Bears Look Stronger After 33 Unanswered Points Against Warren

Warren's quick lead against Lake Zurich in Friday’s game was cause for concern after losing to Cary-Grove the week before. Chalk it up to a bit of rustiness on the part of quarterback Zach Till, who was back under center for the first time this season after missing the first two contests due to an ankle sprain. Till fumbled on the second play of the game, giving Warren the ball on the Bears’ 23yard line. Blue Devils quarterback Adam Reuss then threw a strike to Mitch Munda in the left corner of the end zone on the Blue Devils' first play from scrimmage. After the Bears came back with a field goal by Mike Leiva — the first of four that he kicked — Warren struck again when speedster Davonte Willcox streaked 74 yards for the Blue Devils' second score of the night for a 14-3 lead. Little did anyone know those would be the last points of the night they would score.

The Bears’ defense didn’t look like the victims of blown coverage, so much as the witnesses of a couple of big offensive plays by the Blue Devils. Both touchdowns came on the first plays from scrimmage by Warren, on their first and third possessions of the game. The Blue Devils scored 14 points on their first six plays from scrimmage before the Bears shut them down for the remainder of the game. If someone had told Warren coach Dave Mohapp that his team’s offense would be put on ice after Willcox's touchdown run, he would have thought they were joking.

Kicker Leiva was largely responsible for maintaining any momentum on offense until close to halftime. He kicked a second field goal with 2:07 remaining in the second half to narrow Warren’s lead to 14-6. Then Lake Zurich’s big momentum-shifter occurred right before halftime, when Chris Rantis blocked a punt, putting the Bears on the Blue Devils' 12-yard line. Seconds later, Till ran the ball in from eight yards out for Lake Zurich’s first touchdown with a minute to go before the half. Without a doubt, special teams was as much a factor in the Bears turnaround as their defense or ground game.

“Any time you have a big swing in field position, especially on a blocked punt, it changes the momentum quickly,” said Bears coach Bryan Stortz.

One of the reasons the Bears were tentative out of the gate might have had to do with Warren’s spread offense, something to which they haven’t had a lot of exposure. In fact, the Lake Zurich defense didn’t look entirely in-synch until Rantis’ huge play. When the Bears took the field after halftime, the defense seemed to regain the swagger that makes it such a force with which to be reckoned. Add to the mix John Orlando’s big touchdown on a 55-yard punt return, Leiva’s two other long field goals — for 40 yards in the third quarter and 39 yards in the fourth — as well as running backs Mike Shield and Connor Schrader finding the openings for more yards, and it was all Bears in the second half.

Stortz talked about the number of younger players on the team this year — it isn’t the veteran squad that he had last season. This inexperience can lead to mistakes or blown plays. But the Bears' dominant play against the Blue Devils in the second half — a team that is still good enough to qualify for the postseason — could mean they’re on the right track.

Lake Zurich cross-country runner Pat Juras won a championship at last Saturday’s Rebel Invitational at University of Wisconsin-Parkside. Juras finished the 5K course in 15:58, just six seconds in front of Zach Hansen of Tremper High School in Kenosha. Lake Zurich finished first in total points; Tremper finished second. Helping Lake Zurich take home the Rebel Invite title for the third straight year were senior Pat McParlan (10th/16:41), Jon Smith (13th/16:44), Trevor Kuehr (15th/16:57), Jared Ripoli (16th/17:08), David Smith (18th/17:12), Alex Milner (19th/17:13) and Jon Ramirez (21st/17:20). Three of the Bears’ top seven runners from the club that finished second in the state meet last year are back this season, including Juras, Ripoli and Smith. Lake Zurich will travel to Zion-Benton today and compete in the Peoria Notre Dame Invitational on Sept. 17.

Bears seniors Elizabeth Berton and Cassie Houghton helped the Bears finish 10th in the Rebel Invitational. Berton finished the 5K in 16:20, and Houghton ran it in 16:34. Junior Meagan Hughes (47th/16:55), senior Andrea Adams (78th/17:47) and junior Vickie Eickelberg (134th/18:54) also placed for the Bears, who concluded the meet with a score of 300.