Foresters Defeat Knox College 34-9 in Home Finale
Brock Stenberg rushes for 124 yards and a touchdown

Brock Stenberg

Lake Forest scored first just 71 seconds into the contest despite kicking off to start the game. Sophomore Noah Dion’s (Cleveland Heights, Ohio/Cleveland Heights) well-placed on-side kick was recovered by classmate Hamid Khan (Chicago, Ill./Loyola) at the Knox 38. Junior quarterback Jeff Ziemnik (Oswego, Ill./Oswego) carried the ball into the end zone from 14 yards out just three plays later.

Knox responded with a 10-play, 40-yard drive that ended with a 34-yard field goal.

The teams then traded interceptions, the second a diving grab by Lake Forest junior Matt Lawler (Chicago, Ill./St. Rita) for his team-high fifth pick of the year. Starting at the Knox 40-yard line, the Foresters went 20 yards the other way after a snap sailed over Ziemnik’s head. The team quickly converted on second-and-30 when freshman Brock Stenberg (Grand Haven, Mich./Grand Haven) ran the ball 50 yards to the Prairie Fire 10. Ziemnik following that run with a 10-yard scamper to the end zone and, despite failing to convert the extra point, the Foresters led 13-3 at the end of the opening period.

Each team punted on is next two possessions and turned the ball over on downs on the third. The following drive ended at the Knox 26 when Forester sophomore Donovan Baldridge (St. Louis, Mo./Chaminade) recovered a Prairie Fire fumble. The straight completions by Ziemnik, the third a 10-yard scoring strike to sophomore Dan Carter (Arlington Heights, Ill./St. Viator), extended the Lake Forest lead to 20-3 with just 48 seconds to play in the first half.

The scoreless third quarter included three punts and Knox turning the ball over on downs again at the Lake Forest 12. The Foresters then traveled 88 yards in 15 plays and scored on an 11-yard completion from Ziemnik to senior Tom Cirone (Chicago, Ill./Niles Notre Dame) with 11:34 left in the game.

After three more punts and a fumble, Knox capped off a 9-play, 52-yard drive with a 15-yard touchdown pass. The two-point conversion attempt was unsuccessful and the visitors still trailed 27-9 with 4:26 left.

The ensuing on-side kick traveled just nine of the required 10 yards, giving the home team the ball at the Prairie Fire 39.Eight plays later, Stenberg scored his first career touchdown on a 9-yard carry to cap off the scoring. Stenberg finished the game with a Forester season-high 124 rushing yards on 14 carries.

Ziemnik accounted for 200 yards of total offense (32 rushing and 168 passing) and four touchdowns. Cirone led the receiving corps with four catches for 65 yards.

Sophomore Chad Zimborski’s (Waukesha, Wisc./Waukesha North) nine tackles led Lake Forest and classmate Lorenzo Ramirez (Denver, Colo./Kent Denver) added eight and three pass breakups. Senior Ed Kidd (Round Lake, Ill./Buffalo Grove) and sophomore Chris Tossing (Lake St. Louis, Mo./ Wentzville Holt) also finished with eight stops and Tossing had the Foresters’ only sack of the game.

Forester senior Justin Ellerman (Chicago, Ill./Loyola) punted five times in the contest for an average of 42.8 yards per boot, raising his pre-game average of 41.8 that ranked seventh in the country.

Lake Forest will close out the 2007 season at Carroll College next Saturday (November 3). Kickoff is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. The game can be viewed live on the internet at www.midwestconference.tv.

Box Score