The Lake Forest College football team defeated visiting Grinnell College 15-7 on Saturday to remain undefeated on the season. Junior linebacker John Preston led the Foresters with eight tackles and recorded his first career interception.
Preston's interception was one of four on the day for the home team. The others were turned in by senior cornerbacks Ed Dobernig and Nick Waters and junior safety Joey Kropp. It was also the first career interception for Kropp.
Sophomore wide receiver George Vidas led the Forester offense with 89 yards on five receptions. His 4-yard touchdown catch from senior quarterback Mike Lewis with 3:09 to play in the first quarter tied the score at seven.
Lake Forest's next drive ended with an interception at the 1-yardline on the first play of the second quarter. However, sophomore safety Pat Clark, backed by several other Forester defenders, tackled the Pioneer running back before he could escape the end zone on Grinnell's next play for a safety and a 9-7 lead for the home team.
Sophomore Jon Gurchak accounted for the Foresters' other six points on a 35-yard field goal in the third quarter and a 27-yard boot in the fourth. He also attempted a school-record-tying 50-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter but the ball caromed off the crossbar and back into the end zone. Gurchak also averaged 34.5 yards on his eight punts in the game.
Lake Forest's other team leaders on offense were senior wideout Mike Peters, who caught a game-high six passes for 45 yards, and senior tailback Alec Howe, who rushed for 72 yards on 25 attempts. Lewis completed 20 passes for a career-high 196 yards.
For the third time in as many games, the Forester defense did not allow a point after halftime. Grinnell managed just 105 total yards in the game, 43 of which came on their final drive, and the Pioneers netted zero yards on the ground. Their only scoring drive covered just two yards, including one by penalty, following a first quarter interception. Grinnell reached the Lake Forest 23-yardline on its last possession but a sack by senior Taylor Holzmeyer on third down and an incompletion on fourth ended the threat.
The Foresters raised their overall record on the season to 3-0 with two of the victories coming in Midwest Conference play. Grinnell fell to 0-3 overall and 0-2 in the league.
Lake Forest will travel to Knox College next Saturday for a 1:00 p.m. kickoff.
