Bears Defense Holds Their Own In 10-7 Loss to Cary-Grove

Any way you slice it, Cary-Grove’s 10-7 victory over Lake Zurich on Friday was an upset. Bears coach Bryan Stortz, his coaching staff and the players knew that they would be in for some rough sledding against a Trojans team that mimics LZ in its balanced attacks on offense and defense. Both teams feature an aggressive defensive line and strong, quick and athletic linebackers matched by a multi-pronged offensive ground game and a decent air attack. But the Bears, who played for the Class 7A Championship last November, are ranked No. 4 in the state and Cary-Grove is ranked No.22; any team ranked south of the Bears is pulling an upset if they defeat them.

Trojans linebacker Zack Marszal was the biggest difference-maker for his team with two critical second-half interceptions. The first, pulled down in the end zone, thwarted a potential touchdown pass by Bears quarterback Steven Kuhn. It killed a sustained drive and a chance for LZ to get back into the game with still enough time remaining to pull off a win. The second pick by Marszal, at the Cary-Grove 14-yard line, blew up another Bears drive that stopped them from reaching the end zone. Beyond Marszal’s ability to read Kuhn’s routes was the constant pressure that the Trojans' defensive line put on Kuhn and his offensive line all night. Add Cary-Grove’s excellent pass coverage and the fact that Kuhn was making just his second start as his team’s quarterback, and you indeed have the makings for an upset.

The final hammer was that neither Mike Shield nor Connor Schrader could get any traction with the ground game, putting even more pressure on Kuhn to connect with his receivers. It’s a credit to Lake Zurich’s solid defense that Cary-Grove was unable to run up the score, although the game wasn’t as close as the final tally indicated. Several Cary-Grove drives fizzled as they were moving deeper into Bears territory, although the game consisted mostly of punts following three-and-outs or offensive series where just one first down was achieved.

Cary-Grove set the tone for the game with their first-half dominance. They scored their only touchdown on their first possession, a 58-yard drive, and added a 25-yard field goal on their last drive of the half. They held Lake Zurich to just 30 yards on offense in the first half, and though the Bears executed much better in the second half, especially in the fourth quarter, they still had trouble sustaining all but the one drive that got them into the end zone with 1:12 left in the contest. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough.

Fortunately, the Bears will not see the likes of Cary-Grove again this season. They play 0-2 Warren on Friday at home, followed by Lakes (2-0) in another home game, which will be one of their tougher remaining opponents. The Bears then travel to Mundelein (0-2),  Libertyville (2-0) and Stevenson (1-1) before returning home to play Lake Forest (1-1) and Zion-Benton (1-1) to close out the season. Besides Lakes, Libertyville and Stevenson are the toughest foes that the Bears will encounter during the balance of the season.

With five of their starters returning this year, the Lake Zurich girls volleyball team is looking to build on their success from last season, when they competed for a sectional championship and won 33 matches. The team got off to a bumpy start this year when they lost their opening contest to Carmel on Aug. 23: 25-18, 25-14. Lake Zurich rebounded in their next game, however, when they defeated Buffalo Grove 25-18, 25-14 on Aug. 26.

Two of the Bears’ leading players are Amanda Orchard and Layne Self, both of whom were key contributors to the Sky High Volleyball 17 Black team that won the AAU Girls National Volleyball Championship this July in Orlando. The team also finished fifth at the USA Volleyball National Championship. Orchard, a 5-foot-11 senior who will play next year for the University of Pittsburgh, is a consummate outside hitter and Self, a 6-foot-1 junior, is the team’s top middle blocker. They are complemented by senior outside hitter Natalie Gora and middle blocker Dori Darras. Also back is Senior Ali Summers, who returns to lead the defense from the libero position. Sophomore Kristin Walding, the 6-foot setter, succeeds Alex Hartman, and according to coach Greg Aiello is already acclimated to her teammates. Senior Shannon McPeek, her sister, sophomore Kiley McPeek, and junior transfer Nicole Morrissey, who played for Carmel last year, will also see playing time for the Bears. Through their first two matches, Orchard paced the Bears with 17 kills, two aces and 16 digs. Gora and Self had nine and eight kills, respectively. Walding distributed 41 assists.