Strong Fourth Quarter Propels Lake Forest to 34-20 Win Over Beloit
Lake Forest Rushes For 224 Yards and Four Touchdowns 

LAKE FOREST, IL - The Lake Forest College football team turned a 19-14 lead at the start of the fourth quarter into a 34-20 win over visiting Beloit College at Farwell Field on Saturday (September 30th). 

Lake Forest (2-2, 2-1 MWC), who entered Saturday's game as the league's leading rushing team, was two yards away from having two 100-yard rushers and ran for 224 yards as a unit. Sophomore Jim Smith (Chicago, IL/Mt. Carmel) rushed for 113 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries (9.4 yards/carry) and added four catches for 47 yards receiving. He led the team in both categories. Freshman Tom Starnicky (Oak Lawn, IL/Marist) rushed 21 times for 98 yards and a touchdown. 

Beloit (1-3, 1-2 MWC), who entered the game as the second leading rushing team in the conference, was held to 161 yards rushing on 50 attempts (3.2 yards/carry). The Bucaneers out-gained Lake Forest, 316-279, in total offense on the strength on 155 yards passing.

The Foresters jumped out to a 13-0 lead after the first period. Andy Heikes (Palos Hills, IL/Stagg), the team's regular starting wide receiver who got his first start at quarterback in place of the injured Brad Cozzie (Chicago, IL/Mt. Carmel), capped off Lake Forest's opening drive with a one-yard touchdown run. With 6:01 left in the first quarter, Casey Urlacher (Lake Bluff, IL/Lovington (NM)) scooped up a Joe Herfel fumble, caused by a Jarrett Stark (Monticello, IN/Twin Lakes) sack, and went 55 yards untouched for the score to put the Foresters up 13-0. For the game, Urlacher led the team with 18 total tackles (4 solo, 14 assisted).

Beloit countered with two second quarter scores of their own to take a 14-13 halftime lead. After a LF missed field goal, Scott Muehlemann, who led the Bucs with 74 yards rushing, capped off a 16-play, 75-yard drive with a three-yard touchdown run with 3:01 remaining in the half. A Lake Forest fumble at their own 39-yard line gave Beloit a short field and six plays later, Nate Edwards went five yards for the touchdown with 1:18 remaining in the half. Beloit picked off a Heikes pass just 12 seconds later, but the Bucs threw an interception of their own to end the half.

After stopping Beloit on their first two possessions, Lake Forest re-took the lead on a Heikes quarterback keeper off tackle. After a failed two-point conversion, Lake Forest led 19-14, a lead they took into the fourth quarter.

With just under 13 minutes to play, a 34-yard field goal by Pat Dunne (Chicago, IL/Marist) gave the Foresters an eight point cushion. Beloit pulled within 22-20 with just over seven minutes left on a Scott Dvorak one-yard touchdown run. But freshman Mike Muraski (Libertyville, IL/Libertyville) and Urlacher combined to stop quarterback Ed Williams's game-tying two-point conversion attempt.

On their next possession, a five-yard Starnicky touchdown plunge gave LF another eight point lead, but a missed extra point kept Beloit within striking distance. But Frank Quatrino could not secure the ensuing kickoff and Lake Forest's Tim Lewis (Oak Lawn, IL/Oak Lawn) fell on the ball at the Beloit 10-yard line. Smith rumbled into the end zone on the next play for the game's final score. 

Josh Schneider (Durand, IL/Durand) picked off Lake Forest's third interception of the afternoon on Beloit's last possession and the Foresters ran out the clock. 

Lake Forest will look to get above the .500 mark on the season next Saturday (October 7th) when they travel to Ripon, WI to face Ripon College at 1:30. 

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