Foresters Start Fast and Hang on for Victory at Grinnell
Geoff Sobey ties team record with four touchdown passes

Geoff Sobey

Dan Carter

Robbie Hoskins

Luke Butts

Lake Forest junior quarterback Geoff Sobey (Mt. Prospect, Ill./Prospect) tied the team record by throwing four touchdown passes in the game. He is the fifth Forester signal-caller to accomplish that feat. Sobey, who has now thrown 10 touchdown passes in the last three weeks, finished the day with 267 passing yards and also opened the scoring with a 42-yard touchdown run with 8:42 to play in the first quarter. "Geoff made a lot of big plays today," began head coach Jim Catanzaro. "first with his feet and then later on with his arm."

Three of Sobey's touchdown passes were to senior wide receiver Dan Carter (Arlington Heights, Ill./St. Viator), who had 10 receptions for 134 yards in the game. His 7-yard scoring grab in the first quarter gave the visitors a 14-0 lead and his 16-yard touchdown reception in the second period made the score 21-0. After Grinnell reached the end zone for the first time on the day, Carter caught a 49-yard touchdown pass to regain the Foresters' 21-point lead. The distance the play covered also made him the first player in team history to surpass 3,000 receiving yards in his career.

Lake Forest took a 28-7 lead into the locker room at halftime but a Pioneer touchdown in the third quarter and another early in the fourth trimmed the margin to 28-21 with 10 minutes to play in the game.

After completing a couple of short passes for a first down on the ensuing Forester possession, Sobey connected with sophomore wideout Kevin Davis (South Elgin, Ill./South Elgin) on a 55-yard touchdown. It was the first career touchdown for Davis, who matched one career-high with four receptions in the game and set another with 87 receiving yards. Junior Tim Gruzwalski's (Oakland, Mich./Stoney Creek) fifth extra point of the game made the score 35-21 with 7:51 to play.

Grinnell scored another touchdown on the next drive to pull back to within seven points and, after forcing a Forester punt, took over on the its 31-yardline with 3:52 remaining in the contest. The Pioneers converted on fourth-and-eight from their own 33 and fourth-and-nine from the Forester 32 before finally being stopped on fourth-and-10 from the Lake Forest 17 with 59 seconds left on the clock. After a couple of kneel-downs, the Foresters escaped with the victory.

Sophomore Robbie Hoskins (Houston, Texas/Clear Brook), who added running back duties to his role as linebacker, led Lake Forest with 42 yards rushing and junior Brock Stenberg (Grand Haven, Mich./Grand Haven) added 39. Hoskins' play did not go unnoticed by Catanzaro. "Robbie gave our offense a big boost today, both by the yardage he gained carrying the ball and the contributions he made as a blocker."

Sophomore safety Luke Butts (Warrensburg, Ill./Warrensburg) led the defense with nine tackles and picked off a second quarter pass for his team-high third interception of the season. Senior cornerback Hamid Khan (Chicago, Ill./Loyola) stopped the Pioneers' next drive with his first career interception. Senior linebacker Chad Zimborski (Waukesha, Wis./Waukesha North) finished with eight tackles, including two behind the line of scrimmage, and junior linebacker Anthony Garetto (Orland Park, Ill./Marist) had seven stops and the visitors' only sack of the game. He also placed two of his six punts inside the 20-yardline

"Defensively, we had a great first half," stated Catanzaro. "Unfortunately, we got a little complacent coming out of halftime and didn't play as well in the second half. Overall, I am hopeful that our players will use today's game as good win for their spirits, but a game that showed us a number of things that we can work on."

Lake Forest will look for its third straight victory next Saturday (October 24) against visiting Monmouth College. A live video webcast of the game, which will begin at 1:30 p.m., will be available at www.pennatlantic.com.

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