Lake Zurich powers past Libertyville
BY Marco Scola October 1, 2011 12:54AM
Before the start of the game, the Wildcats continue the tradition of jumping into the stands. | Rob Dicker~Sun-Times Media
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Updated: October 3, 2011 10:20PM
Lake Zurich High School quarterback Zach Till intended on making a statement Friday night against the Libertyville Wildcats, and did more than that in the Bears’ 31-6 victory.
He connected on 10 of his 18 throws for 167 yards, and rushed for two touchdowns and 28 yards.
“We had a lot of fun out there tonight,” said Till. “We knew Libertyville was going to be tough, especially in their home stadium, so we knew we had to play hard.”
Till was one of three Lake Zurich Bears to find the end zone.
Running backs Mike Shield and Connor Schrader each found the end zone and rushed for 65 and 63 yards, respectively.
“We were able to accomplish everything we wanted to, in terms of offense tonight,” said Lake Zurich head coach Bryan Stortz. “But we have to give our defense a lot of credit, too.”
Lake Zurich forced four turnovers, including a key fumble recovery early in the second quarter when Libertyville was driving all the way down to the Bears’ 2-yard line.
Lake Zurich would allow just 178 yards of total offense.
Libertyville surrendered 157 yards rushing on 31 attempts, and its offense sputtered all night.
On 11 drives, the Wildcats scored just once, fumbled three times, punted four times, threw an interception and had their drives end at the end of the first half, and at the end of the game.
Lake Zurich got off to a slow start, punting on each of its first three drives. It wasn’t until Libertyville’s second consecutive fumble when Lake Zurich constructed a six-play 61-yard touchdown drive capped off by a 7-yard quarterback keeper touchdown by Till.
The Bears scored a touchdown and a field goal on their next two drives, taking a 17-0 lead at halftime.
Libertyville finally got on the board on the first drive of the third quarter when Wildcats quarterback threw a touchdown pass to Sam Styler, capping off a 12-play, 61-yard drive.
But it was too little, too late as Lake Zurich put together two consecutive touchdown drives of 35 and 80 yards.
With the win, Lake Zurich improves to 5-1 on the season and holds its ranking as one of the top teams in the state. Libertyville fell to 3-3.
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