The Lake Forest College football team saw its season come to an end Saturday with a 41-14 loss at Saint John's University in the opening round of the NCAA Division III Playoffs.
It was the Foresters' first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 2002 and just the second in team history.
The Johnnies took the early lead on a 50-yard run to cap off their second possession of the game. Junior cornerback Dante Esposito blocked the extra point, however, and the score remained 6-0.
Taking advantage of excellent field position, the home team mounted another touchdown drive in the first quarter, reached the end zone on the first play of the second, and took a 27-0 lead with 13:13 to play in the first half.
A 48-yard return by Forester junior wideout A.J. Jackson on the ensuing kickoff set up the visitors near midfield. Although the drive stalled, a 47-yard punt by junior Logan Persson was downed by junior safety Danny Baker at the Johnnies' 1-yardline. Two plays later senior linebacker Dominic Johnson wrapped up the quarterback in the end zone and, although he was able to get rid of the football, intentional grounding was called and a safety awarded to the Foresters.
Lake Forest reached Saint John's territory on each of the team's next two drives with the second culminating with a 4-yard touchdown pass from junior Tre Stewart to Jackson. The 12-play drive covered 61 yards, including 24 on a run by Stewart.
Trailing 27-8 at halftime, the Foresters started the second half with the ball but turned it over on downs at the Saint John's 33. The momentum gained late in the first half was lost and the Johnnies mounted back-to-back touchdown drives to pull ahead 41-8 late in the third.
Neither team scored again until Stewart found Jackson in the right corner of the end zone with 1:53 to play in the contest. Already the single-season record-holder for touchdown receptions, Jackson extended the mark to 16 on Saturday. He caught seven passes for 33 yards in the game but added nearly 200 return yards, 41 on a pair of punts and 158 on six kickoffs.
Senior tailback Damon Bonds was the Foresters' leading rusher on the day with 41 yards on 10 carries. Stewart completed 15 of 25 passes for 100 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. His 159.9 pass efficiency rating on the year is the highest mark in program history.
Saint John's entered the game ranked 16th in the nation with 482.5 yards per game was was limited to just 286 by the Forester defense on Saturday. Junior defensive end Alex Bendler led the visitors with eight tackles, including three sacks, while Johnson was next with six. Lake Forest's 11.5 points and 233.7 yards per game allowed this season are the program's second and third-lowest marks, respectively, since 1975.
Both teams had entered the game with perfect 10-0 records. The Johnnies will host Linfield College in next Saturday's second round.
