Lake Forest overcomes wind to upset Belvidere North

BELVIDERE — Four touchdowns had been scored with the wind. Only three first downs had been gained against it.

Yet when Lake Forest took over on its own 10-yard line with 51 seconds left in the first half and the score tied Friday, the Scouts didn’t sit on the ball despite heading into the teeth of a strong, cold wind.

“You have to trust in your players,” Lake Forest coach Chuck Spagnoli said.

The Scouts reached the 1-yard line with one second left on a 40-yard screen pass, then stayed aggressive again as Wes Janeck bulled over the defense for a tiebreaking touchdown on the final play of the half to help No. 13 seed Lake Forest upset No. 4 Belvidere North 42-21 in the Class 6A football playoffs Friday.

“If that second had run off, it might have been a different game,” Belvidere North coach Jeff Beck said. “But they got that second and we didn’t stop them and keep them out of the end zone. We didn’t make the plays when they were there to be made.”

Belvidere North (8-2) fell behind 14-0 after the first two series of the game, but tied the score on TD passes of 9 and 25 yards to Kevin Tevebaugh (121 yards on eight catches). The Blue Thunder had two chances to take the lead, but were stopped near midfield both times. Still, they were looking good before Janeck (200 yards on 28 carries) ran for 20 yards on the Scouts’ first play from the 10 in the final minute of the first half. Daniel Carollo (16-for-22 for 199 yards) then completed a couple of short passes.

“A couple of big plays happened, and then it gets going so your kids start to feel it,” Spagnoli said.

The biggest play came when North blitzed on that 40-yard screen pass.

“I put us in a terrible defense,” Beck said. “That’s 100 percent on me, that drive. I called a poor coverage a couple of plays in a row and called for pressure on a screen.”

Lake Forest (7-3) also drove into the wind for a score to open the second half and led 28-14 on a 49-yard Janeck run. But Belvidere North quarterback Jace Bankord (25-for-36 for 280 yards) moved the chains with short passes to running back Jared Cantu (139 yards on 13 catches) and had the Blue Thunder at the Lake Forest 43, trailing 28-21 with seven minutes left, when they fumbled for their first turnover.

That was that, as Janek and the Scouts went 58 yards in eight plays to go up 35-21 and then scored again after Belvidere North’s desperation hook-and-ladder play turned into another turnover.

“We made plays, but we were just too inconsistent,” Beck said.

The Blue Thunder had their chances. If the half had been one second shorter. If they hadn’t fumbled a handoff. If Mat Guedel, Belvidere North’s standout defensive player Friday, could have held on to a sure pick-six when he jumped a pass route on Lake Forest’s second TD drive.

“That one’s going to stick with me for a long time,” Guedel said. “I saw him open his hips, so I broke on it, but I started leaving for the end zone a little early and it got away from me.”

Lake Forest also missed a chance or two, including a 23-yard penalty for an illegal block below the waist that wiped out a long pass to Matthew Hargritt (three catches, 59 yards).

And the Scouts controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides. Belvidere North couldn’t stop Janeck.

“He’s the best. He always runs hard,” Carollo said.

And while the wind stopped Belvidere North, it didn’t stop Lake Forest.

“The wind doesn’t matter,” Carollo said. “We play in any weather.”