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Football: Lake Zurich rallies back after early deficit to beat Geneva
Lake Zurich's Zach Till (4) tries to get past Geneva's Nick Caruso (34) during the 2nd quarter of Saturday's game. (Lake Zurich won the 7A playoff game, 35-32.) | Brian O'Mahoney~for Sun-Times Media
Updated: November 2, 2011 12:41PM
It could have been a disastrous start for Lake Zurich, but each game has its ups and downs, and Saturday’s IHSA Class 7A playoff opener against Geneva was no different.
After Bears’ running back Mike Rantis fumbled a pitch on the game’s first play, the ball bounced around the cold Lake Zurich turf and into the end zone where the Vikings recovered for a touchdown.
“Our team wasn’t bummed as much as you’d think,” Bears’ quarterback Zach Till said. “We had (Rantis’) back. We put that mistake behind us and played our game.”
No. 8-seed Lake Zurich rallied from a 21-7 deficit and held on following an 11-point lead to defeat No. 9-seed Geneva 35-32.
The Bears (8-2) will face No. 1 Glenbard West (10-0) in the second round.
“The kids were fighting hard and we knew it would be a battle, but it was somewhat sloppy,” Bears coach Bryan Stortz said. “A ‘W’ is a ‘W’ at this point.”
Lake Zurich turned the ball over on its first two possessions, punted on its third and was also stopped on downs in the first half.
Geneva (7-3) became opportunistic and built a 14-point lead on quarterback Matt Williams’ nine-yard run with 5:54 left in the half.
But the Bears behind Till’s running ability and three first-half touchdowns (15, 4, 2) tied the game up with two quick drives before the break.
“Giving up that touchdown right before the end of the half did not help things,” Geneva coach Rob Wicinski said. “I don’t know if it was a big deal for momentum ... maybe, I don’t know. Our offense just kind of got bogged down at the end.”
Williams kicked a 44-yard field goal into the wind on Geneva’s first drive of the second half, but Lake Zurich running back Mike Shield broke off a 51-yard touchdown immediately after for the Bears’ first lead of the game.
Geneva tailback Parker Woodworth fumbled for the second time on Geneva’s next possession and Till (106 yards rushing) capitalized with a 15-yard touchdown.
In a matter of seconds, Lake Zurich was up two scores.
Geneva drove inside the Bears’ 20 late in the fourth, but Williams was picked off by Robert Rossdeutcher.
After Geneva forced a punt, Williams (13-for-19 for 229 yards) quickly took the Vikings down the field and Woodworth punched home his second one-yard touchdown of the game. The Vikings followed that up with a two-point conversion.
“We played a hell of a game. We never gave up,” Williams said. “With all the adversity, we never gave up.”
Lake Zurich recovered an onside kick attempt and the Bears’ converted a fourth-and-inches attempt to run out the clock.
“Congratulate them, they made one more play than we did,” said Williams.
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