The Foresters ranked up 620 yards of offense in their home opener on Saturday, a 52-26 victory over Lawrence University.
The fourth-highest yardage output in program history did not even count an 84-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by senior Kobee Marion on the game's first play.
The Foresters embarked on a 14-play, 99-yard drive later in the opening period and took a 14-0 lead on an 8-yard touchdown run by junior tailback Armani Brown.
A 90-yard drive early in the second quarter did not result in any points after an interception in the end zone and the Vikings covered 98 of their 274 yards in the game on the next 10 plays, cutting the Lake Forest lead in half.
A 13yard pass play from junior quarterback Tre Stewart to senior tight end Cooper Tomlin restored the Foresters' 14-point advantage with 1:41 on the clock and senior kicker Patrick Goldammer added to it was a 26-yard field goal on the final play of the first half. Goldammer was perfect on the day, making seven extra points and his first career field goal. Junior punter Logan Persson was also effective on the day, averaging 44 yards per punt. All four of his attempts traveled at least 40 yards, including one downed at the 11 and another that went out of bounds at the 4.
Stewart scored on a 7-yard run early in the third quarter but the ensuing kickoff resulted in a 95-yard touchdown for the visitors. Both teams scored another touchdown in the period, the Foresters on a 4-yard run by senior tailback Damon Bonds.
Brown caught a short pass from Stewart and rumbled 69 yards to the end zone early in the fourth quarter and freshman tailback Mal Chunn's 6-yard rushing touchdown took Lake Forest over the 50-point mark for the first time since November of 2018.
The Vikings added one more touchdown with 99 seconds left in the contest to account for the final score.
Stewart completed 22 of 36 passes for 331 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions on the afternoon. Bonds ran for a game-high 145 yards on just a dozen carries and added 66 yards on five receptions. Brown led the home team in receiving yards with 97 on just two catches and senior wideout Robbie Mills added five receptions for 72 yards.
Senior linebacker Mathew Koziol led Lake Forest with eight tackles and junior safety Danny Baker picked off a pass for the second straight week. Nine different Foresters recorded a tackle for loss with sacks coming from junior Justin Albee and freshman Mark Rice.
It was the first Midwest Conference game of the season for both teams. Lake Forest is now 2-0 overall and Lawrence 1-1.
The Foresters will travel to Knox College next Saturday for a 2:00 p.m. kickoff.
