Lake Forest College Sports Information
October 18, 2003
Contact: Mike Wajerski, SID

Foresters 5-1 After 21-9 Victory at Illinois College
Hildreth records third-highest receiving yardage total in team history
  

David Bleitner had 10 tackles, including 3.5 sacks. 
JACKSONVILLE, IL - The Forester football team moved to 5-1 overall on the season with a 21-9 victory at Illinois College Saturday (October 18). Lake Forest is now 4-1 in Midwest Conference play. Illinois College fell to 4-2 overall and 3-2 in the league.

After the first three possessions of the game ended without a first down, the Blueboys' Jeff Whiteside capped off a seven-play, 48-yard drive with a 37-yard field goal to put the home team on the scoreboard.

Lake Forest punted again on its third possession and started its fourth drive at its own one yard line. A Blueboy offside penalty gave the visitors their initial first down on third-and-one. Three plays later, senior quarterback Don Lackey (Lindenhurst, IL/Antioch) connected on third-and-seven with junior wide receiver Nick Hildreth (Lombard, IL/Willowbrook) for a 39-yard completion to the Illinois College 43. After two more first downs, Lackey hit Hildreth again for a 19-yard touchdown to cap the 99-yard drive.

IC's next possession ended when junior defensive end David Bleitner's (St. Louis, MO/Vianney) sack of the Blueboys' quarterback jarred the ball loose and freshman linebacker Louis Bertuca (Chicago, IL/Fenwick) recovered at the Illinois College 39. The Foresters scored four plays later on a 19-yard carry by freshman running back Anthony Guli (Buffalo Grove, IL/Stevenson), who now has eight touchdowns on the year. He finished the game with a team-high 71 rushing yards.

Each team moved the chains once on its next possession before punting or turning the ball over on downs. Illinois College began its last drive of the first half at its own 18 with 4:07 remaining. The Blueboys controlled the ball for the rest of the period and quarterback Ban Tobin scored a two-yard rushing touchdown as time expired. The Foresters, however, blocked the extra point attempt and junior Drew Holman (Morris, IL/Morris) picked up the loose ball and returned it for a defensive two-point conversion, extending the visitors' halftime lead to 15-9.

Lake Forest stopped the IC offense to open the third quarter and began its first drive of the half with a Lackey-to-Hildreth completion for 46 yards to the Blueboy 18. After a false start penalty and a pair of short completions, junior Mike Carter (Arlington Heights, IL/St. Viator) connected on a 33-yard field goal on his first three-point attempt of the season.

The Foresters' next drive was set up by freshman defensive back Anthony Gebhart's (Addison, IL/Addison Driscoll) first career interception. Hildreth caught two more passes for a total of 39 yards and Carter kicked his second field goal (32 yards) of the game and season.

Illinois College finally recorded a second-half first down on its next possession but Bertuca caused his a fumble by Tobin and recovered it at the Forester 43. The ensuing Lake Forest drive stalled at the Illinois College 17 and Carter's 34-yard field goal attempt was wide right.

The Blueboys final drive of the third quarter started at its own 20 and reached the Forester 17 on the last play of the period. The home team would not record another first down on neither that possession nor its final two drives of the game.

Hildreth finished the afternoon with seven catches for 188 yards and a touchdown. His 188 receiving yards are a career-high and the third-highest total in school history. Lackey was 14-of-28 for 220 yards and a touchdown on the day and did not throw an interception.

Defensively, Bleitner and senior defensive end Tom Starnicky (Oak Lawn, IL/Marist) tied for the team lead with ten tackles each. Bleitner had three-and-a-half sacks and an additional tackle for loss totaling 43 yards while Starnicky recorded a sack and two additional stops behind the line of scrimmage. Junior linebacker Omar Pickering (Mount Vernon, NY/Port Chester) had nine tackles, including one-and-a-half sacks and another tackle for loss. Pickering leads the team with 55 tackles this season while Bleitner's nine-and-a-half sacks and 15 tackles for loss also lead the squad.

The Foresters will host Carroll College (1-6, 1-5 MWC) next Saturday (October 25) at 1:30 p.m. Lake Forest shut out the Pioneers 18-0 last year at Carroll.

Box Score