Ninety-nine Lake Forest College football players checked in last week and are preparing for the team's opener on September 5. This year will be the first for the Foresters in the North Division of the Midwest Conference. 2019 also represents the 150th year of college football and it has been 137 years since Lake Forest's first game, a triumph over Northwestern University on November 11, 1882.
Lake Forest finished the 2018 season with an overall record of 6-4 and victories in four of five MWC South Division games. The Foresters were the runners-up in the divisional standings for the second year in a row but will begin competing in the MWC North this fall.
League coaches picked St. Norbert College to finish first in the North and Ripon College in second, just a point ahead of Lake Forest in the 2019 MWC Preseason Poll. Macalester College, Lawrence University, and Beloit College round out the poll.
Defense
The Foresters return five All-MWC South honorees this year, including first team defensive end Jordan McInerney, who led the league and ranked tied-for-fifth in the nation in tackles for loss per game (23.5 in 10 contests). He also tied for the team lead last year with 74 tackles overall, including 9.0 sacks, and enters his senior season 17.5 tackles for loss shy of the program's career record. McInerney is joined on the line by junior Matt Leonard and sophomore Jamari Tansmore, who each started nine games in 2018, and sophomore Jacob Fitch, who appeared in every contest. Sophomore Brandon Rollins saw action in half the team's games last fall while classmates Connor Busch and Robert McPhee missed the entire season due to injury.
Lake Forest's linebacker unit also returns three players who started contests last fall. Senior Johnny Laponte racked up 68 tackles last season to earn Second Team All-MWC South honors and is the team's active leader with 201 stops and five interceptions in his career. Sophomore Dominic Johnson and junior Michael Salazar made six and three starts, respectively, and combined for 92 tackles and 9.0 tackles for loss in 2018. Junior James Eidt and sophomore Nick Pawlicki also saw playing time on defense and special teams while Mathew Koziol is getting ready to return to the field after missing his senior year of high school and freshman year at Lake Forest due to injury.
Four returning defensive backs combined for 30 starts and 148 tackles last year with MWC South Newcomer of the Year Anthony Rieck and current senior Blake Becker leading the group with 51 and 46, respectively, from their spots at safety. Junior Jordan Briggs and senior Jeremy Brown combined for a dozen starts at cornerback with Brown also serving as the team's top punt returner. Current senior Dan Lewis and sophomores Joey Jaquint, Kobee Marion, and Yohan Stokes added to their contributions in the secondary with an even greater impact on special teams, combining for 18 tackles on the punt and kickoff coverage units. Junior Justin Croye and sophomore Henry Light enhance the team's experienced depth at the position, having appeared in five career games apiece.
Offense
Returning starters are not as prevalent on the Forester offense, where less than half of last year's lineup is back. Both guards, junior John Colasacco and senior Tommy Kelly, are on that short list and are joined by junior Kevin Duarte and sophomore Anthony DerManulian, who started one game apiece. Colassaco is the most decorated of the group, having been named Second Team All-MWC South after starting every contest in 2018. Sophomores Connor Cahill, Christian Davila, and Guiovanni Hernandez each saw action on the line in four games while classmate Erik Persson appeared in three.
The Foresters ranked third in the league in passing yards per game last season but the starting quarterback was among those who walked across the stage at graduation in May. Current senior Bill Degnan is the team's most experienced option at the position after posting a solid pass efficiency rating of 137.81 while playing in eight games and serving as the team's top backup over the last two years. Junior Caleb Moore and sophomore Robby Mills have also taken snaps during that time.
Current junior Alex Adams II, the Foresters' starting tailback before suffering a season-ending injury in the fifth game a year ago, returns and will look to build upon the 342 total yards and five touchdowns he had amassed in less than half the 2018 campaign. Classmate Ryan Barry and senior Frankie Ramirez have seen time in the backfield and at wide receiver over the last few years and Barry has averaged 22.5 yards per return on kickoffs during his career.
Lake Forest lost its top wide receiver to graduation but brings back the next three on the receptions list in juniors Chase Allen (Second Team All-MWC South in 2017) and John Rall and senior Ted Crane. In addition, senior Stanford Ellis returns after starting every game in 2017 but missing all of last season due to injury. The five have combined to catch 18 touchdown passes and surpass 2,000 receiving yards in their careers while sophomore Andrew Siren and junior Trysten Reeder have chipped in with another 10 receptions for 91 yards.
Tight ends and H-backs often have similar roles in the Forester offense and that group is led by junior tight end Noah Recker, a Second Team All-MWC South selection each of the last two seasons. Cooper Tomlin and Nick Thurston also saw playing time at the position as rookies in 2018 and junior H-back Michael Dean, who has appeared in every game the last two seasons, showed some versatility by filling in as a tailback when injuries thinned out the position in 2018.
Special Teams
Senior Michael Bounds was named First Team All-MWC South as a punter after ranking second in the conference with 39.0 yards per attempt a year ago. He also connected on four of six field goals and 36 of 38 extra point attempts to finish second on the team in points. Junior Tucker Gill was the Foresters' starting long-snapper in all 10 games while current senior Ian Castro saw action in that role in four contests.
Marion, Allen, and Barry were Lake Forest's primary returners on kickoffs and combined to average 21.8 yards on 30 attempts. Brown was the only player on the team to return a punt, averaging 11.8 yards per effort.
Newcomers
Head Coach Jim Catanzaro and his staff have brought in one of the largest recruiting classes in program history and several of the 43 freshmen, five sophomores, and one junior who are new to the program will make an impact on the team's success this year. Members of the class come to the College from 13 different states, increasing the total states represented on the team to 18.
Twenty-one of the newcomers play on the defensive side of the ball, including nine linebackers, the most of any position on the field. Eight fill spots on the defensive line and four are members of the secondary. Of the 25 on offense, there are four each at quarterback, running back, and tight end/h-back while six play wide receiver and seven on the line. Three more serve as kickers and/or punters.
Schedule
Lake Forest opens the 2019 season under the lights at Wisconsin Lutheran College on Thursday, September 5. Grinnell College will be the Foresters' opponent in their home opener on September 14 and Knox College the foe for Homecoming on October 5. The team will open MWC North play at Macalester a week later and will finish the regular season with a home game against St. Norbert on November 9. The Foresters will be on the road for MWC Championship Week at the team that occupies the same place in the South Division that Lake Forest finishes in the North.