Lake Forest College Football 1999 Season Preview "Foresters Hungry For a Title"        One would think the school's best record since 1986 and an upper division conference finish would be reason to celebrate for the Lake Forest football program. But, according to Head Coach Randy Moore, it has only made the Foresters more hungry for a conference title, "Our team in 1998 learned what it takes to be successful in the Midwest Conference and gained the experience it will take to compete for a conference championship. We've developed a great sense of pride from the accomplishments of last year's team, but we're far from satisfied. Our coaches and players are extremely excited to get back on the field and I feel we're ready to go to the next level and win a championship."    Senior running back Tyrome Bembry      The return of nine offensive and nine defensive starters gives Coach Moore at least 18 good reasons to be optimistic, "We've got players that know the things it's going to take to be successful. I felt that last year we played focused and won the games we believed we should win, but had a hard time getting over the hump mentally versus teams we weren't supposed to beat on paper. I know we'll take a much different mentality into those games this year."       The 1998 team finished tenth in the nation for rushing offense, led by running back Tyrome Bembry's (pictured at left) 100 yards per game. Bembry, the team's workhorse last season, rushed for the fourth-highest single season total in school history last season (998 yards) and will be looking to join John Klasen (1994 and 1995) and Corey Honore (1996) as the only Foresters to rush more than 1,000 yards in a season this year. Bembry carried the ball 216 times last season (third in the school record books) and rushed for 11 touchdowns (also the third-highest single season total in school history). His 66 points and 11 total touchdowns also placed him in the top five of those season categories. Bembry will again be counted on to shoulder much of the rushing load in '99.       Sophomore running back Andrew Heikes, a converted quarterback, rushed for 157 yards last season, but will counted on for bigger numbers this year. A pair of talented freshmen -- -- will also push for playing time.       Taking the snaps for the Foresters, will be returning starter Tom Dranger, a senior who threw for 879 yards and ran for another 572 last season. In his first season as a full-time starter, Dranger completed 48.1% of his passes and threw for 7 touchdowns, compared to 5 interceptions. He found 10 different receivers throughout the season, but none more than senior tight end John Litscher, who caught 15 passes for 206 yards last season. Litscher, also a strong blocking tight end, was an Honorable Mention All-Conference selection last season and should again be Dranger's primary target when the Foresters go to the air.  Senior Linebacker Bernie Perconti      A defense that was second in the conference in points allowed last year (21.0 per game) remains virtually intact. All-American linebacker Bernie Perconti (picutred to the right) leads a list of returnees that helped record 38 sacks and 79 tackles for losses last season, both school records. Perconti, a First-Team All-MWC pick last year and one of five returning All-Conference performers on the Forester defense, had 114 total tackles last year, the third highest total in school history. He also recorded 6 sacks, 9 tackles for losses, and returned an interception for a touchdown.       Also back in the team's second-leading tackler, senior Josh Clark, who successfully made the switch from the defensive secondary to linebacker last year. He will be asked to make the move from inside linebacker to outside linebacker this year. Clark recorded 98 tackles last season, including a team-high 15 for losses and 8 sacks, also a team-high. Included in his tackles for losses total was a school-record 6 tackles for losses versus Carroll. Honorable Mention All-MWC performer Andy O'Hara (90 tackles and 1 safety) gives the Foresters another solid player for their strong linebacker corps.       All-Conference defensive linemen Jay Biondo and Dustin Cassady, both seniors, will again be looked upon to be solid up front for Lake Forest. Biondo had 44 tackles and 11 tackles for losses last year, while Cassady made 29 stops and 3 sacks.       A defensive secondary, led by junior Rick Fender who recorded 5 sacks from his defensive back position last season, should be improved over last year's unit which gave up 229 passing yards per game.       The Foresters' turnaround has coincided with the addition of Halas Hall, the former home of the Chicago Bears, to Lake Forest's facilities. The Foresters now enjoy a new locker room, training room, meeting room and state-of-the-art weight room. "It's an exciting time for all aspects of Forester football," Coach Moore comments.       Lake Forest's 23 seniors, 15 of which are projected as starters, were a part of Coach Moore's first recruiting class at Lake Forest and would like nothing more than to leave with the Foresters' first conference championship since 1982.