Senior Blake Becker and sophomore Damion Maxwell returned interceptions for touchdowns in Lake Forest's 47-0 victory at Beloit College on Saturday.
Maxwell's 62-yard return late in the second quarter gave the Foresters a 34-0 lead going into the locker room at halftime. Becker covered 93 yards on his return with 8:38 to play in the third, making it a 40-0 contest. The length of the returns rank seventh and third, respectively, in team history.
All four of Lake Forest's offensive touchdowns were more than 20 yards, beginning with a 25-yard run by sophomore tailback Stone Matthews on the visitors' second possession of the game. Senior quarterback Bill Degnan connected with freshman wide receiver A.J. Jackson on a 36-yard touchdown pass before running 23 yards to the end zone himself to cap off the next two drives and make the score 21-0 after one quarter of play.
The next two Forester possessions ended with field goals by senior Michael Bounds, the first a 26-yarder and the second from 39.
After the interception returns, the final touchdown of the afternoon was a 32-yard run by junior tailback Alex Adams II and the kick by freshman Anna Zerilli was good for her first career point.
The Lake Forest defense limited the Buccaneers to just 98 total yards of offense and five first downs. Freshman safety Danny Baker led the team with eight tackles, although four of them came on kickoff returns, and senior linebacker Johnny Laponte was next with six. Sophomore defensive lineman Jamari Tansmore added to the turnover total forced by the unit, recovering a fumble in the second quarter.
Degnan completed 13 of 18 passes for 142 yards and the touchdown to Jackson, who caught four passes for a game-high 61 yards. Adams covered 77 yards on seven carries while Matthews ran for 31 on five attempts.
The victory was the fourth in a row for the Foresters and their second shutout of the season. They lead the Midwest Conference in scoring defense, allowing just 11.3 points per game. Lake Forest is now 6-1 overall and 3-0 in MWC North Division play. Beloit fell to 1-6 overall and 1-2 in the league.
The Foresters will be on the road again next Saturday, taking on Lawrence University under the lights at 6:00 p.m.
