Lake Forest Drops Home and Midwest Conference Opener to Ripon
Ziemnik amasses 395 yards of total offense

Jeff Ziemnik

An early fumble recovery by senior Tim Paulsen (Des Plaines, Ill./Maine West) gave the Foresters the ball at the Ripon 10-yard line, setting up a 22-yard field goal by freshman Tim Gruzwalski (Oakland, Mich./Stoney Creek).

After forcing the visitors to punt, Lake Forest drove 76 yards in five plays and scored on a 20-yard pass from senior Jeff Ziemnik (Oswego, Ill./Oswego) to sophomore Will Christensen (Park City, Utah/Park City). It was Christensen’s first career touchdown and he finished the game with a career-high seven receptions for 90 yards.

Each team punted on its next possession. Ripon then pulled to within three points on a 20-yard touchdown run and the first quarter ended with the Foresters leading 10-7.

Ziemnik then capped off a 6-play, 52-yard drive with a 23-yard touchdown pass to freshman Pat Jarvis (Chicago, Ill./Mt. Carmel), the first score of the rookie’s career.

After four scoreless possessions, the Red Hawks drove 85 yards in seven plays and cut the lead to 17-14 on a touchdown pass with just 15 seconds left in the first half.

Ripon reached the end zone again on an 11-play, 78-yard drive to open the second half and led 20-17 after missing the extra point. The visitors forced a Forester punt and connected on a 60-yard touchdown pass to grab a 27-17 lead. The Red Hawks added to their lead early in the fourth quarter when a 7-yard touchdown run capped off a 9-play, 59-yard drive.

An interception ended the Foresters’ next possession but, after forcing a Ripon punt, the home team began its comeback effort with a 14-play, 89-yard drive that included three completions to sophomore Dan Carter (Arlington Heights, Ill./St. Viator), who capped it off with a 4-yard score with 5:43 remaining in the game. Carter finished the contest with seven receptions for a team-high 91 yards.

Lake Forest retained possession when junior Jimmy Hoover (Lake St. Louis, Mo./Wentzville Holt) recovered the ensuing onside kick at the Forester 43. The home team reached the Ripon 13 before settling for a Gruzwalski 30-yard field goal to make the score 34-27 with 4:30 to play.

Hoover then recovered an unintentional onside kick at the Red Hawk 36. The Foresters recorded one first down before turning the ball over on downs at the 23.

Ripon was able to run the final 3:54 off the clock to clinch the victory.

Ziemnik’s three touchdowns match his total from last week and he finished with 271 yards passing and a career-high 124 on the ground. Carter has now caught at least one touchdown pass in nine straight games and 11 of the first 12 in his career. Sophomore Jeff Waldman (St. Louis, Mo./Clayton) added 64 yards to the team’s rushing total and the Foresters out-gained the Red Hawks 468-419 in the game.

Sophomore Chad Zimborski (Waukesha, Wisc./Waukesha North) led the Lake Forest defense with 15 tackles, including eight solos. Junior Chris Tossing (Lake St. Louis, Mo./Wentzville Holt) was next on the team with nine and Hoover joined two others with eight. Sophomore Jaron Eanes (Cleveland, Ohio/Lake Forest Academy) recorded one-and-one-half sacks.

Senior Justin Ellerman (Chicago, Ill./Loyola) averaged 43.3 yards on his three punts and now owns a 40.6 average on the young season.

Lake Forest will travel to Illinois College next Saturday (September 15) for a 1:00 p.m. kickoff.

Box Score