After struggling for most of the game against Lake Zurich's surprising passing attack, Warren's defense came up big in the fourth quarter to help the Blue Devils seal a 17-14 victory over the visiting Bears on Friday.
An amazing Aaron Montgomery one-handed interception with under three minutes left in the game was one of the key defensive plays made by Warren (4-1 overall, 3-0 in the North Suburban Conference Lake Division) in the final period.
But Montgomery wasn't alone, as Kevin Robinson, Cody Hoag, Clark Addison, James Poliquin and John Veehuis were among the Warren defenders who stepped up in the 12 minutes to keep Lake Zurich (2-3, 1-2) from posting a come-from-behind win.
Lake Zurich was without the services of top running back Andrew Maloney because of a foot injury. Maloney scored two touchdowns last week in the Bears' loss to Stevenson. Thus Lake Zurich was forced to put the ball up with the arm of senior quarterback Tanner Witt (7 for 19, 166 yards, 2 TDs).
After forcing a Lake Zurich punt to open the game, Warren scored on its first possession when junior Anthony Portanova capped a lengthy drive when he booted a 35-yard field goal with 5:00 minutes left in the first quarter.
Lake Zurich later took advantage of a Warren turnover (muffed punt) late in the opening period to put seven points on the scoreboard.
Witt hooked up with sophomore Jacob Brinlee on a 30-yard touchdown pass a few players after the fumble recovery to put the Bears ahead 7-0.
Warren's offense responded with another lengthy scoring drive under the direction of senior quarterback Zach Shaw . The drive ended when sophomore running back Tom Lindal raced through the left side of Lake Zurich's defense for an 11-yard TD run to put the Blue Devils up 10-7 with 5:23 left in the first half.
Lake Zurich marched down to Warren's 13-yard line late in the second quarter -- helped by a 4th-and-8 scramble for 9 yards and a first down by Witt -- but a 30-yard field goal attempt by Max Methling was blocked as time expired.
Warren appeared poised to build on its lead early in the third quarter, but Lake Zurich's Andy Blechschmidt picked off a Shaw pass on the Bears' goal line. He raced 100 yards for a TD on the return, but it was called back on a clipping penalty.
It didn't matter, as Lake Zurich marched the length of the field -- with help from a successful fake punt -- to score on another Brinlee touchdown reception. This time on a 6-yard play to put his team ahead 14-10 with 1:22 left in the third quarter.
Lindal scored the game's final points on a 3-yard touchdown run with 7:50 left in the contest to put Warren up for good at 17-14.
Warren's defense then took over, keeping the Bears out of the end zone in the fourth quarter to preserve the victory. Warren 17, Lake Zurich 14
Close
Community Login
You've successfully logged in to the Sun-Times Media Community, click the close button to return to browsing.
Facebook App
Font Size
Email
Bookmark
Black Text
Cell Phone Alerts