LZ Bears Look Ahead to Toughest Part of Schedule

In predictable fashion, the . The most glaring discrepancy was Lake Zurich’s total offensive yardage compared to the Mustangs: 380 yards for the Bears compared to 140 yards for Mundelein.

“Our focus was to play football,” Coach Bryan Stortz said after the game. “We wanted to play hard from start to finish and get better as we go. We did that tonight.”

The Bears did in fact play their style of football, the bedrock of which is solid, shut-down defense, featuring an aggressive, highly athletic line and a quick, responsive secondary. Add to the mix several speed merchants in their running game — last year it was Jacob Brinlee and Mike Shield, this year it’s Shield and Connor Schrader — who are given huge holes and extended lanes by the offensive line and backfield and you have quintessential Lake Zurich Bears football. Another weapon this year is a more evolved passing game, as quarterback Zach Till gets better reads downfield and gains more confidence week by week.

When several frustrated middle school-age Mustangs fans voiced in frustration what it would take for their winless team to finally snag a victory, while Lake Zurich sports a 4-1 record and is cruising into the playoffs as they do on an annual basis, it begs the question: Why do some high school teams — or college or pro teams for that matter — excel while other teams falter. Mundelein finished 1-8 last year and this season so far are 0-5, so it is understandably a difficult chore for their fans and supporters to maintain a positive outlook on their ability to win. But prep sports is different from college or pro sports; fans, largely consisting of students, family members and friends of family, realize that high school athletes should be able to enjoy their experience in whatever sport they participate in regardless of the outcome. There’s a good reason why it’s called prep sports — it is in fact preparing high school students for competition at the college level and beyond. Ideally it is creating memories that can be looked back on fondly — win, lose or draw.

If the question is asked how much fault lies at the feet of the coach and how much with the players, it’s usually a combination. One thing that sets prep sports apart from either the college or professional levels is that high school coaches don't recruit or draft players from around the country. Their talent pool is local, based on the players who attend their school. Another variable is that a given division — such as the Bears’ Lake Division in the NSC — can be loaded with excellent teams. A team like Mundelein has to play other, strong teams in the division, like Lake Zurich, Lake Forest (who they lost to 49-0), Libertyville (who they lost to 28-7) and Stevenson (3-1 and who defeated them 42-0 last season). Only Warren (1-4) and Zion-Benton (1-4) are teams that they have a fair chance of defeating.

As for the Bears, they’re hitting their midseason stride, although the toughest portion of their schedule awaits them. Next week, they travel to Libertyville and the following week they’re hosted by Stevenson, after which they return home to play Lake Forest, who dusted off North Chicago last Friday 56-12 in their homecoming game.

Traveling to Iowa last Friday, where they took on Wayzata High School at the University of Dubuque, Carmel Catholic High School lost a thriller, 33-27 in a game that almost saw them come from behind for the win. The Trojans — the 2010 Class 5A champions in Minnesota — built up a substantial lead before allowing the Corsairs back into the game. Carmel scored a touchdown with 45 seconds left in the game, pulling them to within six points at 33-27. Tight end Alex Young caught a 12-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Brian Brennan to make things interesting. Then, Tyler Lees recovered Steven O’Block’s onside kick, giving Carmel one last shot at a dramatic victory. Unfortunately, Brennan wasn’t able to deliver the final thrill for what would have been an incredible and memorable finish. Wayzata clinched their 16th consecutive win and demonstrated a powerful air and ground attack. Quarterback Nick Martin threw for three touchdowns, including an 87-yard bomb to Ethan Zeigler. He also hit Zeigler and Jeff Gorchardt for 35-yard TDs. On the opening kick of the second half, speedy Erik Roti motored 99 yards for a touchdown.

The Corsairs showed off their offensive prowess as well. Michael Panico returned a kick in the fourth quarter for a 78-yard touchdown, the second time in three weeks that he’s done so. He also scored in the third quarter on a catch-and-run play from 12 yards out. O’Block contributed to Carmel’s offense by kicking a pair of field goals, a 30-yard effort on the team’s opening drive and a 33-yarder in the second quarter that knotted the score at 6-6 going into halftime. Jordan Koss paced the Corsairs with 78 yards on 18 carries.