The Lake Forest College football team pulled away in the second half and defeated Illinois College 40-7 in Saturday's Homecoming game.
The Forester defense, which came in allowing just 7.8 points and 186 yards per game, was even stingier on Saturday. The Blueboys gained just 171 yards and Lake Forest forced four turnovers.
Senior defensive end Robert McPhee led the home team with eight tackles, including one of the unit's 10 tackles for loss. Fellow senior defensive end Justin Albee had 1.5 sacks and matched the career-high he set last week with 2.5 tackles for loss. He forced a fumble on one of the sacks and Alex Bendler, another senior defensive end, recovered it at the Blueboy 10 to set up the final score of the game.
Junior safety Trenton Brail also forced a fumble, which he recovered, and added his second interception return touchdown of the season, a 19-yarder in the fourth quarter. Sophomore cornerback Darion Miller picked off a pass as well and returned it 15 yards to set up a short Forester touchdown drive in the third.
Graduate student Damon Bonds rushed for a game-high 80 yards and a pair of scores while senior tailback Armani Brown added 56 yards and a touchdown of his own on the ground. Senior wide receiver Jake De La Torre was the team's top receiver with seven catches for 41 yards and his first career touchdown.
The Foresters turned in several special teams highlights, beginning with a 65-yard kickoff return by sophomore running back Jayce Knutsen after the Blueboys had tied the game at seven in the second quarter. That set up the first of two field goals on the day by freshman kicker Beckham Sonnabend, a 23-yarder that turned out to be the final score of the first half. Sonnabend also connected from 43 yards out in the third, matching the fifth-longest field goal in program history. Senior defensive back Doug Antonucci added his third blocked punt of the season during Lake Forest's 20-point fourth quarter.
The victory was the fifth in as many games this season for the Foresters, who are also 4-0 in Midwest Conference play and ranked 25th in the nation by the American Football Coaches Association. Illinois College fell to 1-4 overall and 0-4 in the league.
Lake Forest will host Ripon College next Saturday at 1:00 p.m.
