Ripon Deals Foresters Heartbreaking 31-25 Loss
Comeback bid intercepted at Ripon 5
  

A.J. Rodino passed for 100 yards and rushed for 52 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Forester quarterbacks Don Lackey (Lindenhurst, IL/Antioch) and A.J. Rodino (Elkhart, IN/Elkhart Memorial) shared time during the two middle quarters before Lackey was injured in the third and did not return. Lackey threw for 118 yards and a score while Rodino amassed 100 yards through the air as well as 52 yards and a pair of touchdowns on the ground.

Sophomore running back Adam Niles (Lake Villa, IL/Antioch) led Lake Forest in rushing with 66 yards on 16 carries. Niles also caught a pair of passes for 33 yards. The Foresters out-rushed Ripon 150-57.

Defensively, the Foresters were forced to play the vast majority of the game without 2000 First-Team All-Midwest Conference middle linebacker Casey Urlacher (Lake Bluff, IL/Lovington-NM), who went out with an eye injury in the first quarter. The other middle linebacker, junior Kevin Krabel (Hindsboro, IL/Oakland), picked up the slack with 11 tackles (4 solo) to lead the team. Freshman linebacker David Bleitner (St. Louis, MO/ Vianney) and junior defensive end Aaron Murauskas (Marion, IL/Marion) combined for 13 tackles, five of which were behind the line of scrimmage.

After each team failed to put points on the board on their initial drives, Ripon scored the game's first 14 points on their next two drives totaling 24 plays, 125 yards, and taking 11:31 off the clock. The Redhawks held the ball for 12:31 in the opening quarter and 17:43 in the first half.

Ripon's first play of the next drive was their lone turnover of the contest, an interception by junior linebacker Ian Thompson (Park Forest, IL/Rich East). It was Thompson's first game back from injury and his swipe of the Ripon pass set up the Foresters' first scoring drive of the game. That drive went 30 yards in just three plays and ended with a 24-yard scamper by Rodino with 11:22 to go in the second quarter.

A 64-yard touchdown pass and a 35-yard interception return for a score gave the Redhawks 14 more points within two-and-a-half minutes of the Foresters' first score. A field goal with 3:49 to go before halftime gave Ripon a seemingly commanding 31-7 lead.

An 18-yard Tom Starnicky (Oak Lawn, IL/Marist) run and a 41-yard completion from Lackey to junior wide receiver Mike Fitzgerald (Aurora, CO/Kent) put some life back in the home team and helped them on a 9-play, 73-yard scoring drive that ended with a 1-yard touchdown pass from Lackey to sophomore Nick Rossie (Deerfield, IL/Deerfield). It was the sixth touchdown pass of the season for Lackey and the fourth time he's hooked up with Rossie for a score. Lackey hit Niles for a two-point conversion to cut the Ripon lead to 31-15 going into halftime.

The Foresters opened the third quarter with the ball and the wind at their backs. Eight plays and 35 yards later, junior kicker/punter Pat Dunne (Palos Heights, IL/Marist) connected on a 44-yard field goal, the longest of his collegiate career. Dunne also punted three times in the game for an average of 41.7 yards per punt. His attempt of a school record-tying 47-yard field goal later in the third quarter would pass through the uprights just below the crossbar.

Ripon embarked on six meaningful drives in the second half that totaled 20 plays, one first down, six punts and -1 net yards. Their time of possession for the third and fourth quarters combined was 12:53, just 22 seconds more than they had the ball in the first quarter alone.

The final Forester scoring drive began at the Ripon 41 after the defense had forced the Redhawks to punt from their own 14 and Fitzgerald returned the boot nine yards from midfield. On the eighth play of the drive, Rodino scored the second of his two rushing TD's from nine yards out. After attempting to sprint to his left, the agile QB changed directions and beat the defense around the right end and into the end zone.

While the scoring was over, the excitement was certainly not. The last Lake Forest drive started at their own five yard line with just 4:00 left. The next 18 plays run by the home team included two third-down and two fourth-down conversions. Unfortunately for the Foresters, it also included an interception at the Ripon 5 with just 33 seconds on the clock.

After a couple of kneel-downs, the Redhawks had escaped Lake Forest with a 31-25 victory a 3-1 overall record and a 2-1 record in the Midwest Conference. The Foresters fell to 1-3 overall and a 1-2 mark in the league. Next Saturday (October 13th) Lawrence will visit Lake Forest for the Foresters' homecoming game, beginning at 1:30 pm.
 

Box Score