Knox Deals the Foresters Their First Loss of 2002
Urlacher and Hildreth each score twice for Lake Forest
  

Nick Hildreth caught 5 passes for 99 yards and 2 TD.

Junior Nick Hildreth (Lombard, IL/Willowbrook) had his best game of the year, catching five passes for a team-high 99 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Sophomore Marty Quinn (Evergreen Park, IL/Mt. Carmel) had seven receptions for 81 yards while senior offensive captain Mike Fitzgerald (Aurora, CO/Kent) continued the best season of his career with five catches for 87 yards.

With the two touchdown passes to Hildreth, junior quarterback Don Lackey (Lindenhurst, IL/Antioch) reached 11 scoring throws for the season, just two shy of the school record. Lackey, who has a touchdown pass in all six games this season and two in five of them, threw for a season-high 292 yards on Saturday but was sacked four times and threw five interceptions.

On defense, senior linebacker Casey Urlacher (Lovington, NM/Lovington) led the squad with nine tackles (five solo). The defensive captain also scored a pair of touchdowns, one on offense and one on defense, giving him six for the season. Safety Drew Holman (Morris, IL/ Morris) was next on the team with eight tackles and the junior also added his first interception of the season.

The Foresters had more total yards (354-309) than the Prairie Fire and forced four turnovers, but five turnovers of their own proved to be their downfall.

Lake Forest did get on the scoreboard first, using eight plays to travel 66 yards on the opening drive, which ended with a 4-yard touchdown run by Urlacher, his fifth of the season.

After the two teams exchanged punts, Knox went 66 yards in just five plays to pull within one, but the extra point was blocked. Prairie Fire quarterback Mike Erwin hit wide receiver Tom Neagle on the scoring strike, their first of four on the day. Knox scored again early in the second half on a 17-yard run by Vince Singleton. Erwin hit Neagle for the two-point conversion, giving the home team a 14-7 lead.

Urlacher scored again to tie the score, but this time on defense. Knox had the ball on second-and-11 from its own 13 when the linebacker hit Erwin in the backfield. The ball was jarred loose at the five and rolled into the end zone, where Urlacher pounced on it for the score.

Lake Forest regained the lead on senior kicker/punter Pat Dunne's (Palos Heights, IL/Marist) school-record eighth field goal of the year, a 38-yard effort with just three seconds left in the first half. The Foresters had taken just one minute and 45 seconds to run off 10 plays netting 58 yards to set up Dunne's kick. The special teams captain leads the team with 39 points this season and he moved into third place on the school's all-time list with 146 career points.

Knox fumbled again on the second play from scrimmage after halftime. Senior linebacker Ian Thompson (Park Forest, IL/Rich East) recovered the ball at the Knox 25, setting up a short scoring drive that ended with Hildreth's first touchdown of the day, a 13-yarder to put the visitors ahead, 24-14.

Erwin hit Neagle for their second score of the afternoon on the ensuing drive, cutting the lead to three.

While the teams' next nine possessions did not account for any points, they were not without some excitement. Dunne's attempt to tie the school record with a 47-yard field goal was wide-left. Fitzgerald returned a punt 89 yards for an apparent touchdown, but the Foresters were called for illegal use of the hands and the ball was placed at the Lake Forest 31. Finally, Knox returned an interception 53 yards to the Forester 9, setting up Neagle's third touchdown catch with 10:31 to play in the game.

Knox started its next drive at the Lake Forest 24 after another interception. Six plays later, Erwin and Neagle connected on their fourth and final touchdown pass of the game.

The Foresters pulled to within five points (35-30) when Lackey hit Hildreth on a 51-yard scoring strike, but the two-point conversion attempt failed. The offense got the ball back with 3:04 remaining, but turned it over on downs with 1:44 left, ending the five-game winning streak.

The loss leaves St. Norbert College as the only undefeated team in the conference at 5-0. Lake Forest and Ripon College, who the Foresters defeated in their homecoming game two weeks ago, are each a game behind the Green Knights at 4-1. Knox and Beloit College, who Lake Forest has also beaten this year, are tied for fourth place at 3-2.

Illinois College (3-3, 2-3 MWC) will be the Foresters' next opponent. The Blueboys will make the trip to Lake Forest next Saturday (October 19) for a 1:30 kickoff. The Foresters will then play at Carroll College, at home against Lawrence University, and at St. Norbert to close out the regular season.

Box Score