Passing game clicks in Lake Zurich's 3-point loss

How's this for a football prediction. It will be Lake Zurich 55, Mundelein O this Friday when the Mustangs come to Lake Zurich.

One of the assignments the Mustangs will have on Homecoming Night is to figure out a way to slow down the passing combination of Tanner Witt and receiver Jacob Brinlee.

The Lake Zurich football roster lists sophomore Brinlee as a defensive back. Friday in Gurnee, he took turns playing catch with the senior Witt. The first time the two connected it was good for 30 yards and the first touchdown of the game at Warren High School.

The same two players hooked up for another scoring pass late in the third quarter to give Lake Zurich a 14-10 lead.

It was the Bears final tally of the night. The third loss of the season for the defending state champions came by the score of 17-14.

"We made some mistakes," Brinlee said. "We just need to fix some of those. I know teams want to come out and beat us because of last year."

On his special night, Brinlee netted 107 receiving yards and captured both LZ touchdowns.

"That was just good play-calling," Brinlee said. "That gave us the opportunities."

The Bears offense was hampered by an injury to running back Andrew Maloney. Instead, Witt put on his running shoes. In the march to the go-ahead touchdown in the third quarter, he broke off runs of 8 and 12 yards. His biggest run of the night came when the drive stalled at the LZ 47-yard line. Witt's fake punt and dash paid dividends when he galloped into Warren territory following a 24-yard run.

With seconds ticking away in the contest, Witt tossed a 35-yard pass to Kyle Williams giving the visitor's some late hope. That's as close as the Bears would come.

GOOD BOUNCE: Many would consider the No. 13 to be unlucky. Not Aaron Lewandowski. Here was the junior tight end simply following his team's punt early in the contest. The next thing you know, the ball deflected off a Warren player and flew right into No. 13's hands.

"It just came right to me," Lewandowski said.

Since he had caught a muff on the punt he wasn't allowed to advance the ball. Still the odd bounce gave the Bears the ball back in Warren territory. This turnover set up the game's first touchdown.

CORRECTION: In recent issues of Pioneer Press, defensive back J.J. Raffelson had his name spelled incorrectly. The Lake Zurich Courier regrets the error.