Three Long Touchdowns Lead Lake Forest to Victory at Lawrence
Brock Stenberg scores on 45-yard reception and 57-yard run

Matt Lawler

Brock Stenberg

Dan Carter

Chris Tossing

Lawrence drove to the Forester 24-yardline on the game's first possession before Lake Forest junior cornerback Hamid Khan (Chicago, Ill./Loyola) forced a fumble that was recovered by senior defensive end Chris Tossing (Lake St. Louis, Mo./Wentzville Holt). After a Forester punt from midfield, the Vikings drove deep into Lake Forest territory again before turning the ball over on downs at the Forester 14.

After a short run and a 39-yard pass from sophomore Geoff Sobey (Mt. Prospect, Ill./Prospect) to junior wide receiver Dan Carter (Arlington Heights, Ill./St. Viator), sophomore running back Brock Stenberg (Grand Haven, Mich./Grand Haven) caught another pass from Sobey and scampered 45 yards to the end zone with 2:40 to play in the opening period.

The teams traded punts to end the first quarter and begin the second. Lawrence then pulled to within 7-6 on a 59-yard touchdown run. The extra point was blocked by junior defensive lineman Jaron Eanes (Cleveland, Ohio/Lake Forest Academy). After forcing another Forester punt, the Vikings drove 41 yards in 11 plays and went ahead on a 26-yard field goal.

Lake Forest then turned the ball over on downs with just three seconds remaining in the second period and the half ended with Lawrence leading 9-7.

The Foresters took over on their own 35 to begin the second half. Stenberg carried the ball for eight yards on the first play from scrimmage and covered the remaining 57 to the end zone on the second. The two-point conversion attempt failed and the visitors led 13-9.

Lawrence drove into Lake Forest territory again but turned the ball over on downs at the 20. Two plays later sophomore quarterback John Chwarzynski (Park Ridge, Ill./Maine South) connected with Carter for a 78-yard touchdown, giving the Foresters a 20-9 advantage.

Lake Forest senior safety Matt Lawler (Chicago, Ill./St. Rita) ended the Vikings' next drive with an interception at the Forester 43 but Lawrence returned the favor by picking off a pass two plays later at its own 11. The Vikings eventually turned the ball over on downs again at the Lake Forest 25 but got the ball back near midfield on another interception late in the third quarter. The home team then failed on fourth down on the Lake Forest end of the field (14-yardline) for the fourth time in the game but once again intercepted a pass at the 26 on the next play. Lawler recorded his second turnover of the game three plays later, recovering a fumble at the Forester 18.

After forcing a punt, the Vikings drove 44 yards in 10 plays and pulled to within eight points (20-12) on a 20-yard field goal.

The game's next three possessions ended with punts, leaving Lawrence 1:53 to work with and the ball on their own 17-yardline. Three completions took the Vikings to midfield with a minute left but the comeback effort was thwarted by Lawler once again when he picked off his second pass of the day, team-high fourth of the season, and 15th of his career.

Lawler finished the game with a dozen tackles, including 10 solos and 2.5 tackles for loss, to go with his fumble recovery and two interceptions. Tossing led the visitors with 13 tackles, including nine solos, and added two sacks, another tackle for loss, and the fumble recovery on the game's opening drive.

Stenberg carried the ball 15 times for 101 yards and a touchdown and had two receptions for 53 yards and another score. Sobey completed 11 of 18 passes for 166 yards and a touchdown. Carter finished with seven receptions for 161 yards and became just the second player in team history to surpass 2,000 receiving yards in his career (2,071). He also broke a tie for third in program history with his 26th career touchdown.

Lake Forest will host Grinnell College next Saturday afternoon (October 18). Kickoff will be at 1:00 and a live video webcast of the game will be available at www.midwestconference.tv.

Box Score