Foresters Remain Undefeated With Dramatic Victory at Beloit
Team is off to best start in 18 years
  

Mike Fitgerald caught 12 passes for 171 yards and 2 TD.

The visitors got on the scoreboard first on a 40-yard field goal off the foot of senior co-captain Pat Dunne (Palos Heights, IL/Marist) with 6:27 to play in the first quarter.

Beloit quarterback Nate Skelton scored Beloit's first points with a 5-yard touchdown run with 11:20 remaining in the second quarter. On the Buccaneers next drive, Skelton hit Nate Edwards on a 50-yard scoring strike to take a 14-3 lead.

The Foresters' longest drive of the first half culminated with a 2-yard plunge by junior quarterback Don Lackey (Lindenhurst, IL/Antioch) with just 47 seconds left. In addition to his second rushing touchdown of the season, Lackey would eventually throw for two scores for the third straight game. He completed 23 of 59 passes for a season-high 274 yards and added another 41 yards on the ground. On Lake Forest's two-point conversion attempt, Lackey was hit from behind, fumbled, and a pair of Beloit defenders returned the ball to their end zone, collecting two points and making the score 16-9.

An unsportsmanlike penalty on the Buccaneers moved the kickoff to the 50-yard line and enabled the Foresters to use a little trickery. Dunne's kickoff never made it more than a foot or two off the ground, hit a Beloit player's foot, and rebounded back to Lake Forest, where they recovered at the Buccaneer 41. Seven plays later, Dunne connected on a 32-yard field goal and the half ended with Beloit leading 16-12.

After a scoreless third period during which the teams combined for six punts and an interception, Beloit extended its lead to 23-12 on an 8-yard run by Damian Harrell with 13:38 to play.

The Foresters turned the ball over on downs in Beloit territory each of their next two possessions, but the defense forced the Buccaneers to punt twice with the second going out-of-bounds at the Lake Forest 25 with 3:32 remaining and the Foresters out of timeouts.

It took Lackey 44 seconds, five plays, and just three completions to travel 75 yards for the longest scoring drive of the game for either team. His touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Mike Fitzgerald (Aurora, CO/Kent) and a failed two-point conversion cut the lead to 23-18 with 2:48 left.

Fitzgerald's game-saving acts were not finished, though, as Dunne's ensuing onside kick bounced off a Buccaneer and Fitzgerald dove in to recover it at the Forester 45-yard line.

Lake Forest's final drive had its ups and downs. A holding penalty on the first play backed the offense up to its own 34, but Lackey got those yards back on a completion to junior wide receiver Nick Hildreth (Lombard, IL/Willowbrook), who had dislocated a finger on the team's previous possession. After an incompletion left the Foresters with third-and-ten, Lackey scrambled 11 yards and a face mask penalty tacked on five more to the Beloit 39. Another completion to Hildreth moved the ball to the 28 and set up even more heroics from Fitzgerald. On second down, the team's offensive captain took a short pass from Lackey, turned, found an opening down the middle of the field, and scampered into the end zone with 1:07 remaining. The two-point conversion attempt failed but the Foresters had retaken the lead, 24-23.

Lake Forest's defense stopped Beloit from getting even one first down to seal the win. Four Forester defenders reached double-figures in tackles, led by senior linebacker Casey Urlacher (Lovington, NM/Lovington) and junior defensive back Drew Holman (Morris, IL/ Morris) with 13 each. Senior linebacker Kevin Krabel (Oakland, IL/Oakland) and junior defensive end Tom Starnicky (Oak Lawn, IL/Marist) added 12 and 11 stops, respectively.

Fitzgerald finished the evening with the two touchdowns and career-highs of 12 receptions and 171 yards. The team's leading rusher was freshman Bill McMahon (North Andover, MA/Brooks School) with 48 yards on nine carries.

Next week is Homecoming for the Foresters. They will host Ripon College on Saturday (September 28) at 1:30 p.m. A win would give Lake Forest its first 4-0 record since 1982. Ripon and Lake Forest join St. Norbert College, Illinois College, and Knox College with 2-0 records in MWC games.

Box Score