Lake Forest College Sports Information
October 19, 2002
Contact: Mike Wajerski, SID

Lake Forest Holds Off Illinois College for 32-20 Triumph 
Lackey sets one school record, Krabel ties another
  

Casey Urlacher
Casey Urlacher was the game's leading rusher with 87 yards and the top tackler with 11.
LAKE FOREST, IL - The Forester football team got back to its winning ways on Saturday (October 19) as the squad defeated Midwest Conference foe Illinois College to improve its overall record to 6-1. The 32-20 win also improved Lake Forest's conference record to 5-1, and the Foresters remain in the league's second-place spot behind leader St. Norbert College. 

The Foresters managed to pull out the win with only 39 yards rushing, but junior quarterback Don Lackey (Lindenhurst, IL/Antioch) made up for it in the air by completing 28 of 53 passes, including three touchdowns, and amassing 326 yards. Illinois College also struggled running the ball. The Blueboys finished with a net of -4 yards rushing and 209 through the air.

Defensively, inside linebacker Kevin Krabel (Oakland, IL/Oakland) had one of the best games of his career. On IC's second drive of the second quarter, Krabel intercepted a Blueboy pass and returned it nine yards. Krabel, who joins four other Foresters for the team lead in interceptions this season with two, also tallied nine tackles, including a game-high 3.5 sacks, and a school-record-tying six tackles for loss. 

The Foresters got on the scoreboard first when Omar Pickering (Mount Vernon, NY/Port Chester) blocked a Blueboy punt, forcing the ball to roll out the back of the end zone for a safety, giving the home team an early 2-0 lead. On the ensuing Lake Forest offensive drive, Lackey found Mike Fitzgerald (Aurora, CO/Kent) for a 51-yard touchdown pass. Fitzgerald finished the contest with six catches for a game-high 91 yards, and had four punt returns totaling 63 yards. The senior's seven touchdown catches this season match the fourth-highest total in school history and he is also on-pace for the second-highest receiving yardage total in the program's history.

After an Illinois College passing touchdown from quarterback Jason Killday to Doug Klendworth, the Foresters punted but got the ball back on junior Otu Henshaw's (Los Angeles, CA/Brentwood School) interception of a Killday pass and 23-yard return to the Blueboys' 10-yard line. After two unsuccessful rushes and a sack, senior co-captain Pat Dunne (Palos Heights, IL/Marist) nailed a 33-yard field goal with 42 seconds remaining in the first quarter. Dunne, who already owns the school record for most field goals in a season and career, upped his 2002 tally to nine successful kicks and his career mark to 25.

With 11:59 remaining in the second quarter, and the score standing at 12-7 in favor of the Foresters, Lackey connected with freshman wide receiver Jeff Huebner (Antioch, IL/Antioch) for a 35-yard touchdown pass to give the Foresters a 19-7 advantage, and put Lackey tied atop the Lake Forest all-time passing touchdowns in a season ladder with 13. It was also the first career touchdown reception for Huebner. With only eight seconds remaining in the half, Lackey hit Nick Hildreth (Lombard, IL/Willowbrook) for a seven yard passing score to set the record and give his team a 25-13 lead heading into the intermission. The Lackey-to-Hildreth pass marked the junior quarterback's 14th passing touchdown of the season, breaking the record set by Avelino Cortez in 1983 and 1985.

Neither team was able to score again until midway through the final period when IC's B.J. Harvey returned a 48-yard punt from Dunne 63 yards for his second punt return touchdown of the day. He had scored earlier on a 64-yard punt return with 7:58 to play in the second quarter. The touchdown and extra point cut the Lake Forest lead to 25-20 with 6:13 remaining in the contest. 

However, the Lake Forest defense would come up big again. After the offense took nearly three minutes off the clock and punted the ball into the end zone for a touchback, IC took over with 3:31 remaining in the contest. Starting at the Lake Forest 20, the Blueboys completed three passes totaling 33 yards, and rushed for nine more. Following a 15-yard penalty on Lake Forest and a Forester timeout, the Blueboys had the ball on the Lake Forest 23 yard line. On second-and-ten, Krabel caught Killday, notching his final sack of the day and the Foresters' fifth. The loss of yardage set up a third-and-18 from the Lake Forest 31. After two incomplete passes, the home team took the ball over on downs with 1:05 remaining. 

A handoff to Casey Urlacher (Lovington, NM/Lovington) resulted in a four yard gain and forced Illinois College to use their final timeout of the contest. On the following play, Urlacher received the ball again, exploded through the Blueboy line, and sprinted 65 yards for the score. Urlacher finished the afternoon with seven carries for 87 yards and one touchdown while also recording a game-high 11 tackles from his linebacker position. The senior now has 324 stops in his career, just 43 shy of school record-holder Andy O'Hara's 367.

Junior defensive back Pat Gillihan (Leawood, KS/Blue Valley North) chipped in with five tackles, including two behind the line of scrimmage, while also recording two pass breakups and an interception. Gillihan is second on the team in pass breakups this season with four, and is tied amongst the team leaders in interceptions with two.

Waukesha, Wisconsin, will be the site of next Saturday's (October 26) game, as the Foresters will take their 6-1 mark to Carroll College (1-6, 1-5 MWC) before closing out the regular season home schedule against Lawrence University on November 2.

Written by Franklyn Beckford
Edited by Mike Wajerski

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