Lake Forest College Sports Information
September 20, 2003
Contact: Mike Wajerski, SID

Fourth Quarter Heroics Lift Foresters Over Beloit
Guli scores game winning touchdown with 11 seconds remaining
  

Anthony Guli's winning TD came with just 11 seconds left.
LAKE FOREST, IL - The Forester football team posted 20 points in the final period to defeat Beloit College 20-16 in Lake Forest's home opener on Saturday (September 20). The victory boosts the Foresters' overall record to 3-0 and Midwest Conference mark to 2-0. Beloit fell to 1-2 overall and 0-2 in league play.

Both sides remained scoreless for nearly the entire first quarter until a Beloit 36-yard field goal put the visitors on the scoreboard. The Buccaneers added two rushing scores late in the second period to post a 16-0 halftime lead.  After a scoreless third quarter, the Lake Forest offense started to click early in the final period.

On the second play of the fourth quarter, sophomore running back Ryan Vickers (DePue, IL/DePue) broke through the Beloit defensive line and scrambled for 13 yards to advance the Foresters to the Buccaneer 25 yard line. Vickers ran for three more yards on the ensuing play, but a sack by Beloit moved Lake Forest back to the Beloit 30. On  third-and-15, senior quarterback Don Lackey (Lindenhurst, IL/Antioch) found an opening and rushed for 24 of his team-high 45 yards to move the Foresters to the Beloit three yard line. On the following play, freshman running back Anthony Guli (Buffalo Grove, IL/Stevenson) plunged into the end zone to finally put the home team on the scoreboard. Lackey ran in the two point conversion to make the score 16-8.

Three Beloit plays netting only two yards and an eight-yard punt put the Foresters in great field position to score again. Starting at the Beloit 34, Guli and freshman Devin Furlong (Lake Worth, FL/Cardinal Newman) pounded away at the Buccaneers' defensive line. Furlong tallied seven of his 27 yards on two carries while Guli ran for 11 yards on three carries and added a 12-yard reception. A one-yard Guli touchdown plunge finished off the drive with 7:41 remaining in the contest. The two-point conversion attempt failed and the Foresters trailed 16-14. 

After unsuccessful drives by both offenses and the Foresters still behind by two, junior linebacker Scott Hodina (Lake Villa, IL/Antioch) picked up a Beloit fumble at the Forester 27 with 2:28 left in the game. After an incomplete pass to start the drive, Lackey found junior slot Marty Quinn (Evergreen Park, IL/Mt. Carmel) for a 14-yard pass play, then connected with junior wide receiver Mike Carter (Arlington Heights, IL/St. Viator) for a 25-yard reception, the longest gain for either team on the day. Quinn finished with a game-high four receptions for 53 yards. Two plays later, Lackey found senior Nick Rossie (Deerfield, IL/Deerfield) for an 18-yard pass. Following an incompletion, Furlong's seven-yard carry up the middle moved the ball to the Beloit 10. After the Foresters called their final timeout with 1:04, remaining, Guli rushed for three yards and a first down at the seven. Guli added four more rushing yards to the three and a face mask penalty called against Beloit put the ball just outside the one with the clock ticking. Lackey handed the ball to Guli one last time and the team's leading scorer on the year dove into the end zone for the winning score with just 11 seconds left on the clock.

Guli finished the afternoon with 10 carries totaling 40 yards and three touchdowns. The Foresters netted 156 yards on the ground, their highest total of the young season, and 154 through the air. Beloit finished with 178 yards rushing but only 42 passing. 

Defensively, linebackers Ryan Gallegos (Plantation, FL/St. Thomas Aquinas) and Omar Pickering (Mount Vernon, NY/Port Chester) finished with a game-high 15 tackles each and Gallegos added 1.5 sacks. Meanwhile, junior defensive back Drew Holman (Morris, IL/ Morris) tallied a dozen tackles and senior Tom Starnicky (Oak Lawn, IL/Marist) finished with 10.

Due to a scheduled bye week, the Foresters will not see action again until October 4, when they will host Monmouth College for Homecoming. Kick-off will be at 1:30 p.m.

Box Score