Junior quarterback Pete Scaffidi (pictured left) continued his hot streak passing the football, against Illinois College on Saturday. Scaffidi broke the school's single game record for touchdown passes with five. The previous record of four, was one that Scaffidi shared with five other former Forester signal callers. Scaffidi also recorded the most completions in a single game by a Forester with 34, breaking the previous record of 33 set by Don Lackey in 2001. Scaffidi's 333 yards were good for the fifth highest single game output in school history. His 74% completion percentage was good for second on the single game list.
"I am thrilled with Pete's performance. He put a tremendous amount of effort in this off-season to make sure that our offense took the necessary steps under his leadership for us to be successful. I think one of the things that really stands out about Pete's performance thus far is how well he is spreading the ball around to different receivers. Seven different guys caught footballs for us, and six of them had double digits in yards receiving."
Scaffidi wasn't the only Forester etching his name on the top ten lists for the Foresters. Junior Austin Sobey tied the school record for touchdown receptions in a single game with 3. Sobey joins seven other former Foresters with this total, including teammate Kevin Davis (who had three TD's against Knox in 2010) and his position Coach Dan Carter, who accomplished the feat on three occasions.
Senior Kevin Davis recorded 11 receptions, which is good for 8th on the single game total list.
"Our receivers have really stepped up. Kevin and Austin have been more productive than last year, and more consistent. I think that is the most important thing. They are consistent and dependable, and they have developed a great chemistry with Pete. Coach Kerr has found a way to use their individual talents, and they are really excelling."
"There are two things that can not be overstated, and that is the credit that the offensive line deserves for these performances. In the last two games, we have passed the ball 75 times, and have our opponents have not recorded a single contact sack. (the lone sack was a QB scramble that was a one yard loss.) The second component that really stands out is how well we are taking care of the football. So far this year, we have thrown for 11 touchdowns, and only 1 interception. I am thrilled with the progress our offense has made," said Catanzaro.
Catanzaro was not as pleased with the defensive performance. "I am frustrated. We have talented players, above average athletes, and guys who work hard. Something isn't clicking, and it is my job to find a way to get us over this hump."
The Blueboys did not punt until midway through the third quarter, and converted 8 of 10 3rd downs in the first two quarters. "Since I arrived at Lake Forest, we prided our defense on making people work for everything, and being good at getting off of the field on third downs. We didn't do that on Saturday. They worked for everything, and didn't hit many big (yardage) plays on us, but we really struggled with getting of the field on third downs. We will look at our play calls, our execution, and our aggressiveness on film this week and get better."
Catanzaro continued talking about the defense,"when a defense is failing, it is usually one of four things. 1. Poor tackling, 2. Failure to create turnovers, 3. Failure to pressure the quarterback, and 4. Failing to get off the field on third downs. During different points of the game we struggled with each one of those things. We recovered one of two fumbles that were on the ground, and recorded a single interception. I felt that we had two more opportunities to create takeaways and we failed to do so. Our defense is young, with only two seniors and two juniors in the starting lineup, but I have higher expectations of performance from our sophomores that are on the field for us. They have a full season of experience from last year, and many of them had significant playing time. I am looking forward to this week's practice."
Donnie Caldwell, a freshman kicker for the Foresters, was pressed into his first collegiate action on Saturday. "We told Donnie about 25 minutes before kickoff that he was going to have to handle all of our place kicking injuries due to an injury to our starter. Donnie did a great job, and handled the pressure of kicking for the first time in a game very admirably," said Coach Catanzaro. Caldwell went 5-5 on PAT's, and averaged 48 yards per kickoff.
The Foresters prepare for their longest trip of the season to Grinnell, IA to face the Grinnell College Pioneers. The Pioneers lost to Ripon College on Saturday, dropping their record to 1-2, 0-2 in the MWC.
Coaches Awards:
Offensive Player of the Game: Pete Scaffidi, JR (South Elgin High School, South Elgin, IL) 34 of 48 for 333 yards, 5 TD's (School Record)
Defensive Player of the Game: John Dillon, SO (Basha High School, Phoenix, AZ) came of the bench to record 8 tackles.
Scout Team Player of the Week: Edwin Esperanza JR (Colonial High School, Orlando, FL)
Special Teams Player of the Week: Donnie Caldwell FR (Center Moriches, East Moriches, NY) 5-5 on Extra Points, and averaged 48 yards on kickoffs.
