Forester rally falls short in MWC opener.

"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

HEROES DAY 2011

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!!!

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!

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!

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 !!

ALL LINEMAN LOVE THE CONDITIONING TEST!