The Forester football team defeated visiting Monmouth College 17-14 on Saturday to extend its winning streak on Farwell Field to nine games. Freshman tailback Charlie Quinn ran 19 times for a game-high 94 yards and a touchdown on the day.
Quinn's 9-yard touchdown run with 3:11 to play in the contest made the score 17-7. It capped off an 11-play, 65-yard drive that included three third-down conversions. The Foresters were 10-for-18 on third down in the game while Monmouth was successful on just five of 15 chances on third down.
The Fighting Scots were able to drive 76 yards on the next possession but it took two-and-a-half minutes and the ensuing on-side kick was recovered by Forester senior tight end Greg Alonso to seal the victory.
Lake Forest scored the game's first points on a 39-yard field goal with 6:39 to play in the first quarter. The scoring drive was set up by senior defensive lineman Taylor Holzmeyer's first career interception, which he returned seven yards to the Monmouth 20-yardline.
A Forester interception set up the home team's next score as well. Junior linebacker John Preston picked off a Fighting Scot pass at the Monmouth 39 and Lake Forest reached the end zone just five plays later. After a penalty and a short run, senior quarterback Mike Lewis completed back-to-back passes to Alonso for a total of 21 yards and connected with sophomore wide receiver Willie McIntyre on a 19-yard pass to the 1-yardline. Lewis took the ball into the end zone himself for his first career rushing touchdown with 21 seconds remaining in the opening half.
The Scots finally got on the scoreboard on their first drive of the third quarter. They traveled 55 yards in 13 plays, converted on a pair of fourth downs, and took six minutes off the clock.
The Foresters turned the ball over in their own territory on the next drive but an intentional grounding penalty took Monmouth out of field goal range and the visitors were forced to punt.
Lake Forest ran 14 plays and took more than seven minutes off the clock on the next drive but Gurchak's 49-yard field goal caromed high off the right upright and back into the field of play.
The Scots were unable to record a first down on their next possession and punted away, setting up the Foresters' drive that ended with the Quinn touchdown.
In addition to Quinn's 94 yards on the ground, Lewis covered 72 yards on seven carries, including a 48-yarder in the first half. Lewis completed 17 of 28 passes on the day for 157 yards. He was 7-for-11 for 103 yards on third down. Senior wideout Mike Peters covered 22 yards on his team-high five receptions and sophomore wideout George Vidas had four catches for 63 yards. Sophomore Anthoney Prestly was a jack-of-all-trades in the game, completing both of his pass attempts for a total of 30 yards, running five times for 23 yards, and grabbing a pair of passes for another 26 yards.
Foresters senior linebacker Jordan Cruz led all players in the game with 13 tackles and junior lineacker John Preston was next on the team with nine. Senior cornerback Ed Dobernig had three pass breakups and combined with Cruz on a tackle for loss. Holzmeyer, senior defensive lineman Jake Rotkvich, and senior linebacker John Dillon each recorded a sack.
The Foresters' nine-game home winning streak is their longest since coming out on top of 10 straight decisions on Farwell Field from 1907-1910. The team is now 6-1 overall this season and 5-1 in Midwest Conference play. Monmouth fell to 2-4 overall and 2-3 in the league.
Lake Forest will play at Cornell College next Saturday at 1:00 p.m.
