Riley Lees’ touchdown return flips script in Libertyville’s favor

SHARE Riley Lees’ touchdown return flips script in Libertyville’s favor
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THE SKINNY

No playoff berths were on the line in Zion, but the Zee-Bees and Libertyville played hard, with a 72-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by the Wildcats’ Riley Lees turning a 16-14 deficit into a 21-16 third-quarter lead that keyed a 35-16 win.

TURNING POINT

Down 14-0, Zion got a 16-yard touchdown run by Maurice Young and a 27-yard field goal by David Fajardo at the end of the first half and then took the lead 16-14 on Young’s 23-yard touchdown run with 9:41 left in the third quarter. But Lees’ kickoff return to the end zone flipped the script and Libertyville rolled from there.

THE STAR

Riley Lees scored on a seven-yard run in the second quarter to make it 14-0, and his KO return made it 21-16. 

BY THE NUMBERS

Connor Simpson scored on runs of 31 and 16 yards and finished with 28 carries for 164 yards for Libertyville (4-5, 2-4). Anthony Monken completed 6 of 13 passes for 43 yards with a pick. For Zion, Eric Gilmore rushed 13 times for 108 yards and Young was 9-66 with two touchdowns. Passing, Doug Gates was 8-of-16 for 82 yards and one interception. Zion ( 2-7, 1-5) has not beaten Libertyville since 1989.

QUOTABLE

“We’ve been a resilient team all year. We had a lot of fun in practice this week and we got done what we needed to get done. This year’s been up and down, just like this game was, but in the end, we got it done.” — Libertyville coach Mike Jones

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