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Lake Forest Football 2011 Highlight Film

2012-01-26T20:33:00.000-06:00

2011 Highlight by booman271

Fall Award Winners Announced

2012-01-25T09:33:00.002-06:00

2011 Season Award Winners Announced:

MVP: WR, Kevin Davis, Senior, South Elgin, IL

Most Improved Player: WR Austin Sobey, Junior, Mt. Prospect, IL

Fall Leadership Board Winner (Individual): OL, Phillip Rindom, Freshman, Charlottenlund, Denmark

Fall Leadership Board Winner (Team): The LAKERS

Top GPA Individual: OL, Phillip Rindom, Freshman, Charlottenlund, Denmark

LB, Jake Rotkvich, Junior, Chicago, IL

Most Improved GPA Individual: LB, Bryce Jones, Sophomore, Dysart, AZ

WR, Rocky Al-Mutawa, Junior, Milwaukee, WI

Team Meeting

2012-01-16T08:35:00.001-06:00

Team Meeting is Wednesday at 4:30pm. Halas Hall.

Foresters recognized as ALL-Americans

2012-01-05T14:49:00.005-06:00

Sr. WR Kevin Davis was just named a 1st team All-American by the Beyond Sports College Network (BSN) as a wide receiver. He was joined by Junior Pete Scaffidi who was named to the Honorable Mention Team.

Full list can be found HERE

Davis, who broke the school single season record in receiving yards, also tied the single season record for receptions will graduate in May, and just recently participated in the All-American Bowl at the Metrodome in Minneapolis, MN. Davis finished the season with 77 receptions for 1,286 yards and 11 touchdowns. Davis also had 3 rushes for 48 yards and 2 TDs. Davis finished his career ranked 3rd in school history in receptions and yards and 2nd in touchdown receptions on the all-time lists.

Scaffidi, the junior signal caller for the Foresters, led an offense that broke almost 20 school records. Including the single season totals for passing yards, completions, passing touchdowns, among them. Scaffidi finished the season with 2,910 yards passing with 31 touchdowns, as he completed 62% of his passes. Scaffidi also rushed for 4 touchdowns and was the third leading rusher on the Foresters.

Davis and Scaffidi were high school teammates at South Elgin High School prior to joining up at Lake Forest in 2010 when Scaffidi transferred to LFC.

"Both of these players are extremely deserving of these awards. They are hard workers who work at being not only great football players, but great people as well. There are few players in our program that have been as dedicated to the development of our overall program, and I couldn't be more excited that they have been honored as All-Americans," said head football coach Jim Catanzaro.

Foresters Relish All-American Bowl Experience: Forester Athletics

2011-12-21T23:48:00.000-06:00

Foresters Relish All-American Bowl Experience: Forester Athletics

Jim Catanzaro Sheds Interim Tag and Remains Foresters' Head Coach: Forester Athletics

2011-12-21T23:46:00.000-06:00

Jim Catanzaro Sheds Interim Tag and Remains Foresters' Head Coach: Forester Athletics

FORESTERS PREPARE FOR ALL-AMERICAN BOWL IN MINNEAPOLIS

2011-12-10T19:13:00.002-06:00

Head Coach Jim Catanzaro will be making his second appearance as a coach in the annual DII/DIII All-American Bowl in Minneapolis, MN this upcoming week. He will be joined by Forester football team members Luke Butts, Kevin Davis, and Kenny Clady-Mason.

"I am thrilled that I will have the opportunity to coach our players in the game. Last year, after seeing the quality of the competition, I felt that it would be very difficult to get our guys in. After the seasons that Luke and Kevin had, the committee was actually coming to me to ask about them. Kenny was selected primarily off of his junior year when he was a second team all-conference player. His senior season was plagued by injuries, but I believe that the time off will definitely help him be prepared to have one more great game," said Catanzaro.

The official LFC Press Release can be seen HERE

Foresters have six named to the All MWC teams!

2011-11-28T08:43:00.004-06:00

Official LFC Press Release

The Lake Forest College football team received a nod of six all-conference selections from the Midwest Conference. Named to the First team were senior WR Kevin Davis and senior DB Luke Butts. Butts earned his third all-conference nod, while Davis received his first as a wide receiver after being a two time selection on special teams.

Record setting junior Quarterback Pete Scaffidi, junior running back Al Mitchell, and senior offensive lineman Gil Munoz were all named to the second team, while senior defensive lineman Casey Flynn received his second nod to the all-conference team as a second team selection.

Davis, who scored 13 touchdowns, while breaking the school record for receiving yards in a season (1,282 yards). Butts finished in the top 6 in school history in tackles (319) and interceptions (10) for his career.

"All of these players are very deserving. I am confident that the coaches in the MWC have seen that we are a program on the rise, and the acknowledgement of the contributions these players have made is well deserved. I couldn't be more happy for them, and I know that this is not the last awards they will receive," commented Coach Catanzaro.

Pre-Game! LFC vs Concordia

2011-11-19T06:04:00.003-06:00

LFC vs St.Norberts Pre-game Show!!

2011-11-04T16:11:00.002-05:00

Foresters Extinguish Prairie Fire

2011-11-02T08:58:00.006-05:00

In a highly anticipated game, the Foresters did something on Saturday that they hadn't done since 2006, and that was win a game on the road vs. Knox College 31-27.

In addition to winning the game, the Foresters continued their assault on the teams offensive record books, as several records were either tied, or fell at Saturday's game. For a complete summary of records that were broken or tied, please see this article.

The Foresters had two unlikely heroes on the day, in addition to their offensive superstars. Freshman Kicker Donnie Caldwell, made a huge play in the third quarter as he connected on his first field goal of his career to extend the Forester lead to 24-7. This would be the Foresters only points in one of their longest touchdown droughts, going 32 minutes between their last two touchdowns in the game.

Junior Aidan Price's block and recovery of Knox's extra point attempt after their final touchdown kept the Prairie Fire lead at 3points.

"Aidan's block was a huge play. This allowed us to have options. If we needed to, we felt that we could line up for a field goal and tie the game and go to overtime if we needed to. I am glad that we didn't need to. With Donnie making his first field goal attempt, we knew he be confident, and we knew where we would need to be on the field in order for him to make the field goal," said Coach Catanzaro.

The Foresters had one of their best defensive "halves" on the season in the first half against Knox. Allowing just 118 yards, of which 71 came on Knox's lone scoring drive. The Foresters also limited the Prairie Fire to 6 total first downs, four of which came on the lone Knox scoring drive. The Forester defense received a big boost from Freshman John Preston. Preston, who had spent much of the season at Fullback, made his first start at linebacker versus Knox.

"John Preston's performance on Saturday, sealed his move to the defensive side of the ball. He had one of the most productive games of any defensive player in my time at Lake Forest. One of the things that won't show up in the box score is how impactful his two sacks were on the course of the game. His ability to get pressure, without us having to zone blitz really gave us a strong advantage. He was as focused as any player on his task, and executed with outstanding skill. He set the tone for our whole team on our first kick off when he ran down the field, and made a big hit on the Knox returner. From that point on, he just had a game to remember. I hope he can duplicate that next week."

For his efforts, Preston was named the MWC Defensive Player of the week, the first since Ed Dobernig in week 8 of the 2010 season. Preston finished the day with 18 tackles, 2 sacks, and 1.5 tackles fora loss. For more information on the MWC Player of the Week award, please click here.

The offensive attack was balanced throughout the team as two receivers, Kevin Davis and Austin Sobey would have over 100 yards receiving, and junior running back Al Mitchell would have his biggest rushing total of his career with 171 yards on 24 carries. His 171 yards were the 8th highest single game total by a Forester running back. Sobey would tie a school record that he shares with Davis among others with three touchdown receptions. Sobey is the first player in school history to have multiple three TD games in the same season, after securing three TD's versus Illinois College earlier in the season.

Davis would add to his single season records for yards with another 148 yards receiving. Among his yardage was a critical fourth down reception on the game winning drive. On fourth and five with under three minutes to go in the game, Scaffidi found Davis in the right flat. At the point of reception, Davis would not have had the first down, but with a burst of speed towards the sideline, he was able to pick up the necessary yardage and get out of bounds.

"Our final drive of the game was text book. We knew that our play makers on offense would find a way to do get us the score. The first play of the drive really set the tone, rather than go to the air immediately, we ran a run play with Pete. This is a play that we hadn't run all game, and it collected 18 yards of breathing room for us. I have to admit, I was a little nervous when we got to 3rd and 4th down, but if there is one thing that I have learned this season is that we have guys who will find a way to make the necessary play on offense. When Pete found Kevin for the first down, it calmed me down quite a bit. Pete's pass to Austin for the game winning touchdown was a perfectly executed play against the coverage that we saw. On the previous play, all of the coaches saw an opening for a touchdown. I give a lot of credit to Coach Kerr for coming back with that play-call to get the game winner," said Catanzaro. "One thing that goes unnoticed and I have to mention is that as we went into the kickoff team huddle after the touchdown, we were short a few players due to injuries that were suffered during the game. I called out to KD and said, 'Hey man, I need you for one more play. Can you give it?'-- He didn't even hesitate, 'Coach, I got you.' Mind you, Kevin had come off the field with a minor injury in the third quarter. This is not a surprise by any means, but how many record setting wide receivers are running down on their teams kickoff team. Not only did he run down, he went out there and made the tackle. After giving up a big return in the third quarter, we really needed to get them pinned on their side of the 50, and Kevin did that. He is one of the most humble, and hand-working players on our team. The maturation that he has gone through from his freshman year to now, is something that is truly special, and he is a player that I couldn't be more proud of."

"Austin had a great game. In addition to the three touchdown passes that he caught, there were numerous drive extending catches as well. He did a great job of getting open and making catches. Knox was trying to double team Kevin early in the game, and Austin and Pete did a tremendous job of making them pay against single coverage. Austin has had a breakout junior season. I know how hard he worked in the weight room this past spring and he is really seeing some rewards from that."

Scaffidi recorded his third straight game of 300+ yards passing, and his sixth on the season. On the season Scaffidi has an astounding TD to interception ration at 28-5. Scaffidi is current ranked 2nd in NCAA Division III in Points responsible for, 3rd in total offense, 7th in Passing yards per game. Senior Kevin Davis is ranked 3rd in receiving yards per game, Davis is also 4th in receiving yards (total).

"It was a great win. It made for an enjoyable bus ride home, and now our guys are focused on closing out the conference slate next Friday," said Catanzaro.

Coach's Show Cancelled!

2011-10-28T13:22:00.001-05:00

The Forester Football Coach's Show is cancelled today, due to the teams travel to Galesburg for their game against Knox. Coach Cat sends his best, and hopes that next week we will be able to talk about a win streak during the Coach's Show.

Pictures from the Benny Watters Cup

2011-10-26T13:25:00.001-05:00

Pictures from the Benny Watters Memorial Cup can be found HERE

Foresters unload on Vikings!

2011-10-26T12:43:00.002-05:00

The Foresters completed their road trips to Wisconsin on Saturday with a victory over Lawrence. The Foresters finished 2-0 on games played north of the border. This day saw the Foresters dominate in every facet of the game from start to finish.

The Foresters kicked off to start the game, and the defense recorded a quick 3 and out on a Vikings offense that had scored 62 points in a single game this season. After a LU punt, the Foresters went 8 plays and 87 yards, culminating on a 54 yard touchdown pass from junior Pete Scaffidi to senior Kevin Davis. The prolific duo would combine for five completions for 152 yards and 3 TD's on the day. The Foresters took the lead at the 8:54 mark of the first quarter and never looked back, on their way to a dominating and record setting performance.

The Foresters defense would show that they were ready for the challenge of the day, and record another 3 and out series where the Vikings would have negative ten yards on the drive. The Forester defense would finish the day recording six three and outs on the day, a season high. The Forester defense also held the Vikings to a 12% conversion rate on third downs (1-8).

Several Foresters had days they are not likely to forget anytime soon. Junior Pete Scaffidi continues his assault on the LFC single season and single game record books, as he tied his own record (5 TD passes in a game), and increased his season touchdown mark (now at 25). Scaffidi is now within 8 completions and 207 passing yards of topping those marks for the single season as well.

Teammate Kevin Davis, is nearing a number of his own records, as he needs 2 touchdown receptions and 56 yards to break the programs single season marks with three games remaining in the season. In addition, Davis, tied his own single game record of three touchdown receptions in the game.

Not to be outdone, freshman place kicker Donnie Caldwell tied a school record held by Pat Dunne '02 for extra points in a single game with 8. Ironically, Dunne, recorded his 8 extra points against Lawrence in 1999.

"It was a great win. I was thrilled to see our team play at a high level on both sides of the ball. I was disappointed that we gave up the two late touchdowns when the game was out of hand (56-24). I am excited that we did as much damage in the passing game on so few attempts. To average 12 and a half yards per attempt and 20.5 per completion is outstanding. Defensively, I was really excited about how we started the game. We came out with great determination and felt like we had something to prove," commented head football coach Jim Catanzaro after the game.

"The true stars of the game were the offensive line. Gil, Sal, Dan, Ari, and Tommy paved the way for something that I have never seen at Lake Forest, or anywhere else that I have coached. 610 total yards, 239 on the ground, and 0 sacks. That is truly an awesome display. I couldn't have been more proud of the way that those guys played. I know that with Ari, a first year football player, and Tommy (sophomore) that they really want to help the three seniors go out with some big time memories. I have no doubt that when these guys comeback for homecoming ten years from now, this will be one of the games at the top of their list."

"Our offense has kept us in every game, and our defense is starting to catch up. We have played seven games this year, and have had a different starting lineup on defense each week. Our guys up front did a tremendous job, despite being without two of our senior starters, who were hurt for the week. (Kenny Clady-Mason and Dylan Burke). We saw a great performance by Taylor (Holzmeyer) up front. Two sacks, a forced fumble, and a few more pressures, really created havoc on their backfield," said Catanzaro. "Guys have to step up when others get injured, and I saw a few guys definitely do that."

"The players did a great job executing the game plan on both sides of the ball, and Coach Kerr put together an offensive plan of attack that was as perfect as they get. I know when we watch film, we'll hope that there are some areas to improve upon, because as coaches we are never satisfied, but I can tell you, watching that game today from the sideline, I was as satisfied in the moment as I have been in a long time," finished Catanzaro.

Coaches Players of the Game:

Offense: Kevin Davis 5 catches, 152 yards, 30ypc avg, 3 TD (ties school record)

Defense: Luke Butts 12 tackles (10 solo), 1 Pass break up, and 2 TFL's

Special Teams: Donnie Caldwell- 8 Extra points (ties school record)

Lineman: Taylor Holzmeyer- 2 sacks, 1 Forced Fumble, and 2 pressures.

Scout Team: Clint Stibbard- LB

Pete Scaffidi Named MWC Offensive Performer of the Week: Forester Athletics

2011-10-24T21:31:00.000-05:00

Pete Scaffidi Named MWC Offensive Performer of the Week: Forester Athletics

Pre-Game! LFC vs Lawrence

2011-10-21T15:35:00.003-05:00

2011 Benny Watters Mini-Golf Championship

2011-10-21T14:12:00.000-05:00

AL MITCHELL NAMED FORESTER ATHLETE OF THE WEEK!

2011-10-21T14:03:00.002-05:00

Junior running back Al Mitchell was named the Forester Athlete of the week for his performance against Monmouth College this past Saturday. Official LFC Press Release

CONGRATULATIONS AL!

Foresters can't close out conference leaders.

2011-10-19T13:36:00.002-05:00

The Foresters provided their fans with one of the most entertaining games of the season on Saturday. From the pre-kickoff stare down, to the the final play of the game, there was no doubt that the Foresters were going to fight the entire game through against the conference leading Scots from Monmouth.

Through the first three quarters, the Foresters benefited from some timely defensive plays and a potent offense that continues to be near the top of the league in most statistical categories. With seven minutes to go in the third quarter, the Foresters lead 28-19, when Jordan Cruz picked off All-American quarterback Alex Tanney and returned the ball to the 46 yard line.

"This was a critical point for us. This could have given us an opportunity to go up 16-17 points. We know that their offense is potent, and to put pressure on them would have been great. We had proven that we could put together long drives, just like our first one (seven minutes long), and we felt that we could do that again if necessary in the fourth quarter. Unfortunately, we weren't able to put the ball in the end zone," commented Coach Catanzaro.

The Foresters would punt, and the Scots would go 80 yards on 9 plays to cut the Forester lead to 2 points. On the subsequent kickoff, the Foresters would fumble the return, and the Scots would capitalize on the mistake taking their first lead of the day at 32-28 over the Foresters. The teams would score a combined 46 points in the fourth quarter. The Foresters unfortunately would come up a touchdown short against the Scots falling 53-47.

"I couldn't be more proud of our guys. They refused to be intimidated, and fought from the opening kickoff to the end of the game. Some of our playmakers really stepped up and made big plays," said Catanzaro. "Guys like KD, Pete, and Al Mitchell really stepped up to the challenge that we put on them at the beginning of the week. When you look at what those three individuals did today, you can't help but be excited about what the future of our program looks like."

The three players that Catanzaro mentioned accounted for 145 rushing yards, 237 yards receiving, and 389 yards passing. Both Mitchell and Scaffidi threw for a touchdown, while Davis and Scaffidi both rushed for touchdowns. Mitchell and Davis both caught touchdowns from Scaffidi as well. Junior Rocky Al-Mutawa recorded 3 catches for two touchdowns on the day, while sophomore tight end Justin Smith had the best day of his young career with 7 catches for 66 yards and a touchdown.

The Forester defense was paced by John Dillon and Jordan Cruz. Dillon had 10 tackles on the day, while Cruz had five tackles, a sack, a tackle for a loss, and an interception. Sophomore cornerback Darrius McKay added his third interception of the year in the first half as well.

"If you were to tell me before the game that we would score 47 points, and force three take-aways against any opponent, I'd believe that we would win 99.9% of those games. Unfortunately, we ran into the top team in our conference and they were able to overcome those two things and still find a way to win. As I told our players, the thing that will take us to the next step is finding ways to win the game in the end. I feel like this season has had so many near misses, that we are bound to get over the hump soon," said Catanzaro. Near misses is the perfect description for the Foresters W-L record to this point. Their record sits at 1-5, the Foresters have been within 5 points of winning the game in the fourth quarter in each game except for the Grinnell game.

The Foresters return to action in Appleton, Wisconsin to take on Lawrence University on Saturday, October 22nd at 1pm.

Players of the Game:

Offense: Pete Scaffidi 36*-48 360yds 4TD's, rushing: 17car 63 yds 1Td

Defense: Jordan Cruz

Special Teams: Tanner Daugherty 3 tackles and averaged 36.2 yards per punt.

Scout Team: Jr. Justin Novak

Lineman: Gil Munoz

*School Record

LFC PRESS RELEASE

Foresters collect first MWC victory on the road at Beloit!

2011-10-12T12:35:00.003-05:00

It was the first victory of Coach Jim Catanzaro's young head coaching career in the state of Wisconsin, but more importantly, it was the Foresters first MWC victory of the 2011 campaign.

The Foresters came out of the locker room performing at a very high level. The defense, which had gone through a rough couple of games pitched only its second shut out quarter of the '11 season in the first quarter. The Foresters gained some significant momentum in the first quarter as they forced a fumble on Beloit's second possession. The Forester offense turned that takeaway into seven points four plays later on a three yard pass from Pete Scaffidi to Kevin Davis. It was the fifth time that the two South Elgin High School alums have connected for a touchdown pass in give games.

Beloit would attempt to answer the Forester score, but a missed field goal would provide the Foresters a chance to extend their lead. On the fifth play of the drive, Scaffidi would again find Davis for a 61 yard touchdown. The touchdown gave the Foresters their first double digit lead of the season.

"It was awesome. We had talked about extending a lead the last two weeks, and to finally accomplish it, I think was a great feeling for everyone on the team. We had explained to the players the advantages and the two score lead, and what it would allow us to do as coaches. I know that they were really trying to make that happen. After we got that second touchdown, there was a portion of our playbook defensively that had been dormant for a while that we could now tap into. Our defensive guys were excited," said Coach Catanzaro.

The Bucs would take their next possession 49 yards, before a big third down stop by the Foresters. Beloit would convert the 26 yard field goal. The Foresters next drive would be their only 3 and out possession of the day. After a Tanner Daugherty punt that pinned Beloit inside their 20 yard line, junior safety Aidan Price, who was making his first scheduled start for the Foresters recorded his first career interception. Price would return it the interception to the 14 yard line. The first play from scrimmage was 14 yard touchdown pass to junior Austin Sobey to give the Foresters a 20-3 lead.

The Foresters went into halftime, with words of caution from their head coach. "No lead is safe, and we must FINISH the game," said Catanzaro. "I didn't want the players to think that a lead at halftime would equal a victory."

Beloit would score on their first possession of the second half a 9 play 58 yard drive the took almost 5 minutes off the clock.

"I was glad that our guys made Beloit work hard on that drive. I was disappointed in how they scored (31 yard touchdown pass) on 3rd and 12. We were in a pretty good coverage position, we just failed to make the play, and it allowed a very talented player (BC's Derek Carrier) to get into the end zone," commented Catanzaro.

The Forester offense took the field and responded. The Foresters marched 60 yards on 9 plays including a 4th and 1 conversion on their own five yard line, before junior Al Mitchell walked into the end zone on a 1 yard touchdown carry.

Beloit's next possession would last for 13 plays and 6 minutes and 40 seconds, but would only cover 41 yards. The Foresters would record a stop on 4th and goal from the 19 yard line, after a holding call had backed up the Buccaneers.

The Foresters lead 27-10 at this point, and were interested in clicking off as much time from the clock as possible. The first play of the drive ended the third quarter, and the Foresters started the fourth quarter with one goal in mind. "We wanted to run the ball, play after play, and keep the clock running. We had a conversation as coaches that we wanted to shorten the game. Since there had only been three total possessions in the third quarter, we wanted to replicate that in our favor during the fourth quarter," commented Catanzaro.

The players took the coaches "orders" and executed to perfection. Their possession resulted in a 13 play 51 yard drive that churned six minutes and thirty-six seconds off of the clock. The Foresters did not score any points, but they kept the football away from the Beloit offense. Unfortunately, during this time, the Buccaneers had come up with a "big-play" idea for the Forester defense and on the fifth play of the drive, the Bucs again found Carrier for a 57 yard touchdown that saw him split two defenders on his way to the end zone.

"Derek showed why he is an NFL prospect. There aren't a lot of guys that are his size with that type of speed. I was thoroughly impressed with the way that he played, and am glad that this is the last time that we have to see him on the opposing sideline," said Catanzaro.

The Forester offense took over the next possession still with a 10 point lead. The Foresters would put together a drive that was almost identical to their last drive. 13 plays, 51 yards and an incredible six minutes and forty-nine seconds burned off the clock. The drive included a "controversial" decision by Coach Catanzaro to "go for it" on 4th and 1 from their own 36 yard line.

"It was a really easy decision for me. I know that we could get one yard if we executed it properly. We have had good success in those situations, and I wanted to maintain possession of the football. Our offensive line had been doing a great job, so we called the time out after the play clock wound down, and we made sure that we were all on the same page. But you'd better believe, after the game, even my wife asked me what I was thinking. The privilege of being the head coach, is that no one knows my team better than I do. I'd go for it again even if we didn't convert it there. I had the confidence in our offense to get it, and in our defense to get a stop if we didn't," said an emphatic Catanzaro.

Despite moving the ball, the Foresters did not score as two attempts to the endzone on third and fourth down inside the 16 yard line fell incomplete.

Beloit would have its final drive of the day ended on an interception by senior captain Luke Butts. It was Butts' fourth interception in four games against the Buccaneers.

The Foresters were paced on offense by Davis who had 5 catches for 147 yards and two touchdowns, while junior running back Al Mitchell would top the 100 yard mark for the second time in three games at 107 yards on 24 carries. Defensively Butts added 10 tackles to his interception and Aidan Price added 7 to his interception. Senior defensive lineman Kenny Clady-Mason caused a fumble that was recovered by Sophomore LB Bryce Jones.

The Foresters return to action on Saturday, October 15th against Monmouth College.

Players of the Week:

Offensively: Kevin Davis

Defensively: Aidan Price
Special Teams: Donnie Caldwell averaged 55 ypk on kickoffs.

Scout Team: Mike Somma

Lineman of the Week: Will Savor- graded out at 82% and recorded 2 pancakes coming off the bench.

LFC Coaches Show- Week 5- Beloit

2011-10-07T15:15:00.003-05:00

Entertaining and exciting homecoming game, sees Foresters defeated.

2011-10-03T12:35:00.005-05:00

In an effort worth of a homecoming performance, the Forester fell just short in their comeback efforts. The Foresters were able to claw within 3 points on the first play of the fourth quarter and again within 4 points with seven minutes remaining in the game.

Junior Quarterback Pete Scaffidi would become the first Forester ever to throw for over 300 yards in three consecutive games as he finished with 345 yards. Senior Kevin Davis would top 150 receiving yards for the second time in two weeks, besting his career single game high by one yard with 158 yards. Senior Luke Butts would record his first interception of the year, moving him up to 7th all time for interceptions for the Foresters.

Early in the game, the Foresters were their own worst enemy. After each teams first possession, the Foresters held a 7-3 lead over the Pioneers. On Carroll's second possession of the game, they held Carroll to a 3 and out series and forced Carroll to punt. The punt landed out of the endzone and the Foresters. The Foresters would also have a 3 and out, but the punt snap went awry and the Foresters were tackled on their own 11 yard line. The Foresters defense held tough on the first three plays, but the Pioneers attempt on 4th and goal from the 2 yard line was successful.

The Foresters next drive would end on a Pete Scaffidi interception. It was only Scaffidi's third interception on the season. Carroll would take possession of the ball and score to extend their lead to 17-7. The drive was aided by a 15 yard personal foul call against the Foresters.

Lake Forest would receive the kickoff and go 72 yards on 11 plays. The scoring play was a 4th & 11 pass from Pete Scaffidi to Kevin Davis that went for a 24 yard touchdown pass. The extra point from Donnie Caldwell would make the score 17-14 in favor of the Pioneers.

Carroll would return the following kickoff to the 42 yard line. They would pick up a first down on a screen pass to their running back. On the next play, the Foresters would intercept Carroll's pass on the seven yard line on a spectacular over the shoulder catch by sophomore defensive back Darrius McKay. The interception was McKay's second of the season.

The Foresters would pick up two first downs before and illegal block would negate an Al Mitchell 3 yard run, and send them back to the 18 yard line. On the subsequent 4th down, the Foresters would have their second miscue on special teams as a Carroll defender partially blocked the Tanner Daugherty punt.

"We had a chance to really build some momentum in the first half. I hate to use "coach talk" but we kept shooting ourselves in the foot. We had two opportunities to take the lead, or at least chance the field position in our favor, and both times, we gave the ball back to Carroll in better field position than they had left the field with on their previous series," commented Coach Catanzaro.

Carroll would take over, but it was the Forester defense that stepped up and held the Pioneers to a single first down. After gaining a first down, the Carroll QB would get to know sophomore defensive lineman Taylor Holzmeyer who sacked him for a 10 yard loss. The Forester defense would give up no more yards on this drive and force Carroll to punt. The Carroll punt went out of bounds, and the Foresters took over on their 20 yard line. After an incomplete pass and a false start penalty the Foresters were faced with a 2nd and 15 from their 15 yard line. Scaffidi would be intercepted for the second time in the contest by the Carroll defender Neal Layng. Layng would return the interception to the Lake Forest 12 yard line. On second down, the Pioneers were able to extend their lead to 24-14.

"That was a very frustrating sequence. I expected the defense to go out there and get a stop the way that they had been playing to that point, and hold for a field goal attempt. Too have two of their three touchdowns cover 12 and 11 yards total was frustrating. We knew that we could give them extra chances in the short field like that. They were second in the conference last year, and are a top three or four team in the MWC most seasons. You can't turn the ball over, or make special teams errors. They will capitalize on those situations," explained Catanzaro.

The Foresters next possession was showing great promise as they crossed midfield with ease and looked on pace to answer the Carroll score. On 2nd and 4 on the 41 yard line, Scaffidi completed a crossing route to Davis who took the ball to the 27 yard line before being hit awkwardly, and fumbling the football. Layng picked up his second turnover of the day and began a footrace through the Forester offensive lineman and appeared on his way for a touchdown, had it not been for junior wide receiver Rocky Al-Mutawa who caught Layng from behind on the 10 yard line.

"Rocky's hustle play turned out to be one of the most important plays of the game. It gave our defense a chance to go on the field at try to get a stop. The fumble really hurt us. The way we were moving the ball, it looked like we were going to cut the lead into a one score lead, and you could feel the energy get zapped from our sideline," said Catanzaro.

The Forester defense would be aided by a personal foul on second down and three consecutive incomplete passes by Carroll, before the 42 yard field goal attempt would push wide of the uprights.

"We felt that we dodged a bullet at the end of the half. I felt like our defense really responded, and had picked up a few big stops, and were playing really well when we had some space to work with. But we had also gotten two stops inside the red-zone. Despite the points, I thought we were doing a fairly good job on defense. I thought that if our offense just held onto the ball, that they could score a lot of points in the second half," said Catanzaro.

The Carroll offense, was averaging 195 yards rushing the ball per game, but were limited to 9 carries for 14 yards in the first half of play.

The second half started with the Foresters receiving the opening kickoff. The drive would march deep into Pioneer territory, before a 4th down completion to Austin Sobey would be marked 4 inches short of a first down. The Forester defense would come out and play a great series, which included Holzmeyer's second sack of the day on third down, thus forcing Carroll to punt again. The Foresters would march down the field, before the drive would stall on the 8 yard line. Freshman Donnie Caldwell would attempt a 27 yard field goal that would sail wide left.

The Forester defense would gain another stop of the Carroll offense, as Luke Butts would intercept the third down pass by Carroll on the 36 yard line. The Forester offense would take 10 plays, but on the first play of the fourth quarter would score on a Pete Scaffidi quarterback sneak, cutting the Carroll lead to 24-21.

"It was great to see the defensive takeaway leading to a touchdown. That is something that we had talked about all week in practice that we needed to make a big stop, or get a takeaway and then score. Pete told us that he could get us in there, even if we had to run the sneak four times in a row. I think that we were ready to do that at that point," said Catanzaro.

On Carroll's next possession, they would bounce a running play off a Forester tackle for 33 yards before junior Aidan Price would make the tackle. Price who was starting at safety for the first time in his career finished the day with five tackles and a forced fumble on the day. The Forester defense would gain one more big stop on the 14 yard line as Nick Waters broke up the Carroll 4th down pass attempt.

Unfortunately for the Foresters, they would commit another turnover on their first play after the 4th down stop. Junior Al Mitchell would take the handoff, but as he was tackled a Carroll defender was able to rip the ball away from Mitchell. Carroll would gain control of the bouncing ball, and take over with a fresh set of downs on the 18 yard line. Two plays later they would score to extend their lead to 10 points.

After a 41 yard kickoff return by McKay, Scaffidi would target junior Austin Sobey on the 1st play from scrimmage for a 37 yard touchdown.

"It was a great route conversion, and read by both players. After the "kick in the gut" of fumbling after the stop to get that score so quickly really helped out sideline and fans," said Catanzaro.

The following kickoff would drift out of bounds, giving the Pioneers a 1st and 10 on the 40 yard line. Carroll would march 60 yards on 8 plays over the course of 4 minutes in order to re-extend their lead to 10.

The offensive explosions were not complete by any stretch. Carroll would send their kickoff out of bounds, and the Foresters would look to capitalize with the short field. On their third play from scrimmage, they did just that as Scaffidi connected with Davis for a 46 yard touchdown. It was the second time the two South Elgin High School graduates had connected for a touchdown.

With seven minutes to go in the game, Carroll would hold a four point lead as the extra point attempt would be missed.

On the third play of Carroll's next drive, all-conference running back Joe Beckstrand would cutback a running play and go 39 yards for a touchdown, to get an 11 point lead for the Pioneers. The Foresters could not answer on their next drive, and Carroll was able to run out the clock on the Foresters homecoming.

"I think that every member of our team wanted that win more than anyone else. I know that we are all going to look at film tomorrow and be frustrated with our inability to capitalize on the opportunities that were there for the taking. We made some critical mistakes in special teams and in ball security early, and then defensively we had some lapses late in the game. Momentum is a funny thing, and we need to do a better job of riding that wave on the positive side of that. I am looking forward to getting back on the field to work towards that. We are a team that is much better than our record, but we have to figure out how to finish the game, once we accomplish that task, it will be the start of something really special," finished Catanzaro.

Players of the Week

Offense: Austin Sobey 9 catches 124 yards and 1 touchdown

Defense: Taylor Holzmeyer 2 sacks, 3 tackles, 1 pressure, 1 pass breakup

Special Teams: Darrius McKay 4 Returns 157 yards on kickoffs

Scout Team: Freshman Jared Herter

Lineman of the Week: Tom Mitchell

Carroll Pregame Show!

2011-09-30T16:01:00.002-05:00

Foresters travel far, but fall short against Grinnell

2011-09-28T10:25:00.003-05:00

"Disappointing. We played down today, and I am not sure why," commented Head Football Coach Jim Catanzaro after Saturday's loss to Grinnell.

"They are a talented team offensively. Their quarterback didn't run a lot, but he ran in critical times. Their passing game gave us fits defensively. Robert Seer is, in my opinion, one of the top two wide receivers in the league, and we didn't have an answer for him. We tried man, we tried zone, and we couldn't seem to stop him. It was like when Dan Carter played for us. He was going to get his, and we knew the ball was going there, and couldn't seem to stop him," said Catanzaro of the Grinnell wide receiver who had 11 catches for 156 yards and 3 touchdowns.

The Foresters were stout against the Grinnell running game, giving up only 2.7 yards per carry, but through the air was another story, as Grinnell amassed 338 yards through the air. The only more staggering statistic, was that the Forester offense racked up more yards than the Pioneers 443-408.

"A few things really tripped us up today. The long kick return, and the fumble, were extremely costly, not only on the field, but from an emotional start. You put together a great drive offensively to start the game, and go get the 7-0 lead. Then on the kickoff, you give up a 60 yard return to the 17 yard line. Most good offenses are going to score from that point. Our defense pushed them to fourth down, but weren't able to get the stop on 4th and goal. Then later in the quarter the defense comes up with a big goal line stand, on a big 4th down sack by John Dillon, and then two plays later, we turn the ball over on the 10 yard line. So their first two scores covered a total of 27 yards. You can't let a team build a lead that way," said Catanzaro.

"I think that the referee's got into our players heads as well. Especially in the secondary. A few questionable calls, and then the number of pass interference calls that were made. I have never in my life seen the number of defensive holding/pass interference calls in one game. There were 5 or 6 calls, and one negated an interception by us," said Catanzaro. "We need to clean up our pass coverage this week in practice. A couple of players have gained extensive playing time due to injuries, and they need to start playing at a higher level if they want to continue being on the field."

Offensively, the Foresters exhibited their best balance of the 2011 season. Junior Al Mitchell recorded 22 carries for 121 yards to pace the Forester rushing attack. The passing game saw another solid day by Pete Scaffidi as he completed 31 of 46 passes for 317 yards and 2 touchdowns. Scaffidi completed passes to seven different receivers, who were lead by senior Kevin Davis with 14 catches for 157 yards and a touchdown.

"KD put together a nice game, but I can guarantee you that he felt like he left a few catches/yards on the field. I know that he gave all that he had, and his performance showed that," said Catanzaro. The 14 catches in one game is the second highest total for a single game in school history. Only Dan Cole vs. Monmouth in 1990 recorded more catches in a single game (17).

"We have a big challenge this week against Carroll. They are coming to Lake Forest on a mission. They had an unusual early season loss against Illinois College, and they sent notice to the conference after they beat Ripon College that they are still a team to be reckoned with. They have a tremendous duo at running back, and they have some very talented tight ends, that we haven't seen a lot of the last two weeks. Our guys are going to have to have a great week of practice this week as we get ready for homecoming," concluded Coach Catanzaro.

Players of the Week:

Offensively: Junior RB Al Mitchell (22 carries for 121 yards and 2 TDs, 6 catches for 22 yds)

Defensively: Senior Safety Luke Butts 9 tackles, including 2 TFL's

Special Teams: Junior LB Aidan Price

Scout Team Player of the Week: Freshman DE Ramel Samuel

Lineman of the Week: Gil Munoz

Foresters fall to IC despite record breaking day.

2011-09-21T11:40:00.005-05:00

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.

LFC Coaches Show: Week 3- Illinois College

2011-09-16T17:26:00.001-05:00

Video of the Foresters entrance on Patriots day!

2011-09-15T09:19:00.002-05:00

Turn up your speakers, so that you can hear the engines of the Illinois Patriot guard in the background! Thank-you to David Perales for sharing his video with us!

Forester rally falls short in MWC opener.

2011-09-14T14:32:00.004-05:00

"I'm not happy. I don't care about 'morale victories.' We need to win games like that in order to take the next step as a program," stated Coach Catanzaro after the game on Saturday.

The Foresters had put themselves in position to do something that they had not done since Nov. 15th, 2004, beat Ripon College. After a tough, physical, and full game that pitted two opposite teams against each other, the Foresters came up just short against the Redhawks.

The Foresters scored with 2:51 to play in the game as Austin Sobey caught his second touchdown of the day from Pete Scaffidi. This cut the Redhawk lead to 29-24. The Foresters attempted an onside kick, but failed to recover the bouncing ball. The Forester defense did something that they had struggled with all day long, they stopped the Redhawks on third down. The Foresters called a timeout, to stop the clock, and give them a chance for a fourth down stop. Instead of punting, which would have likely pinned the Foresters inside their own twenty yard line, Ripon attempted a screen pass. The Foresters were all over the play.

"They have beat us for a touchdown on that screen pass four times in the last three years. We knew it was coming, we just didn't know when. When we got to the end of the game, and they hadn't run it, it felt like it was there. Our defense did a great job seeing it, playing it, and making it impossible for the quarterback to throw it."

The emotional 4th down stop by the Foresters seemed to be fueled by the energetic Forester fans.

"In my six years at Lake Forest, I have NEVER heard a crowd like that throughout the whole game. The student section was on their feet, yelling and screaming. It was an awesome energy. I hope that they continue to come out and support us like that. They even had me as a coach feeding off of their energy," said Catanzaro.

The Forester offense took the field with 1:47 left in the game, on the 34 yard line. On the first play from scrimmage, Scaffidi dropped back to pass, and looked towards his favorite target of the day Sobey. As Scaffidi's arm moved forward, he was hit on the elbow by a Ripon defender. The ball sailed, and was intercepted by a Ripon defensive back.

"Pete made a great read, Austin was open, and if his elbow doesn't get hit, the pass is completed," said Catanzaro. "I had zero doubt that we were marching down to score. You could just see it in the eyes of our players."

"I was proud of the way our team fought. There were times that they could have given up, but that's not who comes out of an LFC locker room. The guys who watch film, eat, and change in Halas Hall, come to play for the whole game. That is a mentality that we have been ingraining in our players since I became head coach. I think you really saw it today. The second thing that I was really proud of was that nobody wanted a pat on the back. We were all angry that we let that one get away. We know the mistakes that we have to clean up, and we will work hard on those all week in practice," continued Catanzaro.

The Foresters were paced offensively on the ground by Jr. Al Mitchell, who ran for 76 yards on 15 carries. Scaffidi finished the day completing 74% of his passes on 20 of 27 passing for 260 yards and 3 touchdowns. He also ran for 35 yards. Sobey recorded 6 catches for 79 yards and 2 touchdowns. Senior Kevin Davis had 4 catches for 95 yards.

Defensively, Lake Forest was paced by Michael Garetto-Balmer and Jordan Cruz who each recorded 10 tackles on the day. Sophomore CB Darius McKay recorded an interception to thwart a Ripon drive.

The Foresters fall to 0-1 in MWC play for the 2011 season, and return to Farwell Field for another home game against Illinois College. The Blueboys defeated Carroll University 34-27 behind a stellar day from Freshman QB Michael Bates who threw for 374 yards against the Pioneers.

COACHES AWARDS:

Offensive Player of the Week: Austin Sobey, Jr.

Defensive Player of the Week: Jake Rotkvich, Jr.

Special Teams Player of the Week: Dominick Campagna (3-3 on XPT, 1-1 on FG's) Jr.

Scout Team Player of the Week: Ed Daniels, So.

First installment of the 2011 Coaches Show with host Lily Mead '15

2011-09-09T17:32:00.002-05:00

HEROES DAY 2011

2011-09-07T10:13:00.002-05:00

The Lake Forest College Football team is proud to announce that on Saturday, September 10th, the Foresters will be hosting Heroes Day 2011.

"For the past two years, we have hosted a "Trick or Treat for the Troops" event in October. Our schedule this year, takes us on the road for the last two weeks of October. We didn't want to stop supporting our troops, so our team decided to tie our efforts into the 10th anniversary of September 11th. We wanted to honor all those who serve our country and community. September 11th was an day that impacted our nation in a way that had never happened before. In the aftermath of the attacks, countless public servants, both domestically, and internationally have sacrificed so much protecting our freedoms. As a team, we want to pay respect and tribute to all of those have done this," said Coach Catanzaro.

The Foresters along with the Alpha Phi sorority will be collecting items for the care packages that they send to troops overseas each year.

"In the past two years, we have sent over 85 care packages to our troops," said Catanzaro. "We have sent them to alums, family members, and friends of the program in the Army, each of the last two years. This year, we will be sending them to one of our Naval Ships that are currently at sea."

Suggested Items for Care Packages include:

Recreational Items: board games, playing cards, magazines, stationary, etc)

Clothing: hats, bandannas, white or black socks, brown or green plain tee shirts)

Non-Perishable Food: canned food, snack food, powdered drink mix

Toiletries: flavored tooth paste, tooth brushes, bar soap, etc

If you have any questions on how you can help, please call Jim Catanzaro, Head Football Coach, at 847-735-6137, or email him at catanzaro@lakeforest.edu.

Lightning Strikes!!!

2011-09-05T18:37:00.004-05:00

The Foresters first game of the season was one that started with a BANG, and ended due to one. LFC traveled to Concordia University to renew the second game of their four game non-conference agreement to start the 2011 season. At kickoff, it was 90*, sunny, and humid, causing Coach Catanzaro to comment,"I hope we brought enough Gatorade, I'm sweating just standing here."

The Foresters won the toss, and chose to defer. Concordia received the opening kickoff, and the game was underway. The Cougars started out strong, using a quarterback run play to escape a backed up starting field position. Though the Cougars would gain 45 yards on their first drive, the Forester defense held strong and forced a punt. The ball was kicked through the end zone, and the Foresters received the ball on the 20 yard line.

Junior Al Mitchell received the call on the first play of the game. Mitchell used his "lightning" fast speed to turn the right corner and sprint up the sideline for an 80 yard touchdown. The Forester sideline erupted with enthusiasm as the junior started the season off on the right foot for the Foresters.

"Wow. All I could say was wow. I have seen Al run away from our defense, but his burst put him at a whole other level compared to the defense," mentioned Catanzaro.

On Concordia's next possession started with a 40 yard pass play. "We blew the coverage. We didn't get over the top of the route, and they took advantage of us." Concordia would go on to finish the drive and tie the game at 7.

The Foresters next offensive possession would be a three and out. The next CU possession was a 10 play scoring drive that was aided by a 3rd down "defensive holding" call on the Foresters away from the play. CUC would miss the extra point. This would be a critical component of the rest of the day.

Sophomore Darius McKay would take the following kickoff 32 yards to give the Foresters an advantageous starting field position. Mitchell would take the first two plays 33 yards to bring the LFC closer to the goal line. An Alec Howe rush for 6 yards, that included a bone crushing block by Jr. Tight End Justin Smith, put the Foresters inside the red zone. On the very next play, Jr. Pete Scaffidi would connect with classmate Rocky Al-Mutawa for a 19yd touchdown pass. The Foresters would go up 14-13 on the extra point.

The next Cougar drive would stall with a missed field goal inside their 20 yard line. With new NCAA rules in place, the ball was placed at the 20 yard line for the Foresters. As soon as the ball was snapped, QB Pete Scaffidi threw the ball to high school teammate, Kevin Davis, on a "quick strike." Davis would go 80 yards, untouched to extend the Forester lead to eight points after Domnick Campagna connected on his third extra point of the day.

The Cougars would get a momentum shift as freshman kick returner James Washington returned the kickoff 67 yards to the Forester 25 yard line. Three plays later the Cougars would score. A 2pt play attempt by Concordia would fail, giving the Foresters a two point lead 21-19.

The Foresters would be forced to punt on their next possession. The Forester defense looked to have Concordia in a tough position as they were faced with a 1st down and 25 yards, after an illegal block penalty. A pass interference penalty on the next play however, put the pressure back on the Foresters. Concordia would convert on 3rd and 3 to record their fourth touchdown of the day. They missed the extra point after this touchdown as well, gaining a lead of 26-21.

Freshman Joey Kropp would receive the next kickoff from Concordia, and provide an "electric" 78 yard retun to the Concordia 15 yard line.

"I couldn't believe that in the first 23 minutes of the game, we had three plays over 75 yards. That's incredible, I have never seen anything like that before," said Catanzaro.

On 2nd and 12, Scaffidi would throw his third touchdown of the day to Jr. Austin Sobey. Scaffidi to that point was 3 of 6 for 116 yards and 3 touchdowns. "He was on his way to a special day." Campagna connected on the extra point to give the Foresters a 28-26 lead. The Foresters 28 points required only 14 offensive plays.

"We were not only efficient, we were explosive. I was thrilled to see the adjustments made by Coach Kerr (new offensive coordinator) take shape on the field. I know that our players were confident in the changes that were implemented," said Catanzaro.

On the third play of the next Concordia drive, the game was halted due to lightning in the area at 2:12pm. The teams would attempt to restart the game at 3:50pm, but would be foiled in their attempt as lightning would reappear. After the game, there was confusion about how things were ended, it was made clear through a conference call later on Saturday evening, that in fact the officials had decided to postpone the game, rather than conclude the game.

Both administrations are currently looking for future dates to try and finish the game with the two teams.

Catanzaro on the delay,"I have never been in a situation like this before. I thought our players and coaches handled the delay the best we could given the situation we were in. I am thankful that (Mike) Gilboe was there to protect our players safety and be our point person on those issues. Now that we have stepped away from the game, I have learned every rule that there is regarding lightning, delays, and the like. I think a few of us in the decision making process didn't know what all of the options were for that situation. I look forward to trying to finish this game. I thought our players were playingPublish Post hard and at a very high level, and I am excited to see them carry this into the conference season against Ripon next week."

The lightning would also delay other division III games, as well as nationally televised games at Michigan and Notre Dame.

Foresters practice off campus!

2011-08-21T09:42:00.003-05:00

Wednesday, August 17^th signified an important event for Lake Forest College football game: the first two-a-day practice schedule. The first practice took place at Halas on Farwell field like most practices, but the second practice started out with a field trip. The players loaded up in busses and got a chance to practice on historic Constitution Field at Great Lakes Naval Base (http://www.cnic.navy.mil/GreatLakes/index.htm). Great Lakes Naval Station is the ONLY Boot Camp for the US Navy. Over 250 trainees attended the night time practice to watch the Foresters. The Foresters had a high contact practice, with a number of situational scrimmages.

A group of trainees who are part of the Special Warriors training program at Great Lakes has a special interest in the process. LFC assistant Coach Mark Dodd, is their drill instructor for their training. Coach Dodd who has served in the military for over 20 years, assists the Foresters with the offensive line. All of the Foresters had to take notice as two minutes into the practice a “Hoo ah Chief Dodd” echoed through the entire Great Lakes Campus.

When asked why he wanted to practice at Great Lakes, Coach Catanzaro replied, “First and foremost, we appreciate the service and sacrifice, that the soldiers perform. We wanted to provide them a break from training, and hopefully some entertainment. There were two individuals who came up to me, one who was a receiver at a conference school (Illinois College) and another who was a tight end at Towson, and I think both of them would have loved to put the pads on again. The second, aspect that I really liked is that it gave us a “different feel” to practice. A night practice is something that we never get to do at home, so it was a great change of pace. Having a good size crowd at a practice is not something that our guys aren’t used to, and I know they were excited to have people yelling and screaming for them. It was a great environment, and I hope to be able to do that again next year.”

Regarding the scrimmage, Coach Cat commented,"The offense really got after the defense in the goal line scrimmage. I was REALLY impressed by the run game down inside the 5 yard line. The defense was able to respond during the full field scrimmage and did a tremendous job of taking away things from the offense. They played with more urgency during that period, and it was exciting to see them rebound in the same practice after a below average goal line scrimmage. I couldn't be more please with our teams effort."

Great Lakes Naval Station has an incredible historic tradition surrounding football. During the first half of the 1950’s, the “Bluejackets” were considered to be on par with the great Army, Navy, and other intercollegiate teams. In 1918, the Bluejackets won the 5^th Rose Bowl. On that team was an individual who would later have a strong relationship with Lake Forest College. The starting Wide Receiver/Defensive Back was George “Papa Bear” Halas. The building that “bears” his name on campus, is the home of Forester Athletics, and the football teams locker room. Halas was named the MVP of the Rose bowl as he had a 32 yard touchdown, and returned an interception 77 yards for a touchdown. Halas, and the Chicago Bears, built Halas Hall on campus in 1978. The Bears resided on campus until 1997.

During the World Wars, many college football players, either graduated, or left college early for military service. This lead to an influx of talented players and coaches to Great Lakes. Hall of Fame players like Halas, Johnny Lujack, and Otto Graham, who had been a superstar at Northwestern University before entering the Navy. Future Hall of Fame Coaches like Paul Brown, Weeb Ewbang, and Frank Leahy all roamed the sidelines at Naval Station Great Lakes, prior to roaming major college and NFL sidelines.

Because so many players went from college to military service, Great Lakes boasted players like George Halas, Johnny Lujack and Otto Graham, who starred at Northwestern before joining the Navy. The Great Lakes teams were coached by the likes of Paul Brown, Weeb Ewbank and Frank Leahy.

In 1943, the Bluejackets defeated the #1 ranked team in the nation, Notre Dame, and finished in the top 20 of ranked college teams.

Lake Forest College and Great Lakes Naval Academy played against each other many years ago. In the 1940’s the two teams played three games against each other. Lake Forest won two of the three games, but the third game, played December 2^nd, 1948, was a 7-14 loss and sadly the final game the two teams ever played against one and other.

Community Service Day!

2011-08-19T08:50:00.007-05:00

Monday August 15^th was no ordinary day for Forester football players. As a part of fall camp each year players give back to society in a day of service. This year, players divided into three groups and set out to improve the community in different ways and learn about teamwork off the field. Tasks varied from moving boxes to painting classrooms, pulling weeds or even measuring thirteen foot snakes.

Elawa Farms (http://www.elawafarm.org/), a local community farm, welcomed fifteen Foresters. The group began by learning a little history about the farm and then they divided and conquered the tasks they were given. The first group took their shovels and began digging and trenching a portion of the garden. Another group weeded a section of the garden. Two seniors, Gilbert Munoz and Casey Flynn, got a chance to work inside the bobcat cage, pulling weeds and watching feeding time. Later, they also got the chance to lift a two hundred and twenty five pound alligator snapping turtle and proved that Foresters really go “Beyond Measure” while measuring a thirteen foot python.

The second group of Foresters spent their day at CROYA (http://www.croya.com/), the local youth center that caters to middle school, high school, and college students. The players helped clean and set up the concert stage where local bands perform. Others touched up the paint in the CROYA center. The last group sang along to “Party in the USA” while washing dishes and cleaning the kitchen. Some of the guys even got to play plumbers and fixed a leaky pipe. The students got to be teachers at the end of the afternoon by teaching sophomore Rocky Al-Mutawa to play Bozo Buckets with the wash bins.

The final seventeen Forester football players pitched in at South School, a local North Chicago grade school. Players moved boxes, furniture, and AV equipment under the supervision of Coach Parker. The guys got to show off their artistic skills while painting hallways, and the office.

A fun time was had by all on Forest Football Service Day 2011. Each player walked away with a new skill or better sense of teamwork after a long hard day of volunteering. As a reward for their efforts, Coach Catanzaro, took the team off-campus for dinner at Bertucci's Italian Steakhouse in Highwood, IL. Bruce Bertucci, who has been a long time fan of the college and the football program, was a gracious host. The Foresters dined on multiple pasta dishes, chicken marsala, fresh steamed vegetables, salad, bread, and ice cream It was a great reward for a hard day of working in the community.

Pictures of the conditioning test 2011 !!

2011-08-15T15:21:00.006-05:00

ALL LINEMAN LOVE THE CONDITIONING TEST!

Check in Day Pictures

2011-08-15T14:00:00.008-05:00

Here are a few pictures of our check-in day. Thanks to one of our team dads, BJ Ungvarsky, for sharing some of these pictures.

2011-08-11T21:10:00.002-05:00

With the help of student video guru Andy Lambert, Coach Cat was able to present this video to the team at their kickoff meeting this evening. There are GREAT EXPECTATIONS for this team to perform in line with this years motto of : BEYOND MEASURE!

GO FORESTERS!

THERE HERE!!!!

2011-08-11T14:31:00.001-05:00

THE LAKE FOREST COLLEGE FOOTBALL TEAM GATHERED IN THE TAILGATE PARKING LOT AT 11AM THIS MORNING TO KICKOFF THE 2011 SEASON. PICTURES TO COME!

Camp Countdown

2011-08-09T21:43:00.002-05:00

Q: Coach, who will step up to replace the voids cast by graduating two 30+ game starters in Anthony Garetto and in Tanner Compton at linebacker?

A: No one. Both Anthony and Tanner are different from any player in our current program. They had intangibles that were extremely unique. Whether it was Anthony's ability to motivate his teammates emotionally, or Tanner's ability to lead them from a toughness perspective. I think that there are some players on our team that can be leaders in those traits, but i don't know that it is prevalent in their current roles.

As far as the on-field ability and performance, there are a few players that have been waiting in the wings for the opportunity to claim their playing time. At outside linebacker, Jake Rotkvich has had an amazing off-season for the second year in a row. I am excited to see him on the field.

At the inside linebacker position, we return four players who have started games for us at that position. Junior Aidan Price, sophomore Jordan Cruz, and sophomore Michael Somma all saw action at inside linebacker. Michael's season was cut short due to injury, but the other two players are in the midst of what could become highly decorated careers. Sophomore Bryce Jones has started at inside linebacker, but has also seen time at outside linebacker and defensive end for us. He could be a very complimentary swing player who sees time at all three positions. Bryce has a very high football IQ and is going to be a force on the field somewhere.

I am looking for returning junior starter Joe Stella to provide a lot of leadership and direction to this group of players. Joe really started to embrace this position during the spring semester in our non-traditional season. I know that with guidance from Coach Little and Coach Kurz, these two position groups will provide us with great strength.

Camp Countdown

2011-08-08T09:05:00.002-05:00

Q: Give us a couple of players that you are looking to step up from their previous roles this season?

A: Junior Justin Smith leads the list for us in this category. Justin will be replacing Steve Yena, who was a 40 game starter at tight end for us. Justin began to see his role expand as the season went on last year. Justin missed his freshman year with a season long injury, and really started to show some of his abilities last year as the season. He is a great blocker, and a big target in the passing game.

On the defensive side of the ball, our second safety position is one that is going to be a heated battle in fall camp. Junior Domnick Campagna, Senior Mike Nelson, and Junior Mike Dotson all bring something unique to the plate. Dom has great range as a deep safety, Nelly is a big hitter who is very aggressive, and Mike Dotson is probably the most cerebral of the three and knows our defense inside and out. All three have been hampered by various injuries thus far in their careers. I look forward to seeing them step up and compete for the starting spot alongside Luke Butts.

Countdown to Camp:

2011-08-05T10:08:00.003-05:00

The third in a series of articles dedicated to the "questions" leading into Forester Football's 2011 season.

Q: What stands out about this years recruiting class?

A: First off, they are older than a traditional recruiting class. We have six transfers, and two players who had at least one year of post graduate play. This will help balance the youth of our team from last years big recruiting class. The second thing that stands out is this a BIG class in terms of size. We were able to bring in 10 offensive and defensive lineman. This was a huge need for us in order to develop size. Of those 10, 4 of them are transfers. Our average incoming lineman is 6'2 265lbs. This will help us a lot, as we look toward the future. We have three senior offensive lineman, and three senior defensive lineman. We needed to add some depth of experience to balance out the extremely talented second-year players that we have coming back at some of those spots.

I think the final thing that stood out about this class is their character. We have a number of individuals who are coming to Lake Forest for all the right reasons. They believe in the message that they are being told in recruiting, and when they come to campus, they find out that there is only truth in the message. They see that the players and coaches are all on the same page, and that they are getting exactly what is being discussed on the phone, or through emails. They see a tremendous opportunity at a great education, the possibility to continue their football playing career in an extremely competitive environment, and they will be a part of a football family, that truly cares about each member.

Replacing Record Holders

2011-08-03T18:22:00.002-05:00

Q: The 2011 Senior Class graduated some talented players, including senior running back Brock Stenberg and quarterback Geoff Sobey, who both appear on the career charts in multiple categories. Who can we expect to replace them?

A: At the quarterback position, we saw a glimpse of what redshirt Junior Quarterback Pete Scaffidi could do in the last four games of the season last year. Against Knox, Pete ran for 100 yards, and threw for four touchdowns in that game. Against Lawrence, Pete ran for 47 yards and completed over 55% of his passes, and we won both of those games. We lost his other two starts, (Monmouth and St. Norbert), and Pete struggled a bit in those games. We will need Pete to be more consistent and trust his arm and legs equally. Pete will get pushed by Sophomore Mike Lewis who made strides this off-season, and has been working extremely hard this summer. Mike is a proven winner. His high school team went 27-1 during his high school career, winning the 2009 state championship, and finishing as the runner up in 2010. Junior Justin Novak struggled in his two starts in 2010, but will have a chance to redeem himself during training camp. Justin has been working tirelessly on some of his mechanics to put himself in a better position to compete this year.

At the running back position, Brock was a workhorse back for us. In addition to Brock, we lose our top backup Ty VanValkenburg to graduation as well. We do not have that type of back returning to us next year. However, we will have a number of talented running backs. Among the players expected to compete for the bulk of the carries are juniors Al Mitchell and Thomas Wilson, and sophomore Alec Howe. Al averaged 5 yards per carry in 2010, and performed very well given the opportunity. He had 11 carries for 78 yards against Monmouth. Alec saw some good reps last season against different opponents. He averaged 6 yards per carry on the season, and contributed a lot on special teams. Thomas struggled through an injury filled season, that included two surgeries. I look forward to him having a great camp and trying to force his way on to the field. Pound for pound, Thomas is one of the strongest and most explosive players that we have. Also looking to battle for carries in the backfield will be sophomore Ed Daniels. Freshman Wendell Carter and Raul Torres both bring impressive resume's to Lake Forest College. Carter, who was an all-state selection in Arizona, while Torres was one of the fastest high school athletes in the state of Massachusetts, finishing 3rd in the 100yd dash at the Western Massachusetts meet, and 11th at the end of the year state meet.

"I look forward for the competition at both of these positions, and I am confident the depth will make our team better," said Coach Catanzaro.

COUNTDOWN TO CAMP

2011-08-02T08:46:00.003-05:00

The start of the 2011 Forester football season is officially 9 days away. Over the course of the next 9 days, Coach Catanzaro will answer one of the most commonly asked questions on the blogsite.

Day #9

"What changes have taken place on the coaching staff since last season?"

First off, we have a new offensive coordinator, Coach Kerr has been serving as our quarterback coach since I became the head coach. I am extremely confident in his knowledge of our scheme and his ability to direct our offense. I know that our players are excited about the direction that he is taking the program.

We added Ted Soenksen '06 to be our offensive line coach. Coach Soenksen was previously at Briar Cliff University in Iowa. I was grateful that we were able to get coach in before Spring Ball so that he could work with our guys.

Mike Hansen is joining our staff to coach the corners. Coach Hansen was with us in the spring, and had done a great job to this point in his first collegiate coaching position. Coach Hansen is a graduate of the University of Washington. Coach Hansen replaced Derek Micke.

Also joining the defense staff is Dean Storkan, Dean is the father of alumnus Rick Storkan '10, and is going to be assisting Tommy Myers and Steve Little with the DE's and OLB's respectively.

The only other change this year was that after helping lead the tight ends last season, Coach Sean McNicholas will not be returning to the staff in order to spend more time working professionally at his executive search firm.

I am confident that we have one of the best coaching staffs in all of division III. How many schools can boast four former head coaches, over 10 years of NFL coaching experience, and over 125 years of college coaching experience.

I know that in addition to the coaching changes, our returning coaches have worked diligently to become better as position coaches, coordinators, and leaders. I am excited to have our coaching staff together again. I am looking forward to the 10th, as I know that all of our coaches are.

2011 FOOTBALL CAMP

2011-06-22T23:03:00.002-05:00

For the past week the Forester Coaching staff has hosted the Nike Full-Contact Football camp at LFC. After a spirited week of practices and scrimmages, the campers were treated to a special, unscheduled surprise at camp this week. Jason McKie (Baltimore Ravens, Fullback) and Tommy Harris (Chicago Bears, Defensive Tackle) came by practice to encourage the players in their pursuit of football excellence.

It was a tremendous opportunity for the young men, who heard a great message of discipline and being committed to their cause.

Thanks Tommy and Jason for being such great role models.

LEADERSHIP BOARD WINNERS ANNOUNCED

2011-06-13T11:20:00.004-05:00

The Spring 2011 Semester Leadership Board winners were announced on June 13th by Coach Cat.

"After receiving the final grades for the semester, we were able to put the final standings in place. It was a VERY close battle, and I am please with the effort that our players put into their teams this year," said Coach Catanzaro.

The individual winner of the spring semester was Tommy Mitchell, a freshman from Chicago, IL. Tom played his prep football for LFC Alums Pat Dunne (Head Coach) and Mike Fitzgerald (Offensive Coordinator) at Marist High School. Mitchell started the last eight games of the season for the Foresters. Mitchell edged fellow freshman Jordan Cruz (Birdview, TX) by 6 points in the individual competition. Mitchell finished the semester with 148 individual points as he was the lead point earner for the Red Devils.

For the team award winners, it also was the closest battle since the leadership boards were instituted. The Gold Coasters, captained by Senior Luke Butts, edged out the Red Devils 596-593. The Red Devils, who were captained by senior Gil Munoz, were edged out in the final tally by just three points. This is the second time that a team captained by Luke Butts has won the team category.

The team winner and the individual winner will be honored on a plaque in the team meeting room, and each will receive an award when they return to campus.

Final Standings

Team (Captain): pts

Gold Coasters (Butts): 596

Red Devils (Munoz): 593

Lakers (Perales): 551

Lumberjacks (Clady-Mason): 532

Jaybirds (Burke): 470

The Disciples of Sir Bartemus (Davis): 440

Boomers (Flynn): 430

Individual Standings:

Name (Yr) (Team): pts

Tom Mitchell (Fr) (Red Devils): 148

Jordan Cruz (Fr) (Gold Coasters): 142

Edwin Esperanza (So) (Lumberjacks): 109

Justin Novak (So) (Jaybirds): 101

Dan McSparin(Boomers): 90

LFC GOLF OUTING SILENT AUCTION ITEMS ANNOUNCED!!!

2011-06-08T12:18:00.002-05:00

PLEASE CLICK ON THESE IMAGES TO SEE THE SILENT AUCTION GOLF OUTING ITEMS!!! IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PLACE A BID THROUGH PROXY, PLEASE EMAIL COACH CATANZARO at catanzaro@lakeforest.edu

BROTHERHOOD GOLF OUTING: HELPS OUT LFC SCHOLARSHIP!

2011-06-07T13:53:00.003-05:00

The 8th annual Brotherhood Golf Outing was held this past weekend at Sliver Lakes Country Club in Orland Park, IL. Over 70 golfers attended this years event, including people who flew in from Boston, Nashville, St. Louis, and Omaha. The event had two winners: on the North Course the winners were: Bob Hansen '00, Jay Biondo '00, Marc Glasstetter, and Jason Slutzky. The South Course winners were Brian Bruha '02, Adam Antell '06, Dave Munson '04, and Mike Munson '01 after a two-hole playoff at -11.

This year the golf outing took on another initiative, as the Brotherhood continued its efforts of giving back to the Lake Forest College community that began in 1979. The men of the Brotherhood, through 50/50 raffles, closest to the pin competition, and other contests throughout the day, took on a philanthropic effort that was dear to the Forester Football program. Proceeds raised from these "in-outing" events raised money for the Benny Waters Memorial Scholarship. Benny was the five-year old adopted brother of the Forester Football team, who passed away this past fall due to a brain tumor.

The scholarship monies are being raised in order to provide a yearly scholarship to honor Benny's memory, and his desire to attend LFC and play football. (Benny's Scholarship info:http://www.forestersforever.com/s/884/index.aspx?sid=884&gid=1&pgid=801&content_id=1051 )

"I am thrilled that the men of the Brotherhood adopted this cause for their golf outing. This is a continued demonstration of their commitment to the LFC community that they love," said Coach Catanzaro.

Clady-Mason named to prestigious Senior 25

2011-05-24T05:25:00.003-05:00

Rising Senior Defensive Lineman Kenny Clady-Mason was recently named to the Lake Forest College Senior 25. Kenny, was named 2nd team all-conference in 2010, and is a two-time academic all Midwest Conference selection. Kenny has served as a Resident Assistant, academic mentor, a member of LFC's TRU, and a member of the Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity. Kenny also serves on the LFC Football Leadership Board as the captain of the Lumberjacks.

"Kenny is a tremendous example of what a Forester Football player should be. Dedicated to the development of the entire Lake Forest campus community. Kenny is a talented leader, who has grown his skill set of mentoring at every opportunity throughout his three years on campus. Kenny is poised for a very memorable senior year. I am excited for Kenny on receiving this award. I do not believe there is a better candidate on our campus as a representative for the Senior 25," said Coach Catanzaro.

Link to Official Release:

http://www.lakeforest.edu/live/news/1097-class-of-2012-senior-25-selected

See Kenny showing off his "soulful" side signing at Karaoke for a Cure:

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=332286729910&comments

FORESTERS CELEBRATE GRADUATION!!

2011-05-08T18:18:00.003-05:00

Saturday at Ravinia in Highland Park, IL, the 133rd Commencement of Lake Forest College took place. Once again, the Forester Football team saw 100% of all four-year letterman graduate on time. The first bachelor degree candidate to walk across the stage was senior safety David Adams of Mundelein, IL (see picture to the right). In all 19 former letter-winners walked across the stage at commencement. In addition to the players, team manager Chris Satoh and office worker Daiva Ragas both graduated as well.

"It was a tremendous opportunity to see the culmination of our players efforts over the last four years. I was honored to be a part of it, and thrilled to see our players, many of whom completed their degree either with honor, distinction, or dual degree status," said Coach Catanzaro.

Two particular graduates that deserve special mention were team captain Steve Yena (Phoenix, AZ), who is one of the initial Groner Scholars (http://www.lakeforest.edu/live/news/856-groner-internship-scholars-selected-for-spring), and was recognized as such at commencement. His roommate Chris Lang (Grosse Pointe, MI), graduated Cum Laude, and has already accepted a law school placement at the prestigious College of Law at Michigan State University.

In addition, four of our grads have accepted positions that stemmed directly from their internships. Including co-captains Anthony Garetto and Brock Stenberg who both accepted positions with Coyote Logisitics (Inc. Magazines #6 fastest growing company).

The majors displayed by the graduates included Art, Business, Chemistry, Communication, Economics, Education, English: Writing, Environmental Studies, History, and Politics.

"I am thrilled for our seniors, and I am excited for the opportunities that our players have had here at Lake Forest, and the places they are going now as they have graduated," commented Coach Catanzaro.

LFC ALUMNI CHALLENGE

2011-04-19T11:07:00.003-05:00

Saturday marked the First Annual Spring Alumni Challenge at Lake Forest College. The event, which served as a culmination to the "spring ball" season for the football team saw over 40 football alumnus return to Farwell Field for the festivities. Despite a cold drizzle, that intensified as the day went on, the hot fires of competition were evident everywhere on the field as a six team 7 on 7 tournament progressed.

Alums were mixed in with current players and a round-robin bracket created a great championship match of undefeated teams. In the final game, the team the consisted of alums Jay Biondo '00, Mike Fitzgerald '03, Ed Kidd '07, Mike Bratta '10, and Dan Carter '10 as well as current players Keenan Carrawell, Kenny Clady Mason, Jordan Cruz, Jake Hujar, Querrnellus Jones, Justin Novak, and Austin Tijerina won the championship convincingly.

After the tournament, alums and current players moved the festivities to the Sports and Recreation Center for a meal together. For some of the alumni, this was their first opportunity to see the new Sports Center addition, and many enjoyed touring around the facility and wondering "imagine if we had this" aloud.

A great time was had by all who attended, and we are looking forward to having everyone back here next year. *pictures will be added soon

RELAY FOR LIFE

2011-04-18T10:49:00.004-05:00

After a cold rainy practice that saw the Foresters go through a physical training course with the US Marine Corp. The Foresters shifted their focus to a different cause of physical activity. The 2011 Relay For Life, co-sponsored by the American Cancer Society was an amazing success.

In an all Forester-football family effort, the team went from third place at the beginning of the day Friday (having raised $5,300) to first place by 5:00pm (current total is $7,905). An amazing, heart-warming, and phenomenal push by our families, friends, and players.

"The Forester Family sent a message," said Coach Catanzaro,"Cancer Sucks, and we will want to be at the front line of the fight."

In addition to their fundraising efforts, the Foresters also raised money in other ways.

"I was sent to jail 22 times Friday night, each time, a player had to pay money to send me, and i had to "raise" the money to match to leave. The last player, Paul Daizovi, paid $20 for me to go to jail, and I had to raise an additional $20 to leave. I think that senior Chris Lang got the most bang for his buck though." commented Catanzaro.

Catanzaro was referencing the fact that Lang, won the second opportunity to "pie" Coach Cat in the auction. After Admissions Counselor Meredith Dumais spent $40 the first time, Coach Cat was asked if he would do a second time. This time the senior fullback from Michigan spent $37 in order to pie Coach Cat. All of the money went to the American Cancer Society.

In addition to sharing financially, the team also shared with the entire school one of the most emotional aspects of the evening. At the traditional lighting of the lumnaria, the members of the Benny Board, shared the story of Benny Watters and his impact on the team and our campus. While the players were talking in the pitch black ice-rink, the following video was played beside them :http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovJfVWPmqCU

The players shared about their first meeting, and their favorite memories of being with Benny. Many of the campus community we left, like the team, with tears as they made the luminaria walk. The team was thrilled to be joined by Brendan, Lisa, Bella, and Lily this year honoring Benny's interaction with the team at Relay last year, as well as all the other memories. It was a truly special event. In the one picture above, you can see Bella and Lily atop the guys shoulders.

It was a great "all-nighter" for our guys who celebrated in the spirit that Benny would have wanted them to, with video games, light saber wars, and smiles on their faces.

Forester Football Displays a Multitude of Talents Across Campus!

2011-04-08T14:46:00.006-05:00

Spring Ball - Check

Raise over $3,000 for Relay for Life- Check

Provide a rowdy crowd at Women's Softball and Lacrosse Games- Check

Compete in an Iron Chef Competition- Check

Win the CARFU Rugby Championships- Check

Beat the University of Chicago in Men's Lacrosse- Check

Win the Tri-Delta Talent Show- Check

Win the Mr. CASAnova Competition- Check

Participate in the Delta Gamma Anchor Splash- Check

The list above is symbolic of the month that the Lake Forest College Football team has had. 20 members of the football team participated on the Club Rugby teams annual trip to Northern Illinois for the Chicago Area Rugby Football Union Championships. The Foresters had narrowly missed out on the championship the last three years. The Foresters DOMINATED the entire tournament, outscoring their opponents 105-13.

Sophomore Dominick Campagana was entered in the Mr. CASAnova contest, that was sponsored by the Kappa Alpha Theta Sorority. The annual event is a fundraiser for the Court Appointed Special Advocates. The Male "beauty" Pageant is a highlight of Greek Week on campus. Traditionally, the Football player struggles in the competition, but this year the tradition was broken. Campagna came away with the title of Mr. CASAnova. His skit, was ranked the "most hilarious" of the night by many in attendance, and his "swimsuit" portion was quite the talk of the campus. See the story behind the Theta's support of CASA here: http://www.kappaalphatheta.org/chapters/etanu/page/casa

The Lake Forest College Women's Lacrosse Team had their first home game ever on Tuesday March 29th against Northwestern University. A crowd that included nearly 40 football players watched the Foresters defeat the Big Ten institution 13-8.

Nine members of the football team suited up for the LFC Club Lacrosse Team as they took on the University of Chicago and University of Wisconsin in their first conference games of the year. They beat Chicago in the morning session, but fell to Wisconsin (the defending league champions) in the second game. Freshman Eddie Dobernig scored his first career goal ever against Wisconsin.

For the Tri-Delta Sorority Spotlight of Talent, the football team was well represented. A group of seven Foresters performed their "remix" version of Black and "Red" (a spin off of Black and Yellow). In addition to the rap performance, freshman Robert King performed a hip-hop dance routine. In a close battle, the Forester Football Rap team took top honors.

As the Foresters continue to embrace the opportunities to be more than football players on our campus, we look upon them with great pride in their accomplishments, and their commitment to growing our campus community and spirit.

Please enjoy the videos and pictures that are posted in association with this article.

3rd Annual Iron Chef Competition at Lake Forest College

2011-04-07T13:31:00.000-05:00

LFC-Nike Commercial Remix

2011-04-04T13:31:00.001-05:00

Coach Cat and JR Offensive Lineman Sal Perales compete in Iron Chef Competition

2011-03-30T11:21:00.002-05:00

Lake Forest College hosted their third annual Iron Chef Competition on March 24th. The Forester Football team was represented in the competition for the second straight year. After finishing second in 2010, Coach Cat was a last minute substitute for a faculty member who fell ill. With less than 72 hours to prepare a menu and get a sous chef, Coach put together a menu that would make most mouths water. Incorporating the secret ingredient into all three course, Coach Cat's two signature dishes were his Mussels with a Chorizo-Potato paste that had the judges mouths salivating, and his spin on "Chips and Dip" for desert. His desert was sweet potato french fries that were then covered in chocolate (chilled) and then served with a milkshake dip. Many bystanders were able to sample the desert and nodded in agreement in their approval.

Coach Cat selected junior offensive lineman Sal Perales to be his sous chef for the second year in a row.

"When I look around the team, there are few guys that enjoy food as much as Sal and I do, it was a no brainer for me," said Coach Catanzaro.

Though the football representatives didn't win the Iron Chef 2011, they vowed that if invited back again in 2012, they will be ready to cook up a storm, and try to claim the championship.

Here is a link to the article from the Lake County Sun Times. SUN TIMES IRON CHEF COVERAGE

2011 Season Schedule Announced!

2011-03-29T12:52:00.003-05:00

The Lake Forest College Athletic Department released the schedule for the 2011 Football season. During the 2011 season, the Foresters will again play a balanced schedule of five home contests at Farwell Field, and five games on the road.

Third year head football coach, Jim Catanzaro, had this to say about the schedule. "We are looking forward to playing another tough schedule in 2011. We are filled with great competition both within the Midwest Conference and in our non-conference tilt with Concordia. I am looking forward to measuring our improvement against this schedule."

The Foresters open up the 2011 season on the road against Concordia University on September 3rd at 1pm. Concordia finished the 2010 season with a record of 8-2, including going 6-1 in the Northern Athletics Conference. The Cougars will be looking to replace NAC Offensive Player of the Year Kyree Copeland, as well as well as four other players who were named first team all-conference.

Catanzaro commented,"They graduate some very talented players in Marotta, Copeland, and Englebrecht. I had the privledge of coaching those guys in the All-American Bowl, and am glad that we don't have to defend them next year. Having said that, Coach Pries has a great group of returners, and they will be well coached."

The Foresters begin conference play the next week against Ripon College at home. The September 10th kickoff is scheduled for 1pm.

"To have our conference opener at home is great for us. Last year having back to back road games to start conference play really wore on our guys. The friendly confines of Farwell Field should be a boost," said Catanzaro.

Ripon loses the services of two-time 1st team all-conference fullback TJ Pierce, as well as 1st-team all conference offensive lineman Josh Novak. "Ripon is always a tough game. On offense, they are extremely disciplined. Running the option gives all of their opponents a challenge. Defensively, they are extremely quick to the ball. Our games the last two years against Ripon have been predicated on runs, and who takes care of the ball better." The Redhawks finished 7-3 in 2011.

The Foresters return on the 17th to Farwell for a game against the Blueboys of Illinois College. The last time that the Blueboys came to the Forest, they lost 28-23 to the Foresters. Coach Catanzaro was the defensive coordinator in 2008. The Blueboys graduate key players on both sides of the ball. On the defensive side of the ball, the Blueboys lose Co-Defensive Player of the Year Ricky Padilla (LB). However they return senior DB Erik Fisher who lead the conference in interceptions in 2010. On Offense, IC graduates four year starting quarterback Mitch Niekamp. Niekamp was a three time MWC offensive player of the week, and a multi-year all-conference selection.

"Coach Campbell has done a great job recruiting southern and central Illinois the last few years. He has built up the roster, and his team has shown growth. This is a game that will be to be a part of. Our games have been tremendously competitive, and I am confident that the 2011 edition will be no different," remarked Coach Catanzaro.

The Foresters hit the road for their fourth game of the year against Grinnell College. The game against the Pioneers mark the first time that the Foresters will travel overnight during the 2011 season. The September 24th game will pit the Foresters against 2011 MWC Coach of the Year Jeff Pederesen. The last time that the Foresters traveled to Grinnell they came home with a 35-28 victory. The Foresters have not lost a game in Iowa since 2001. The Pioneers were 6-4 in 2010.

The Pioneers take a hit on the defensive side of the ball, losing three all-conference selections to graduation including linebackers Marquis Bradley and Ryan Fletcher.
"I thought Marquis was the best linebacker that we had played against in my five years at Lake Forest. That kid could do everything on the field, and made us look bad a couple of times," commented Catanzaro.

"I won't feel too bad for them though. They bring back one of the most talented offensive units in the MWC. All of their skill players return, including both quarterbacks and both wide receivers. I won't get much sleep the week that we play them," continued Coach Catanzaro. The two receivers that Catanzaro mentions are Logan Granera and Robert Seer, both of whom were selected all-MWC in 2010. The two receivers combined for 119 catches, 1705 yards, and 21 TDs.

After the trip to Iowa, the Foresters return to Lake Forest to take on Carroll University on October 1st. Since Coach Catanzaro arrived at Lake Forest in 2005, 4 of the 5 games with Carroll have been decided by less than one touchdown. In those four games, the Pioneers and Foresters have each won two of those games.

The 2011 season will be a new beginning for the Pioneers. Carroll named Mark Krzykowski their head coach for the 2011 season. Though new in his role as head coach, Coach K, is not new to the Carroll sideline.

"I have admired Mark's defense from afar since his arrival in 2006. As a former Pioneer as a player, I am sure that he is putting every ounce of his soul into his alma-mater's program trying to take them to the next level," commented Catanzaro.

Carroll finished 7-3 in 2011 losing two of their three games in overtime.

After Carroll, the Foresters begin the second half of their season with an October 8th trip to Beloit College. In 2010, the Foresters and Bucaneers decided to play some bonus football with an overtime game at Farwell Field. Another team that the Foresters have played numerous close games with over the last five years. The Buccaneers and Foresters have played 4 games decided by one score. The Foresters are
+12 in points vs. Beloit since Catanzaro's arrival to Halas Hall.

"Though the Bucs will be without All-American LB Tony Baratti, they return almost their entire offensive unit. They finished third in the conference in points scored, adn that was with their starting tailback missing give games. They will be a great challenge, and a team that we have had a lot of competitive games that come down to the last drive of the game," said Catanzaro.

The Foresters return to Farwell Field on the 15th of October to take on Monmouth College. The Fighting Scots finished 6-4 in 2010, after winning back to back conference championships. Their is a lot of optimism in Monmouth as it was announced that 2009 Melberger Award winner Alex Tanney has declared that he will indeed return for a fifth season after a season ending injury in 2010.

"Obviously, Alex will provide them with a huge boost in 2011. Coach Bell will do a great job reincorporating Alex into their scheme. There are few times that you get to be on the field competing against a player of Alex's ability. I know that our guys will be up for that challenge, and will be excited to face them on our campus this year," remarked Catanzaro.

The Foresters then take back to back road trips during weeks 8 and 9. The Foresters first travel up to Appleton, Wisconsin on October 22nd for a tilt against Lawrence University.

The Foresters have won four in a row against the Vikings, including a 35-14 victory last season in Lake Forest.

"Going to Appleton is always a treat. They have a historic home field in the Banta Bowl, and we have had some exciting games against the Vikings in the past. We definitely want to boost that win streak up to five in 2011."

After the Vikings, the Foresters head out for their second overnight trip of the 2011season against the Prarie Fire of Knox College. The Foresters defeated Knox 35-6 in 2010. The October 29th, game is scheduled for a 1pm kickoff.

"Those two games are going to be challenges for us. The travel down to Galesburg has not been one that we have performed well at in the past. We will need to get a quick start in both games, and establish a tempo that is conducive to our team. I think that with both Lawrence and Knox, we match up in a very competitive game," commented Catanzaro.

The Foresters close out the season at home against the Green Knights of St. Norbert College on November 5th at 1pm. The Foresters look to improve upon last years performance against the Green Knights.

"Last year, we didn't take advantage of opportunities when we had them, and we had a few costly turnovers. We need to convert those opportunities into points. I know that our guys left that game with a growing pit in their stomach, because they knew that they had not take advantage of situations."

"Our schedule is grueling and competitive. Only two of our opponents in 2011 finished below .500 in 2010. Many of them bring back talented groups of players. One of the things that I am most excited about is the fact that so many of our young players received meaningful game time experience in 2010. I am confident that that this will serve us well in 2011, and I am looking forward to our guys getting on the field and showing the great strides of improvement that they have taken. It will be a great year to be a Forester!."

LINK TO THE OFFICIAL FORESTER SCHEDULE

Spring Ball Pracitce #3 Recap

2011-03-28T14:43:00.004-05:00

The Foresters completed their third practice of the non-traditional season on Sunday afternoon. During a brisk two-hour practice, the Foresters ramped up the intensity with some competitive drills that pitted the offense versus the defense.

Among the drills were a "team favorite" TUGS competition, as well as a series of 25 yard dash competitions.

"I believe the competitions are helping to galvanize both the offense and defense respectively. They have also shown some of the guys who have competed that they need to continue their work in the weight room to increase speed and strength," said offensive line coach Ted Soenksen.

"I felt that our guys have really taken to the competition side of things. Though we don't have pad on, where we can line up and go against each other, it doesn't mean that we can't find creative ways to go against each other. The TUGS are great because they show you, not only "IF" a guy will fight, but also "HOW LONG" will he fight for. We had some dominating performances on Sunday, but we had a couple of really good ones, where the guys had to go at it for over a minute. That is draining physically. When you have a 150lb container filled with water, it is a real guy check to see how long you'll fight, and see if you can force your opponent to drag your limp body as well as the TUG across the line," commented Coach Catanzaro.

LOOK FOR VIDEO CLIPS OF TUGS COMPETITION NEXT WEEK!!

Coaches from each side of the ball were asked to comment on some of their positional progress through practices thus far.

"We have a very good understanding of our concepts, run game and pass game. There have been very few mental mistakes or missed assignments. The QBs are showing a clear understanding of their progression and commanding the offense. Greg McDowell looks like a natural at WR and the young slots and TEs are stepping up," commented Coach Kerr.

Coach Soenksen in talking about the offensive line,"I have been very happy with the mental make-up of the offensive line. They pick up on everything we are teaching very quickly. Sal Perales and Tom Mitchell have stood out to me the most to this point. Sal because of his increased athleticism, and Tom with his ability to make all of the calls and to understand he is the quarterback of the OLine and all calls and decisions start and stop with him."

"I have been pleased with the development of the young players. Some of our freshman have really stood out through three practices. You can tell that the teaching they are receiving is a "refresher" and not brand new. The carry over of knowledge is significant as we get deeper into the offense and defense," commented Coach Catanzaro. "A couple of guys who really stood out were Nick Waters and Eddie Dobernig as they have both recorded multiple interceptions, and are showing a better understanding of all of our coverages. I echo what Coach Kerr has said about Greg McDowell. Anytime a guy catches four touchdowns during a 7 on 7 period, you have to take notice. I have been impressed with Mike Peters increased flexibility within our offense. I have seen him display a strong knowledge of the offense, as well as the ability to make some tough receptions as well."

Coach Brandon Parker on the secondary,"The Safeties definitely understand that the race is on! Their is a huge hole to fill there, and there are some interesting candidates for the position. They are pushing each other to improve but they realize it is a competition for that number one spot. Dominic Campagna and Mike Nelson have showed the confidence and experience pushing themselves ahead of the pack but aggressive youngster Alex Gracia has shown improvement as well, has he tries to close that gap." Broadening his comments to the whole secondary, Coach Parker continued,"The Defensive Backs group are young as a whole and it was obvious during last season. With a semester and winter off-season training under there belt have come leaps and bounds. The young DB's have gained strength and a swagger of confidence which allows them to relax and not over think on the field. With this new calm, the guys are able to run around and make plays, and it has only been 3 practices. I am thrilled about their improvement in this short period of time. I believe we are a team that has just become increasingly much more dangerous."

Spring Ball Begins!

2011-03-21T09:05:00.002-05:00

Sunday afternoon marked the start of the Forester Football non-traditional season (Spring Ball). The Forester's practice was abbreviated by a lightning storm that passed through the area midway through practice.

Newly promoted offensive coordinator Craig Kerr commented,"There was a lot of energy on the field, and that was great to see. We were able to accomplish a lot, in particular with some tweaks to our run game. Our fundamental period was outstanding, you could tell that our guys had put a lot of work in during the offseason."

New addition to the coaching staff, Ted Soenksen '06, will coach the offensive line this fall. When asked about his initial impression of the Foresters on the field, Coach Soenksen had this to offer: "I am excited to see the camaraderie that the offensive line displayed. It was a great first day energy wise. We were able install some new terminology, and I am looking forward to seeing their growth this spring."

Head Coach Jim Catanzaro commenting on day one activities,"We would have liked to have gotten the full practice in, but we are thrilled to have been on the field and accomplished that which we did. We also had a great film session definsively that allowed our guys to see some consistent mistakes from last year that we hope to address this offseason.:

Forester Spring Football

2011-03-16T10:12:00.002-05:00

The Lake Forest College football team will begin their NCAA Non-Traditional Season on Sunday at 1pm. Here is a preview of things that will be seen in the spring season.

"I am excited to get the guys out on the field with a football. I know that they have had a great off-season in the new Wes Dixon Weight Room in the Sports Center. Just looking at our guys, you can tell that there have been some significant transformations in their body composition. I have been impressed with the enthusiasm that our guys have shown towards everything that we have asked them to do this off-season. I know that our spring and fall will benefit from their efforts." said Head Football Coach Jim Catanzaro.

On coaching staff changes:

"I think that spring ball will give Coach Kerr a chance to put his stamp on the offense. As an assistant the last two years, he had a tremendous impact on the offense, now that he is taking the reigns, I am confident that he will continue the refining process. Coach Soenksen will have an opportunity to work with the offensive lineman on the field, install his terminology, and take the leadership role with the players. I know that when I came to LFC in 2006, the hardest thing was not having
actually coached our players until August. I think that the addition of this non-traditional season will really help us in that matter. Other than that, our coaching staff will remain together."

On position battles:

"I have been clear to our players, that we are entering this mini-season with 63 players on the roster. That is the most we have ever had involved in an off-season. You have to bring your "A" game every day, and you have to be consistent. With this being a non-live/non-contact period, we won't be able to make any true depth chart adjustments, but we will get a chance to evaluate the mental growth and physical growth of our players."

On concerns:

"We will have to be cautious of the physical conditioning of some of our guys who are multi-sport athletes. A guy who plays in a rugby tournament or a lacrosse tournament on a Saturday, isn't going to have much left in his legs on a Sunday practice. We just have to be cautious and make sure that we don't have an muscle over-use injuries. Other than that, I have no concerns, I just can't wait to get onto the field."

HEAT OF FUSION WINNERS ANNOUNCED

2011-03-14T10:59:00.002-05:00

Prior to Spring Break, the Forester Football team participated in their first ever "HEAT OF FUSION EVENT." In a number of competitions between the leadership board teams, the Red Devils, led by Gil Munoz, finished in first place with 318pts. They narrowly defeated the Disciples of Sir Bartemus (led by Kevin Davis) with 311 pts and the Lakers (led by Sal Perales) who had 310 pts. It was a great event, and a tradition that will carry on to future years!

St. Baldricks 2011

2011-03-13T12:52:00.004-05:00

A number of Foresters were participants in the 2011 St. Baldrick's Day event in Kenosha, WI honoring Benny Watters. Here are some pictures!!

Information on St. Baldrick's DaySt. Baldrick's Home Page

Benny Watters Scholarship Fund: Donate to Benny's Scholarship

HEAT OF FUSION DAY 1 RESULTS

2011-02-27T18:06:00.003-06:00

THREE WAY TIE FOR THE LEAD AFTER DAY #1

The Sports and Recreation Center and the Alumni Fieldhouse Ice Rink were full of intense competition this afternoon. The Forester Football Leadership Board teams competed in day #1 of their first ever "Heat of Fusion." After some intense 3 on 3 basketball, broomball, ice soccer, and volleyball games, the standings after day #1 are as follows.

1st place 80pts
The Lakers (Perales)
Boomers (Flynn)
Red Devils (Munoz)

4th place 60pts
Sir Bartemus (Davis)

5th place 45pts
Gold Coasters (Butts)
Jaybirds (Burke)

7th place 10pts
Lumberjacks (Clady-Mason)

Competitions continue through Wednesday amongst the leadership board teams.

HEAT OF FUSION BEGINS

2011-02-27T12:39:00.002-06:00

The Forester Football Team begins is first ever "Heat of Fusion" contest today. The team, broken down into its leadership board groups, will compete against each other in a number of athletic events, including volleyball, basketball, broomball, among the activities.

The concept of "HEAT OF FUSION" applies to a chemistry principle of melting a solid into a liquid. In many ways, this idea, is applicable to the current time of year for the Foresters.

By coming together, the Foresters will generate an awful lot of heat, sweat, and continue to gel and flow together as the prepare for their non-traditional season after spring break.

Updates of the Heat of Fusion contests will be posted this evening on this blog.

Gold Coasters Earn Leadership Board Bonus Points

2011-02-21T14:16:00.003-06:00

The Gold Coasters Leadership Board team earned a 25 point bonus by performing a community service event as a team. The Gold Coasters were acitve participants and volunteers that the NCAA/Lake Forest College National Girls and Women in Sports Day that was held in conjunction with the LFC vs. Grinnell College Basketball games.

Associate Athletic Director Portia Lowe commented

,"The players from the football team were outstanding facilitators and leaders of their groups. The girls that participated in the event, really enjoyed getting to interact with "REAL COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYERS."

Among other things, the players assisted in running the relay races, basketball skills development, soccer skills, and in the trivia contest. Many of the players stayed and sat with the girls during the women's basketball game.

The Lake Forest College Football Team Leadership Board competition is a semester long activity. Each semester, the team votes on leaders who they feel best represent the interests of their program. The leaders then draft players to their teams. The teams earn points through various activities throughout the semester. At the end of the semester, both a team and individual award are given. These awards are presented at the end of the semester, and are honored on a plaque in the Halas Hall meeting room. The leadership board teams are named after former Lake Forest College Mascots or traditional references to the athletic teams. Scores are updated throughout the semester on our blog site.

Spring of 2010 Winners: Mike Nelson '12 (Individual) Gold Coasters-led by Luke Butts (Team)

Fall of 2010 Winners: Chris Lang '11 (Individual) Lumberjacks- led by Steve Yena (Team)

Forester Football Alumni Event Announced!!

2011-02-18T11:42:00.002-06:00

The Forester Football team, in conjunction with the Lake Forest College Athletic Department will be inviting all of their alums back for a Spring Alumni Challenge Day on Saturday, April 16th.

The day will feature alumni games for the football, volleyball, men's and women's soccer, and the volleyball program.

For our football alums, this will include the traditional 7 on 7 flag football game, as well as a skills competition. In the skills competition, the alums will be paired up with a current Forester football player and compete in a pentatholon of football specific challenges in order to win prizes.

In addition to the games, there will be a luncheon to go along with the event. More details will be coming via email soon.

NIKE Super Bowl Commercial 1995

2011-01-30T18:50:00.000-06:00

Frank Beamer, Mark D'Antonio, Ron Zook, and Coach "Cat"-- SWOOSH

2011-01-30T18:37:00.002-06:00

What do Virginia Tech Head Coach Frank Beamer, Michigan State Head Coach Mark D'Antonio, University of Illinois Head Coach Ron Zook, and Lake Forest Head Coach Jim Catanzaro have in common?

They were featured speakers at the Nike Coach of the Year Clinic in St. Louis, MO this past weekend. In addition to these individuals, Jim Hanifan (former OL coach of the St. Louis Rams), Art Briles (Head Coach at Baylor), John Haines (University of Missouri Offensive Line) and Mike Stoops (Head Coach at the University of Arizona) were featured speakers at the clinic.

This is the second time in two years that Coach Catanzaro has been invited to speak at this clinic. His top this year "Effective Defensive Line Play Against the Spread," was well recieved by a number of coaches in attendance.

"It was a great opportunity to speak to a group of coaches that I have a great deal of respect for. The interaction with the area high school coaches was outstanding. I thoroughly enjoyed, not only the presenting, but the Question and Answer period that took place after. When I exited the room, it was amazing the number of coaches that wanted copies of some of our drills, our practice planning, and some of our cut up tapes. I was humbled that some of the coaches from much larger universities were asking for some very specific pieces of our program. It further confirms that we are doing a lot of great things in our program," said Coach Catanzaro.

Lake Forest's Inaugural "The Sleds Are Coming" Event a Tremendous Success: Forester Athletics

2011-01-24T19:09:00.000-06:00

Lake Forest's Inaugural "The Sleds Are Coming" Event a Tremendous Success: Forester Athletics

Foresters start off the semester with a number of events!

2011-01-21T09:31:00.002-06:00

The Lake Forest College Football team is starting the semester off strong. In addition to working out in the new 10,000 sq. ft. Wes Dixon Weight Room in the renovated Sports and Recreation Center, the Foresters have begun their involvement in the local community.

On Thursday afternoon, the "Offense" went to Forrestal Elementary School in North Chicago. In an effort to continue supporting the efforts of the North Chicago Community Partners and their after-school program. The "Defense" will be heading up to follow in their footsteps in two weeks.

The children had the opportunity to "workout" with the football players, as well as participate in a number of relay races. In addition, there were some question and answer opportunites for the student.

On Sunday, January 23rd, the Forester's will be participating in a joint effort with the Lake Forest Athletic Department, S.N.A.P., and the Great Lakes Adaptive Sports Association to help bring "Sled Hockey" to our campus. Through the efforts of a number of individuals including former Men's Hockey Coach Tony Fritz, GLASA and their athlete will put on display a complete game of Sled Hockey on Sunday at 6pm. Deatails for the event can be found here: http://static.psbin.com/8/x/n6qe5o0a38oar6/sled_hockey.pdf

Please check periodically to find out what else the Forester Football team is doing.

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE FALL 2010 LEADERSHIP BOARD WINNERS

2011-01-12T14:43:00.003-06:00

The Lake Forest College Football Coaching Staff is proud to announce that the winners for the fall 2010 leadership board competition were announced this weekend. With the reporting of fall semester grades, a close race in the individual competition was tipped in the favor of Senior Fullback Chris Lang. Lang individually accounted for 49 points in the Fall semester.

Lang's point total also paced his leadership board team, The Lumberjacks, who were captained by fellow senior Steven Yena. Both individuals whill be honored on a permanent plaque in the basement of Halas Hall.

Coach Catanzaro on the award winners:

"Steve did a great job of putting together a very solid and well rounded team. His leadership board team earned points in numerous ways. In addition to leading the team in academic points for the fall semester, they earned points in community service, and for athletic accomplishments. I am excited that the Lumberjacks paced our team competition, slightly edging out the defending champion Gold Coasters (six points.)"

"Chris was one of the best examples of a team player throughout his career. I couldn't be more proud that his name will be up on the wall in Halas Hall for as long as the award is still given. He fits the mold of Mike Nelson (Spring '10 winner) and is someone that I know will take great honor in receiving this award."

The new leadership board competition began with the start of classes on Tuesday.

Cure Duchenne and Cadillac PSA

2011-01-11T21:24:00.000-06:00

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles..... literally

2011-01-06T11:37:00.002-06:00

The period around New Year's is one of the most busy travel periods in the United States. With the holiday's, bowl games, college spring semesters, among the contributing factors, this is also a big travel time for the coaches at Lake Forest.

Starting on January 3rd, Coach Kerr and Coach Catanzaro have been traveling, literally by trains, planes, and automobiles (plus by foot, light rail, metra, etc).

We started our journey, on the Metra from Lake Forest, to Chicago to meet other coaches and admissions counselors to catch the Amtrak train to St. Louis. In St. Louis, LFC Football alumnus Jack Carruthers hosted the annual connecting communities event at the Missouri Athletic Club in downtown St. Louis. Over 60 alums, current students, prospective students and their families had a great evening. Many of our football recruits enjoyed their opportunities to find out more about LFC. Their interaction with the coaches, current players, and alums has proven to be a valuable experience in their decision making process.

The following morning, we hopped on a plane from St. Louis to Phoenix, Arizona. Today, we are having an Arizona event, similar to the St. Louis one, at the home BJ and Kim Ungvarsky, the parents of Brock #34. Currently, there are over 75 people signed up to come to this event. After a a great recruiting class from Arizona last year, we hope that this will help continue to build our Southwestern recruiting pipeline.

Tomorrow, the coaches will be heading to Dallas for the Dallas connecting communities event and the annual American Football Coaches Association Convention. It provides us an opportunity to speak to a number of coaches, both collegiate and high school about recruiting, playbook wrinkles, new techniques, equipment, drills, and other pertinent information.

We will then fly from Dallas back to Chicago and help or players begin their spring semester. One of which we have great excitement for, and can't wait to get started.

Happy Holidays

2010-12-24T08:35:00.002-06:00

Happy Holidays to all of our fans, friends, and family. We hope that as we spend time reflecting on the past year, that we are able to see the clear path to a brighter and better 2011. Go Foresters!

Catanzaro to Coach in All-American Bowl: Forester Athletics

2010-12-16T23:00:00.001-06:00

Catanzaro to Coach in All-American Bowl: Forester Athletics

Kevin Canty resigns, Craig Kerr Promoted to Offensive Coordinator: Forester Athletics

2010-12-10T14:57:00.000-06:00

Kevin Canty resigns, Craig Kerr Promoted to Offensive Coordinator: Forester Athletics

Post-Season Show

2010-11-23T06:03:00.000-06:00

SIX FORESTERS NAMED ALL-MIDWEST CONFERENCE

2010-11-18T11:46:00.002-06:00

LAKE FOREST COLLEGE PRESS RELEASE

Six Lake Forest College players were named to the All-Midwest Conference Teams. Senior Kicker Tim Gruzwalski and Junior Defensive Lineman Kenny Clady-Mason were named to the 2nd team. While Senior Captains Linebacker Anthony Garetto, Running Back Brock Stenberg, and Tight End Steve Yena were joined on the honorable mention list by Junior WR Kevin Davis who made the team as a Special Teams Player.

Coach Catanzaro on the awards:

"Though I am always happy when our player recieve awards of this magnitude, I can't help but think that some of the guys on this list were "underrated" by the awards. I am also surprised by a couple of omissions from the all-conference list."

"I am glad to see that the hard work that these individuals have put in to their betterment, and the performance that they had on the field has been recognized."

On the winners:

"I am thrilled that our three captains as Tim were able to complete their careers by being recognized. I think that all of those seniors are worth of any honor that comes their way. Brock finished 4th in the conference in rushing yards among running backs, and Anthony finished 7th in the conference in tackles. Steve was a player who will never have the stats to back up his successes because of what we ask him to do in our offensive scheme. One of the things that stands out about Steve is that though he didn't catch a lot of passes, almost all of his catches were for either first downs or touchdowns. The coaches in the league must have noticed this as well, as this is his third all-conference honor. Beyond the statistics these three guys were just tremendously consistent players throughout the year and their career.

Kenny really had a coming out year this year. He took over a position that had been manned by seniors throughout the last few years, and he really stepped up as a junior. He was ranked 7th in sacks, and 11th in Tackle's for a loss. I am looking for him to continue to build upon the foundation that he has laid."

On the ommissions:

"I'd rather not comment on that."

Munoz named Forester Athlete of the Week!

2010-11-05T11:48:00.002-05:00

Junior Offensive Lineman Gil Munoz was named the Forester Athlete of the Week by the Coaches within the Athletic department.

Coach Catanzaro on Gil's award:

"This is a very symbolic and important award. Though Gil is deserving individually, what it truly represents is the accomplishments and performance of our entire offensive line. For two weeks, they have been able to run the ball for over 200 yards, and they have not given up a single sack during that time either. I have been thoroughly impressed with their performance, and there is no doubt that they have been a major reason as to why we are on a win streak. I can't say enough about the effort, camaraderie, and chemistry that has been developed amongst this position group. This is a very young position group with 3 juniors, 1 sophomore, and 2 freshman in the rotation, and their potential is limitless."

Munoz is the third Forester football player to be named the Forest Athlete of the Week during the Fall semester. Joining junior Casey Flynn (Carroll), and Freshman Eddie Dobernig (Lawrence).

LAKE FOREST COLLEGE PRESS RELEASE

Forester Domination!

2010-11-04T23:47:00.005-05:00

The Foresters had another impressive victory this weekend, beating the Knox Prairie Fire by a score of 35-6. While playing to win, the Foresters were also playing for another cause. Saturday marked the culmination of the Foresters’ support of Trick or Treat for the Troops, in which they collected supplies to send to servicemen and women in Iraq. Additionally, the Foresters welcomed a group from the training class at Great Lakes Naval Base to come and watch the game.

When asked why he thought the team was able to start off last Saturday’s game so well, Coach Cat said, “Defensively, I felt like we were really well prepared, and we were at our highest emotional level of the year to start the game. We had an opportunity to get five three and outs to start the game. That was an awesome thing to watch take place.

Offensively, I felt like we did a great job moving the ball. We had a few big plays in the passing game, despite not completing an overly high percentage of passes. In addition, we were running the ball with great success. Our tailbacks and quarterbacks were having some great success, as was evidenced by rushing for over 200 yards on the day. We just came off firing on all cylinders.

In addition, we had something that was possibly even greater for our team. We had BIG plays in the kicking game. Our 49-yard field goal by Dom Campagna was a big boost. No one on the other sideline thought we were really trying a field goal; they thought we were faking one. It was a big play, and I was glad to see Tim Gruzwalski come out and fire in a few additional field goals to help increase our lead even when we weren't scoring touchdowns. 12 points in the kicking game is a big day. Our special teams play was just as valuable in kickoffs and punts.”

Sophomore quarterback Pete Scaffidi and junior wide receiver Kevin Davis put together an impressive game, which greatly contributed to Saturday’s victory. On Scaffidi and Davis, Coach Cat commented, “They etched their names in the record books on Saturday. Kevin tying the individual game record for TD's, and Pete tying the record for thrown TD's in a game. These guys have been hooking up for a number of years since they were high school teammates at South Elgin. When Pete transferred in this year, you could see some comfort between the two of them. As a second teamer, Pete wasn't getting a lot of reps with Kevin, but when they had a chance, there was a natural rebirth of their chemistry. Beyond that, I think that Pete forces all of our wide receivers to maintain their focus. He has a unique ability to extend plays, and in doing so, he has created plays farther down the field than our wide out might expect.”

The defense also performed remarkably, holding Knox’s offense to just six points during the game. When asked who was the main contributor to the success of the defense, Coach Cat said, “There was no single player. It was a tremendous group effort. We had some players, Casey Flynn, Tanner Compton, Luke Butts, Eddie Dobernig, and Kenny Clady-Mason make big individual plays, but that doesn't take into consideration how some of our bench players like Jake Rotkvich, Michael Garetto-Balmer, and others made plays as well. It was truly our finest team defensive performance. We played with a determination that was unrelenting in its pursuit of the football. We always had multiple players in on the tackle. Our pass defense was pretty solid, as well. That is an area that has made leaps and bounds over the last few weeks. We had our hands on 10 total passes, including 2 interceptions.”

This week, I also had a chance to catch up with Coach Dodd, who helped bring the training class from Great Lakes Naval Base to Saturday’s game. A former Navy SEAL himself, Coach Dodd said, “They [the trainees] absolutely loved the game; it was something different and close by. An ironic fact is a college teammate of Coach Canty is in the training right now and attended the game. Of course, that means he was coached by Coach Catanzaro as well.”

When asked how the Foresters can become more involved with our local military community, Coach Dodd said, “To get more involved with the community is simple, we encourage them to explore and see different things as they travel throughout their careers. The other side of the partnership is for LFC students to visit the base and witness some of the training. Each base has a PAO, which is public affairs officer, or like Coach Cat does with his winner’s manual, he invites people from different aspects of the military to come speak to the athletes. I have extended offers to the players to visit and witness our training up here and that offer is certainly available to any student who would like to visit.”

It was a successful week for the Foresters, both on and off the field. Looking ahead to Saturday’s game against St. Norbert, Coach Cat said that he is looking for one thing—“A Forester victory. Plain and simple.” Here’s hoping that Coach Cat and the Foresters get that last victory.

--Elise Beckman, contributing author

POTW Announced

2010-11-04T10:36:00.003-05:00

The Forester Coaching Staff announced the players of the week for their victory over Knox College. In a rare case, the coaches could not come to a conclusion between two school record tying performances on the offensive side of the board. For the first time in recent history, their will be "CO" Offensive MVP's.

Offense: Kevin Davis- Junior WR and Pete Scaffidi- Sophomore QB. Davis and Scaffidi connected for three scoring strikes in the victory. Davis' three touchdown recpetions in a game ties the school record, which was most recently accomplished by current wide recievers coach Dan Carter against Grinnell College in 2009. Scaffidi also threw a touchdown pass to sophomore Austin Sobey, giving him four touchdown passes on the day. This also tied the Forester mark for most touchdown passes in a game. This mark was most recently done in that same Grinnell game by current Forester Geoff Sobey. Davis finished the day with five catches for 113 yards. Scaffidi finished his relief appearance 7 of 20 passing for 152 yards and 4 TD's. Scaffidi was also the leading rusher for the Foresters with 12 carries for 102 yards. Davis and Scaffidi were high school teammates at South Elgin High School.

HM: to the entire offensive line, for their first 200 yard rushing, no sack performance of the year.

Defensively: Casey Flynn- Junior DL- Morristown, NJ. Flynn has an all-around solid performance for the Foresters recording 8 tackles, 1 Sack, 1 Forced Fumble, and 2.5 tackles for a loss. Flynn disrupted numerous Knox running plays by gaining superior penetration up field. Flynn's pressure on another pass attempt by the Prarie Fire led to freshman Eddie Dobernig's second interception of the day. Flynn played his high school football at Morristown High School in New Jersey.

HM: Eddie Dobernig (2 Interceptions), and Luke Butts (13 Tackles, 2 Pass Breakups)

Special Teams: Luke Butts- Junior DB- Warrensburg, IL. Butts had an active day on defense as well as special teams. The junior recorded three tackles on kickoffs alone. He also helped orchestrate a punt block unit that had is largest return yard average on the season, and provided tremendous pressure on the Knox punt team. Butts played his high school football at Warrensburg-Latham High School in Illinois.

HM: Domnick Campagna 49 yard field goal and averaged 60 yards per kickoff.

Scout Team: Max Goodrich- Freshman DL- Watervliet, MI. Goodrich, who is a defensive lineman, was asked to play offensive line due to a rash of injuries that hit the offensive line. Max performed at a very high level and made our defensive lineman much more successful in the game, than they had been in the previous two weeks. Max played his high school football at Watervliet High School in Michigan.

Pre-Game LFC vs Knox

2010-10-29T12:43:00.000-05:00

Highlight LFC vs Lawrence

2010-10-29T11:21:00.000-05:00

MUSIC: THIS MOMENT, by FUNDAMENTAL ELEMENTS

Dobernig named D3Football National Team of the Week

2010-10-27T18:38:00.003-05:00

Eddie Dobernig's performance against Lawrence University has been recognized once again. This time, he becomes the third Forester defender to be named to the team this season. He joins junior defensive lineman Casey Flynn (vs. Carroll University) and Dylan Burke (vs Beloit) who have previously been recognized.

Congratulations Eddie. D3 FOOTBALL.COM PRESS RELEASE

Dobernig collects MWC Player of the Week Awards

2010-10-26T09:09:00.002-05:00

Freshman Defensive Back Eddie Dobernig was named the Midwest Conference Player of the Week for his performance against Lawrence University on Saturday. Dobernig had 5 tackles, and 2 interceptions, the second of which was returned for a 39 yard touchdown.

Congratulations Eddie! MIDWEST CONFERENCE PRESS RELEASE Click Here

Players of the Week Announced

2010-10-26T08:51:00.002-05:00

The Forester Football Coaches announced the players of the week for the Lawrence game this past week.

Offensively: Pete Scaffidi, Sophomore, QB, South Elgin, IL. Pete in his second start put together a strong overall game. His performance incuded a 14-22 for 155 yards. In addition to his efficiency with his arm, Pete also ran the ball 6 times for 47 yards (7.2 yards per carry). Pete's decision making was particularly strong in the first half where the Foresters converted 5 of 8 third down plays. Pete played his prep football at South Elgin High School, and played one season at Rock Valley Community College prior to transferring to Lake Forest this year.

Special Teams: Dominick Campagna, Sophomore, Kicker, Elmwood Park, IL. Dom, who is the Forester's kickoff specialist placed 2 of his 6 kickoffs into the endzone for touchbacks and averaged 61.2 yards per kickoff. Lawrence who was ranked in the top half of the conference in kickoff returns, only managed 74 total return yards on four returns for an 18 yard average. Dom played his prep football at Fenwick High School.

Defensively: Ed Dobernig, Freshman, DB, New Berlin, WI. Eddie played perhaps his most impressive games as a Forester. Eddie had a dominating fourth quarter for the Foresters as he recorded two interceptions. His first interception ended a potential game tying drive by the Vikings. The Forester offense capitalized on Eddie's interception and scored a touchdown, giving the squad a 14 point lead. Eddie returned his second interception 39 yards for his first collegiate touchdwon. In addition Eddie made 5 tackles on the day. Eddie played his prep football at Eisenhower High School in New Berlin, WI.

Scout Team: Keenan Carrawell, Freshman, WR, St. Louis, MO. Keenan's enthusiasm for running the Lawrence offense was evident all week long. The freshman made some big plays in the scrimmage periods of pracitce and forced the defense to focus on certain route combinations. Keenan's performance during the practice week, undoubtedyl help defensive back Eddie Dobernig be more prepared for the game this week. Keenan played his prep football at University City High School in St. Louis, MO.

Congratulations to each of these players!

Earning That Victory!

2010-10-25T16:06:00.004-05:00

This past weekend, the Foresters were home to take on Lawrence University at Farwell Field. Playing perhaps their most impressive game of the season, the Foresters were able to finally put a “W” on the board. Coach Cat expressed his happiness with the outcome, saying, “I am excited that our team took the next step this week and got our first win of the season. I couldn't be more pleased with the result. It was a long time coming, and our players have worked extremely hard each week of the season. It was only a matter of time before we pushed through.”

When asked about the keys to winning the game, Coach Cat said, “Our first half. Period. We haven't started a game all season like we did on Saturday. Our first drive offensively really set the tone. We were able to run the ball at will, and were able to convert a few third downs that led to our first touchdown. In the first half, offensively, defensively, and on special teams, we were really spectacular. Offensively, our offensive line and quarterback Pete Scaffidi really got comfortable and in a rhythm. I think that an established rhythm makes it easier for the offensive line.”

He credits the offensive line with doing an incredible job, saying, “Our offensive line gave up zero sacks and gained over 200 yards rushing for the first time all season. They are led by juniors Gil Munoz, Dan McSparin, and Sal Perales. The leadership of those upper-class guys has been really exciting to see grow. Our center, freshman Tom Mitchell, was ALL OVER the field. He was getting down field and making big blocks all the way through the whistle.”

Sophomore quarterback Pete Scaffidi started for his second game of the season. Last week, Coach Cat commented on his performance against Monmouth College, saying, “Pete did a commendable job preparing this week, and I am excited to see his continued growth. I am confident that he will grow from this game. It was his first start in the MWC and I think he had a chance to see what the true level of the competition is.” After this week’s game, Coach Cat said, “Pete had his second start this week. I know that the Monmouth game was a great learning experience for him. It also displayed to our coaches which parts of our offense Pete was most comfortable with. There is no doubt in my mind that the second half of the Monmouth game helped us put together this week’s game plan, even more so than our film study of Lawrence. I am excited about some of the plays that Pete made with both his arm, and his feet. He gives us a nice double threat combination at quarterback.”

Perhaps one of the most impressive players on the field this past week was freshman defensive back Ed Dobernig. On Saturday, he had 5 tackles and a return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter. Commenting on Dobernig, Coach Cat said, “Eddie played a great three quarters. After film study, I am sure he'll agree. His two interceptions in the fourth quarter were pivotal to us closing out the game. His return for a touchdown is the second return for a touchdown by the defense this semester. I am hopeful that this will be one of many more in Eddie's career. One of the unnoticed things that Eddie also did on Saturday was that he tackled VERY VERY well. He made a couple of big third down plays on tackles that got our offense the ball back.”

After reviewing film on Sunday, Coach Cat said, “It was great for our guys to eliminate the 0 in the win/loss column. I know that the coaches and the players all slept better last night. I hope that this win, and the feeling that comes with it, will serve as motivation for wanting another win against Knox this upcoming week.”

The last home game of the season takes place this coming Saturday as Knox comes to Farwell Field! We will be celebrating our Forester seniors and their parents. We hope to see you all there!

--Elise Beckman, contributing author

(Photo Credit: Scott Sanford '14)

Spotlight on Freshman Clint Stibbard!

2010-10-25T15:59:00.005-05:00

Hometown: Kelowna, British Columbia

High School: Kelowna Senior Secondary

High School Coach: Roy Anderson

Position: Linebacker

Academic Honors: Monty Minor Football Scholarship

Planning to Major In: Economics

Birthday: June 19^th

Birthplace: Smithers, BC

Parents’ Names: Jeff and Brenda Stibbard

Favorite Movie: Friday Night Lights

Favorite Book: Atlas Shrugged

Favorite Food: Steak

Favorite Quote: “To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift.”

Person You’d Most Like to Meet: Jay Cutler

Favorite MLB Team: Not a baseball fan

Favorite NFL Team: Chicago Bears

When asked what he likes best about playing football at Lake Forest College, Clint said, “One of the best things about playing football at LFC is getting to know my teammates.” On being entertained at practice, Clint said, “There are many entertaining antics at practice; one that comes to mind is Joe Stella's dance moves in the locker room and on the field.”

Clint, good luck as you finish out your first season as a Forester!

--Elise Beckman, contributing author

Foresters capture first win of 2010

2010-10-24T16:26:00.003-05:00

LFC OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE OF FORESTER VICTORY OVER LAWRENCE

Pre-Game Show: LFC vs Lawrence

2010-10-23T08:20:00.002-05:00

Monmouth POTW

2010-10-21T10:12:00.004-05:00

The Forester Coaching Staff announced the Players of the Week for the Monmouth Game.

Offense: Sophomore Running Back Al Mitchell (Milwaukee, WI). Al replaced an injured starter Brock Stenberg in the second half, and had a his most productive stint as a Forester. Mitchell took his first touch in the second half for 11 yards, and would end up averaging 7.1 yards per carry in the second half. Mitchell totaled 78 yards rushing on 11 carries, and 27 yards receiving on 4 catches. What was perhaps most impressive of Mitchell's performance was his yards after contact total of 38 yards. Mitchell played his prep football at Pulaski High School in Milwaukee.

Defense: Junior Safety Luke Butts (Warrensburg, IL). Luke was all over the field on Saturday. He recorded 13 tackles, 1 TFL, and 2 Pass Breakups. Butts also helped eliminate four drive threats with tackles or pass breakups on third down plays. Butts received his second POTW award in as many weeks. Butts played his prep football at Warrensburg-Latham High School in Central Illinois.

Special Teams: Junior Safety Luke Butts (Warrnesburg, IL). In a rare double-double, Luke recorded three special teams tackles, including a "big hit" on a kick off return. In addition, he had a punt pressure.

Scout Team: Sophomore Quarterback Justin Novak (Miami, FL). Justin served the defense as the Monmouth QB. He did a great job of forcing the defense to secure their rush lanes, and had a phenomenal attitude. His efforts made the defense much better on Saturday. Justin played his prep football at Miami's Coral Park High School.

Congratulations to each of these Foresters!

Inching Closer to Victory

2010-10-15T07:47:00.008-05:00

The Foresters were home this past weekend to take on Beloit. After a valiant effort, the Foresters suffered another tough loss. This game, however, had the Foresters fighting into overtime.

When asked about the game, Coach Cat said, “That was a heartbreaking loss. I wanted that win for our players. They fought extremely hard through the entire game, and gave themselves an opportunity to have a chance in overtime. There were some stellar individual performances on the field on Saturday. Dylan Burke, Brock Stenberg, Luke Butts, Bryce Jones, they all played the best games of their careers on Saturday. I can look at each of our players, directly in the eye, and know that they gave us EVERYTHING that they were capable of."

He continued, saying, “I give credit to Beloit, they could have folded up the tents with the way that we came back, but they fought all the way to the end, as well. Coach Brann did a great job of having his team finish the game. I have talked to our players about the fact that each week, no matter what the outcome, or the score, we play for ‘sixty minutes, or whatever it takes.’ We definitely played all the way until the end. I am excited to see where we are able to grow from this game. I know that our guys are going to continue to work hard getting ready for this week’s game."

As mentioned by Coach Cat, several players performed tremendously during the game. Among them were linebacker Bryce Jones ‘14, defensive back Luke Butts ’12, defensive lineman Casey Flynn ’12, defensive lineman Dylan Burke ’12, and running back Brock Stenberg ’11. Coach Cat commented on each performance, saying, “Bryce Jones had the opportunity to play more this week than he had in previous weeks and really stood out. I hope that he can use this as motivation to continue his development as a total player." During the game, Bryce had 6 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, and 1.5 sacks.

Commenting on the upperclassmen, Coach Cat said, "Luke had an amazing game. Anytime a player is personally responsible for three takeaways (2 INTS, 1 Fumble Recovery) you have to be excited about their performance as a coach. He keeps proving why he is the best safety in the MWC. Casey Flynn might have a four-leaf clover stuck in his shoe, because he has three interceptions in the last two weeks, and they have all been off of tipped passes. Truly an outstanding player, who has worked hard to make himself even better and more productive. Dylan Burke had his breakout game this week. I am hopeful that he is able to continue to build on this performance. I know that he was struggling a little bit early in the season with an ankle injury, and it is good to see him bouncing back from that. Brock Stenberg played his tail off today. His intensity running the football was tremendous. It may not have been his productive game, yardage wise, but his effort running the ball provided a lot of motivation for the team, and built our confidence as the game went on."

Tomorrow, the Foresters head to Monmouth, IL to take on Monmouth College. Good luck, boys!

--Elise Beckman, contributing author

(Photo credit: Scott Sanford '14)

Players of the Week: Beloit

2010-10-14T08:55:00.006-05:00

The Forester Football Coaching Staff announced the team player of the week awards from the Beloit College game.

Defensive player of the week: Luke Butts, Junior, Safety (Warrensburg, IL)
Luke had a hand in three Forester turnovers. He intercepted two passes, and recovered a fumble forced by Anthony Garetto in the fourth quarter. Luke's second interception, was followed by a 64 yard return to the Beloit 12 yard line. Luke upped his season total to three interceptions and his career total to nine. Butts played his prep football at Warrensburg-Latham High School, in Illinois.

Offensive Player of the Week: Brock Stenberg, Senior, Running Back (Grand Haven, MI) Brock won his second offensive player of the week award rushing 23 times for 104 yards, he also had two receptions on the day as well. Brock's final run of regulation was a 5-yard rush for a touchdown. The ensuing point after tied the ball game, and forced overtime. Stenberg played his prep football at Grand Haven High School, in Michigan.

Special Teams Player of the Week: Tim Gruzwalski, Senior, Kicker (Oakland, MI)
Tim earned his first player of the week award in 2010 with a great day kicking on Saturday. Tim was perfect on extra-points, including his game-tying extra point with one minute remaining in the fourth quarter. Tim was also 2-3 on field goals including two in the pivotal third quarter for the Foresters. Gruzwalski played his prep football at Stoney Creek High School, in Michigan.

Scout Team Player of the Week: Greg McDowell, Freshman, Quarterback (Chicago, IL)
Greg provided the Forester Defense with a lot to account for, both as a quarterback and a wide reciever during the practice week. His steallar performance on scout team, earned him his first opportunity to play on game day, where he completed his first and only pass of the day in the third quarter. McDowell played his prep football at Orr High School, in Chicago.

Spotlight on Freshman Bryce Jones!

2010-10-12T21:47:00.003-05:00

This week, we are changing the rhythm by spotlighting an exceptional freshman!

Freshman linebacker Bryce Jones came to Lake Forest College from Dysart High School in Arizona. After earning honors in high school for both academics and football (Defensive MVP and Most Improved), Bryce had an impressive game last weekend against Beloit. Congratulations, Bryce, on being the Forester spotlight of the week!

Nicknames: Savage, B-Man

Hometown: Surprise, Arizona

Planning to Major In: Dentistry

Birthday: December 28th

Birthplace: South Bend, IN

Parents' Names: Flex Johnson and Lonita Jones

Favorite Movie: Friday

Favorite Book: A Child Called It

Favorite Music Artist: Musiq Soulchild

Favorite Food: Chicken

Favorite Quote: "The task ahead of you is never as great as the power behind you"

Person You'd Most Like to Meet: God

Favorite MLB Team: Phillies

Favorite NFL Team: Colts ("all the way")

When asked what he likes best about playing football at Lake Forest College, Bryce said, "The fun we have and the family atmosphere...it's an all around great feeling." Additionally, Bryce is most entertained at practice by teammates Dylan Burke and Shawn Henderson.

Good luck during the rest of the season, Bryce!

--Elise Beckman, contributing author

Juice Hall of Fame

2010-10-12T06:24:00.001-05:00

John Klasen, Class of 1996, was inducted into the LFC Athletics Hall Of Fame this past homecoming weekend. This is a tremendous honor for a tremendous alum, player, and representative of all that is great about Lake Forest College.

Pre-Game LFC vs Beloit

2010-10-08T15:10:00.001-05:00

Highlights: LFC vs Carroll

2010-10-08T14:33:00.000-05:00

Foresters Fall to Carroll, but Look Ahead to Homecoming 2010!

2010-10-08T00:24:00.003-05:00

Last Saturday, the Foresters traveled to Wisconsin to take on the Carroll Pioneers. Though they fell to the Pioneers 15-7, the Foresters experienced their closest contest this season. After the game, Coach Cat said, "We played tough. That was the grittiest performance of the year so far. Our defense played extremely well, especially considering the starting field position of the first half. It was also great to see some of our players make "BIG" plays. We hadn't had any real big plays this year on the defensive side of the ball. Offensively, we took care of the football, and had a couple of good drives, but we still need to become more consistent in the things that we do. I am looking forward to our guys having a great homecoming week as we prepare for Beloit."

This week, the Foresters have been working hard to prepare for this weekend’s Homecoming Game against Beloit. A full explanation of the Forester forecast for the second half of the season and the predictions for this weekend’s contest can be seen tomorrow morning during the Pre-Game show.

Looking forward to Homecoming and hoping to see fans pack Farwell Field on Saturday, let’s go Foresters!

--Elise Beckman, contributing author

Spotlight on Kevin Davis!

2010-10-08T00:01:00.006-05:00

In preparation for Homecoming, we are spotlighting Junior Wide Receiver Kevin Davis!

Nickname: K.D.

High School: South Elgin High

Honors: All-Conference, Academic All-Conference

Hometown: South Elgin

Planning to Major In: Business

Birthdate: February 19

Birthplace: Neumarkt, Germany

Parents: James and Sibylle

Favorite Movie: Bad Boys 2

Favorite Music Artist: Lil Wayne/Wiz Khalifa

Favorite Food: Steak

Favorite Quote: "Go big or go home"

Person You'd Most Like to Meet: Kim Kardashian

Favorite NFL Team: Chicago Bears

Favorite MLB Team: Chicago White Sox

When asked what he likes best about playing football at Lake Forest College, Kevin said, "No matter what is going on from day to day, I get to play football with the guys that I'm closest to on campus. It's always the best part of my day to get out on the football field and to have fun running routes and making big plays." Kevin especially enjoys spending time with the coaches at practice. He said, "All of the coaches make practice entertaining for me because they are very enthusiastic about what they do and they all have a great sense of humor. The two coaches that make practice the most entertaining, in particular, are Coach Cat and Coach Canty because they bring the most excitement."

Good luck this Saturday, Kevin!

--Elise Beckman, contributing author

FLYNN NAMED TO NATIONAL TEAM OF THE WEEK!

2010-10-06T12:07:00.003-05:00

Junior Defensive Lineman Casey Flynn, was recognized nationally by D3Football to their National Team of the Week for his performance against Carroll University on Saturday. The Morristown, NJ native recorded two interceptions on consecutive series of Carroll QB Chris Casper. Flynn also recorded three tackles on the day.

Read more here: D3 Football Release

POTW ANNOUNCED

2010-10-06T11:52:00.003-05:00

The Forester Coaching Staff announced the players of the week from the Carroll game on Monday.

Offense: Senior Running Back, Brock Stenberg (Grand Haven, Michigan). Stenberg rushed for 59 yards on 16 carries, and led the Foresters with three receptions for 32 yards. The dual threat runningback also improved his pass blocking significantly. Stenberg played his prep football at Grand Haven High School.

Defensie: Junior Defensive Lineman, Casey Flynn (Morristown, NJ). Flynn had a career day on Saturday, recording interception to end back to back Carroll drives. Flynn's first interception was off of a tipped ball by Kenny Clady-Mason. The next series after a timeout, Flynn dropped back into coverage after and intercepted the Pioneer pass that was deflected by Luke Butts. Flynn also recorded three tackles on the day. Flynn played his prep football at Morristown High School.

Special Teams: Junior Wide Receiver, Kevin Davis (South Elgin, IL). Davis recorded three solo tackles on punt coverage, and forced two fair catches on the day. His tremendous coverage ability held the Pioneer return game to 20 yards on four returns, including one tackle for a loss of yardage. Davis played his high school football at South Elgin High School.

Scout Team: Freshman Defensive Lineman, Austin Tijerina (Coral Springs, FL). Austin had a great week working against our offensive line representing the Carroll pass rush. Austin, who made the move to the interior defensive line early in the season is making significant strides in his understanding of the position. Tijerina played his prep football at Marjory Stoneham Douglas High School in Parkland, FL.

Pre-Game LFC vs Carroll

2010-10-01T14:29:00.000-05:00