Rees is key piece of puzzle for Lake Forest

One season removed from being platooned at the quarterback position for Lake Forest, junior Tom Rees has become the most important player on his team.

"He understands he's in control of our destiny," said the 2-1 Scouts' head coach, Chuck Spagnoli. "I'm not one for putting the spotlight on a junior, but Tom is a special case. And additionally, he's under pressure of playing the quarterback position, which is not exactly an easy thing."

Not only has Rees sidestepped the duress, he appears to be thriving. Thus far, his passes have accounted for about 70 percent of his team's offense, and the accuracy of his throws has made him the most prolific passer in Lake County in terms of yardage.

As a sophomore, Rees split time with senior James Barrasso before taking over the quarterbacking duties full-time near the end of the year. Rees was the more natural passer, Spagnoli said, when asked if the sophomore experience was provided in preparation for the future.

"To be fair, we weren't looking to toward getting him ready for this year," the coach said. "We were just looking for a way to win. We struggled running the ball last season, and although James was a great football player and team leader, we felt Tommy could do more when we had to pass more often."

The Scouts went to the playoffs last season, finishing the campaign 6-5.

This season, Rees has come out flinging from Day One.

"He's much more confident with the system, and much more aware of what is expected of him," said Spagnoli, who noted that his quarterback has an excellent football IQ. "In July, we added a couple of things to our offense and he picked it up right away."

"He also understands that this is a team game," the coach continued, "and that everybody needs to take care of business. And they have. He knows that it's his role to give the receivers a chance to catch the ball, and he understands that so well."

Through three games, Rees has connected with seven different receivers, indicating that he keeps his options open and does not lock on to one man.

The junior has achieved his success this year despite the fact that the team's expected No. 1 receiver, Zack Telander, went down for the season with an injury four days before the opening game.

But tight end David Head, wideout Connor Moutvic, running backs TJ Jackson and John Cavalaris have all been beneficiaries of Rees spreading the ball around over the middle, down the sidelines and out of the backfield.

"He's very accurate with mid-range passes," Spagnoli said, "but he can also go deep when the opportunity presents itself."

Against Deerfield, he put the ball 50 yards in the air from his own end zone, connecting with Moutvic in stride on a 97-yard scoring strike.

On a rainy Saturday against a fired-up Stevenson defense, Rees was held to 74 yards passing and was intercepted three times. But the Scouts are hanging their fortunes on the junior's potent arm, and will be living and dying with it for the remainder of the season.