Sophomore Stone Matthews ran for a game-high 105 yards but Lake Forest was defeated 34-20 by St. Norbert College at home on Saturday.
Matthews carried the ball 27 times, helping the Foresters possess the ball for more than 35 minutes in the game. It was his second straight 100-yard game and third this season.
Lake Forest had 120 yards rushing and senior quarterback Bill Degnan completed 17 of 29 passed for 259 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He connected with eight different receivers in his final career home game and freshman wideout A.J. Jackson led the home team in receiving yards with 69.
Freshman defensive lineman Sam Okwuobu led the Foresters with eight tackles, including 3.5 tackles for loss. Sophomore safety Anthony Rieck was next on the team with seven stops and three others added five apiece. Senior Johnny Laponte accounted for the unit's only turnover, recovering a fumble in the first quarter.
The Foresters scored 17 of their 20 points on their first four drives of the afternoon. They took the early lead on a 13-yard pass from Degnan to senior Ted Crane and broke a 7-7 tie when Degnan hit junior Chase Allen for a 23-yard touchdown late in the opening period. The home team's next drive ended with a 33-yard field goal by senior Michael Bounds that made the score 17-7 just 65 seconds into the second quarter.
St. Norbert answered with back-to-back touchdown drives and took a 21-17 lead into the locker room at halftime.
After forcing a punt on the Green Knights' first possession of the second half, the Foresters closed to within a point when senior Michael Bounds matched his career-long with a 43-yard field goal.
Lake Forest would not score again, however, and the visitors pulled away with a touchdown late in the third quarter and a pair of field goals in the fourth.
The teams entered the final weekend of Midwest Conference play tied atop the North Division standings at 4-0 in the league. The loss dropped the Foresters' overall record to 7-2 while St. Norbert improved to 6-2.
Lake Forest will close out the 2019 season at the University of Chicago, the second-place team from the South Division, next Saturday at noon.
