Stevenson Prevails, Ruins Lake Zurich's Homecoming Contest

On a beautiful early autumn evening, the Lake Zurich Bears were hoping to cap off a week of Homecoming festivities by extending their unbeaten streak this year to six games.

There was just one problem with that scenario: the Stevenson Patriots, also sporting a 5-0 record, were not cowed by the fact that Friday was LZ's Homecoming game, or that the Bears had homefield advantage, which is substantial considering the Bears' stellar home record over the last few years.

In the end, Stevenson prevailed 24-23  by scoring a touchdown with three seconds left in the fourth quarter. If the Bears hadn't muffed an extra point late in the final quarter, the game would ultimately have been tied and headed for overtime.

"It was a tough loss," said the Bears Mike Rantis.

The Patriots struck first with 2:38 left in the first quarter. After several short passes by quarterback Kevin Earl mixed in with several running plays, Anthony Bozin broke off a 37-yard run for touchdown and a 7-0 lead.

The Bears had a golden opportunity to score with 8:46 left in the second quarter. Zach Till found Chris Dudek open on a long downfield pass, but Dudek couldn't hang on to the ball. The Bears were then forced to punt.

Jack Lynn and J.J Raffelson teamed up to make several critical tackles on Stevenson's next drive, preventing them from breaking past the Bear's 40-yard line.

With the Bears driving deep into Patriot territory, Mike Shield picked up an eight-yard run. That was followed by Jacob Brinlee's 17-yard touchdown run to knot the score at 7-7.

The Patriots answered with an0ther drive that was finished off by a four-yard run by Joseph Cassata.

With 7:26 remaining in the third quarter, Matthew Micucci kicked a field goal to extend Stevenson's lead to 17-7.

A 35-yard pass by Till to Brinlee with 3:53 remaining in the third quarter set the Bears up inside the Patriots' 20-yard line. After several plays that netted no gain,  Ed Szarkowicz's field goal attempt was no good, keeping the score 17-7.

On Stevenson's next possession, Mike Shield picked off an errant throw by Earl, setting up a short touchdown pass to Tim Sayre.

The Bears added another touchdown when they got the ball back, as J.J. Raffelson caught a long pass to set up a one-yard touchdown run by Till, giving the Bears the lead for the first time at 20-17, after Szarkowicz missed what would turn out to be a crucial extra point.

The Bears kept hammering away, as Till ran the ball to the Patriots' 15-yard line after the Patriots went three-and-out on their next possession. That set up a 38-yard field goal by Ed Szarkowicz for a 23-17 Bears lead.

The Patriots drove the ball downfield and scored on a short touchdown run by  Cassata, giving the Patriots a 24-23 victory and handing Lake Zurich their first loss of the season.

Stevenson quarterback Kevin Earl helped lead the Patriots to victory. The 6'6" 205-pound Earl has a strong, accurate arm and the ability to scramble like a highly seasoned quarterback.

Also one of Stevenson's top basketball players, Earl has a sports pedigree, as the son of former Chicago Bears fullback Robin Earl.

With the Patriots trailing Lake Zurich 23-17 with 2:14 left to play, Earl marched his team downfield 80 yards on 12 plays. He completed four of seven passes for 64 yards against possibly the state's best defensive high school team, which had allowed just three touchdowns in its first five games.

Earl threw for 1,491 yards last season. Through the first six games this season, Earl has thrown for 855 yards. He's completed 53 of 97 passes for a 55 percent pass completion percentage.

Earl finished 14 for 25 for 197 yards against Lake Zurich. He now has 855 yards in six games this season. He's completed 53 of 97 passes for a 55 percent pass completion percentage.

Joe Cassata (15 carries, 61 yards) was the Patriots' top ground-gainer.

Earl's favorite target, Stephen Salata, had three catches on the game-winning drive, including one athletic, leaping catch. He finished with seven receptions for 107 yards.