PREP FOOTBALL: IHSA CLASS 7A PLAYOFFS Lake Zurich carries county banner into semis
By Mike Madigan SPECIAL TO THE NEWS-SUN
LAKE ZURICH — When the pairings were announced for the IHSA Class 7A football playoffs, this region of the county was energized with the possibility of area rival Libertyville and Carmel squaring off in the semifinal round.
Well, as things turned out, Libertyville and Carmel will be playing all right — during Week 2 of NEXT football season.
Meanwhile, this coming Saturday belongs to Lake Zurich, as the Bears have taken out three consecutive playoff opponents to earn the right to host powerful Prospect in a 1 p.m. game.
Clearly, the Bears are playing their best football of the season right now — and they'll need to play it if they hope to knock off the Knights, who are a perennial powerhouse come playoff time.
Lake Zurich hasn't lost since a 10-9 defeat at the hands of Libertyville back in September, and its defense — which is stingy and fast — has led the Bears to Saturday afternoon's contest.
Lake Zurich coach Bryan Stortz knows his team may have taken the county by surprise, but he knows what they're playing for and shouldn't be taken lightly anymore.
"(Saturday) is why you play the game," said Stortz. "A chance at going downstate is pretty big."
The Bears are led by a defense that prides itself on quickness.
"Our defense sets up our offense," said Stortz. "The defense usually gives the offense a short field, but our offense has come on lately and can put together an 80-yard drive if they have to."
Anchoring the defensive line is a six-man rotation that includes Josh Erickson, Jason Weber, Will Koukal, John Brewer, Damian Wroblewski and Frank Nava.
The linebackers also rotate with Tyler LaFontaine, Brent Marks, Kyle Skarb, Mike McGlauchlin, Jon Janus and Brian Cihlar.
The secondary is manned by Kevin Callahan, Mike Dietrich and Kevin Johnson, who also handles the kicking duties.
On the other side of the ball, the Bears are a run-first, pass-second offense led by a group of running backs including leading rusher Adam Simpson (133 carries, 715 yards, 11 TDs), Skarb (91 carries, 678 yards, 12 TDs) and Janus (76 crries, 624 yards, 9 TDs).
Senior quarterback Matt Blanchard also runs the ball on occasion and has completed 58 of 121 passes this season for 811 yards and 5 scores.
"Matt has gotten a lot better as the season has gone on," said Stortz. "Although he's a senior, he missed all but two games last season (broken ankle), so he really had the experience of a junior. He has grown tremendously."
Since losing to the Wildcats, the Bears have steadily improved week-in and week-out, and Strotz attributes that to a combination of coaching and the players listening.
"We stress getting better each week," said Stortz. "The coaches have done a tremendous job preparing the guys and they've done a good job of applying what they've been taught in practices."
No matter what the scoreboard reads at the end of the game, one thing is for sure: The Bears will lay it all the line.
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