on the team with eight tackles, hiked the ball directly to Dunne, who punted it to the St. Norbert 10. Dunne missed a 40-yard try on the team's next possession and punted to end the Foresters' final four drives, which still ate up more than 10 minutes off the play clock.

Only once in the second half did St. Norbert advance past the Lake Forest 49 yard line. That drive, as well as two others, ended with an interception.

The 2002 Foresters, led by third year head coach Chad Eisele, claimed just the fourth conference championship in school history and the first since the 1983 team won the Midwest Collegiate Athletic Conference title. Lake Forest captured College Conference of Illinois championships in 1957 and 1952. No Forester football team had ever qualified for the NCAA Division III playoffs before this year.

Lake Forest will have to wait until next Sunday (November 17) to find out where it will be playing in the first round of the NCAA Tourney on Saturday, November 23.

Box Score