Bears Beat Up Vikings 35-3 in Season Opener

The Bears had gorgeous weather for their opening game against Fremd, a straight shot located nine miles south down Quentin Road. Mostly sunny and about 75 degrees at game time, it reflected the near-perfect performance by Lake Zurich against the Vikings. Swarming on defense and fluid on offense, the team yielded just a field goal with 4:28 remaining in the first quarter en route to a 35-3 thrashing of Fremd.

“We played solid on both offense and defense,” said linebacker Jack Lynn, who had a key interception against Fremd quarterback Sam Beutler late in the second quarter.

Lake Zurich may have an abundance of new players on their squad, including an assortment of new starters, especially on their revamped offensive line. But the team picked up exactly where they left off last year, executing near-flawless defense while driving the ball down their opponent’s throats with an unrelenting ground attack.

One major, unforeseen change to their plans was the team’s quarterback situation: Zach Till injured his ankle in practice and was replaced by Steven Kuhn, who filled in just fine, going 9-for-13 for 55 yards, passing for one touchdown while gaining 29 yards on the ground with two more trips to the end zone.

“I knew that if I had to step in in a situation like this that my teammates would have confidence in me,” said Kuhn. “I just went out there and played the best that I could.”

The Bears offense started inauspiciously, going three-and-out on their first possession to start the game. But punter Mark Weber then pinned the Vikings back to their three-yard line.

Fremd quarterback Sam Beutler (11-for-28, 159 yards) dug his team out a bit with a 15-yard completion to Matt Isola, but defensive back Chris Rantis picked off his next pass attempt, setting up the Bears at the Vikings' 30-yard line.

After three straight runs by Connor Schrader cut the distance in half to the 15-yard line, Kuhn finally legged it in to the end zone on a 5-yard carry for the Bears' first score.

The Vikings answered back with their only points of the night on their next possession. The big play of the drive was a nicely-placed bomb to Josh Jyawook for a 39-yard gain, taking the ball to the Bears’ 2-yard line. But the drive stalled after that, and Fremd had to settle for a 23-yard field goal by kicker Andrew Stark.

The Bears' next drive was stopped at mid-field, but Weber once again punted the ball with precision, and Fremd started at their own 5-yard line. Bad field position would plague the Vikings the entire contest, conversely allowing the Bears excellent starting points for their drives.

Fremd then went three-and-out, and Lake Zurich subsequently began at Fremd’s 36-yard line. After several gains on the ground, Kuhn ran it into the end zone and the Bears pushed their lead to 14-3.

Beutler did get a bit of a drive going later in the quarter, but an errant pass was picked off by Lynn on Fremd’s 31-yard line, leading to Lake Zurich’s third touchdown, a six-yard pass to Grant Soucy, giving the Bears a commanding 21-3 lead entering halftime.

The Vikings looked shell-shocked at the start of the third quarter, as Beutler tried to reinvigorate his air game. But he threw three straight incompletions for yet another three-and-out.

The Bears didn’t fare much better on their first possession of the third, as Kuhn was sacked on two straight plays by defensive tackle Ben Dworkin, both for nine yards.

But Lake Zurich caught a break when the ball bounced off the chest of punt returner David Mellado, and Lake Zurich recovered the ball at the Vikings' 45-yard line.

The Bears quickly drove down the field, as receiver John Orlando reined in a 10-yard pass, Brandon Markert had a 5-yard catch, and Mike Shield ran the ball for a 16-yard gain along the far right side of the field. Shield then ran it into the end zone from the 1-yard line, and the Bears led 28-3.

“I think at that point we had a pretty good feeling,” said Kuhn.

After the Vikings managed a first down on their next offensive effort, they punted to the Bears’ 34-yard line, which was relatively poor field position for LZ given how the game had played out to that point. But Shield then rambled 66 yards for a touchdown on the first play from scrimmage, giving the Bears a 35-3 bulge for the final score of the game.

Bears Pause: Lake Zurich’s two premier running backs both broke the century mark against Fremd: Connor Schrader gained 142 yards on 13 carries, and Mike Shield had 10 carries for 105 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Fremd wide receiver Matt Isola netted 88 yards on 3 catches.

Lake Zurich induced Fremd into four turnovers while committing just one themselves. Talk about the advantage of good field position: on average, the Bears started close to mid-field throughout the game, while the Vikings were consistently mired at about their 20-yard line.

Bears trainer Michael Klobnak was mum when asked about the condition of quarterback Zach Till after the game.