The Lake Forest College football team defeated visiting Beloit College 42-34 on Saturday, thanks in large part to junior tailbacks Charlie Quinn and Joey Valdivia, who combined for 273 yards and five touchdowns. They are the first pair of Foresters to rush for 100 yards in the same game in nearly 15 years.
Playing in his first game since the 2012 season, Valdivia carried the ball 13 times for a game-high 166 yards and reached the end zone three times. He averaged 12.8 yards per attempt, the second-highest single-game average in program history. Quinn covered 107 yards on 22 attempts and scored twice. He now has 280 yards in three games this season. The Foresters' 283 yards on the ground are the most the team has amassed in a game since early in the 2012 season.
Lake Forest senior quarterback Sean Dickson completed 11 of 21 passes for 117 yards in the contest. Senior wide receiver Willie McIntyre led the team with six receptions for 66 yards.
Dickson completed passes to convert a pair of third downs on the team's first drive of the contest. A pair of 6-yard runs by Quinn covered the final 12 yards and the extra point by senior Jon Gurchak gave the home team a 7-0 lead.
The Buccaneers needed just three plays to reach the Forester 32-yardline on the ensuing possession. On the next play, however, Lake Forest junior defensive end Brendan Power picked off a pass intended for the Beloit tailback and raced 64 yards for his second career touchdown. Power's only other interception came at Beloit last season and he also scored on that play.
The Buccaneers responded with a 6-play, 70-yard touchdown drive and, after forcing a fumble on the kickoff, added a 24-yard field goal to make the score 14-10 early in the second quarter.
After going three-and-out on their next possession, the Foresters forced the visitors to turn the ball over on downs on the Lake Forest 27. Valdivia then made his season debut and had five carries for 27 yards during a 15-play, 73-yard drive that lasted more than seven-and-a-half minutes. Quinn reached the end zone from five yards out to finish it off.
Beloit needed just two minutes and eight seconds to travel 75 yards to the end zone on the next possession, making the score 21-17 with just 74 seconds to play in the half.
Sophomore Max Sorby returned the ensuing kickoff 24 yards to the Forester 32. Dickson completed four of seven passes for 53 yards on the drive, which was kept alive by a 14-yard run by Quinn on fourth-and-one from the Buccaneer 45. Valdivia capped it off with a 1-yard touchdown run with just 4.3 seconds on the clock.
Leading 28-17, Lake Forest went three-and-out on their first two possessions of the second half. A 30-yard Beloit field goal made the score 28-20 and the visitors were driving again when freshman linebacker Jack Garcia picked off the first pass of his career at the Forester 32.
Valdivia took the handoff on the next play, burst through a hole, and pulled away from the defense for a 68-yard touchdown run.
The Buccaneers battled back again and their 6-play, 72-yard touchdown drive made the score 35-27 at the end of the third quarter.
A pair of incompletions to begin the fourth quarter were the final throws Forester quarterbacks would make on the day. After a punt by each team, Valdivia and Quinn combined for 65 yards on nine carries and Valdivia once again reached the end zone from one yard out.
A 12-play, 75-yard touchdown drive by the Buccaneers made it a one-possession game again but Forester senior safety Pat Clark recovered the ensuing onside kick with 3:47 remaining. A 30-yard run by Valdivia on third-and-eight enabled Lake Forest to run out the clock and secure the victory.
Making his first career start, junior linebacker Joe Nitti led the Foresters with 10 tackles and added a forced fumble. Sophomore linebacker Michael Cole was next on the team with nine stops and Clark added eight.
Gurchak made all six of his extra points and averaged 40.2 yards on four punts with no returns.
The Foresters are now 1-2 on the season and Beloit 2-2.
Lake Forest will be in action again next Saturday at Carroll University. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.
