Devonte Wilcox scored on a one-yard plunge with 46 seconds left to cap a 14-play, 60-yard drive and give host Warren a crucial 21-18 victory over Lake Forest in a North Suburban Conference Lake Division football game.
The win makes the 5-3 Blue Devils eligible for postseason play. Lake Forest also is 5-3. Next week, Warren plays Lake Zurich and Lake Forest faces winless Mundelein.
Lake Forest had taken an 18-14 lead with 5:46 left on a four-yard run by Steven Cirame on a fourth-and-inches play. That was a 15-play, 81-yard drive.
But Warren then responded to take the lead, and then survived when Lake Forest’s Baylor Broughton missed a 39-yard field goal wide as time expired.
The first half ended with Warren ahead 14-12 as Lake Forest could not fully capitalize on five trips into the red zone.
The Blue Devils started the game with an 11-play, 80-yard drive that quarterback Adam Reuss capped with a six-yard run.
Lake Forest answered with a pair of field goals from in close (24 and 26 yards) by Broughton to make it 7-6, but Warren then drove 80 yards to paydirt for the second time.
This time, it only took three plays. On the second one, Connor Iwema threw a 49-yard halfback-option pass to James Charleston. And on the next play, Wilcox raced 24 yards for a touchdown.
Down 14-6, Lake Forest then drove for a score, with quarterback Andrew Clifford hitting Brian Murphy with a 13-yard TD pass.
The Scouts’ other two chances to score in the half ended on downs and a missed field goal.
There was no scoring in the third quarter.
“We felt it was ours to win,” Wilcox said. “It was a great feeling getting it across the goal line. We knew we had to get it down and we did.”
“It’s been a tough stretch with injuries, but we’re getting healthy again,” Warren Coach Dave Mohapp said. “It’s nice to be able to play at full strength.’’
After Wilcox’s TD, Lake Forest started at its own 36. Clifford completed 4-of-5 passes in the drive that got the ball to the Warren 22.
For the game, Clifford was 28-of-44 passing for 263 yards.
Wilcox carried the ball 19 times for 89 yards and two scores, and he also caught five balls for 53 yards.
