Football: Lemont seeks semifinal win in Peoria

Updated: November 16, 2011 7:22PM

Stop Kendrick Foster.

Undefeated Lemont has to do that Saturday at Peoria Richwoods to have a chance against the Knights.

Stop Mike Anzalone.

Richwoods (9-3) has to do that, or the Indians (12-0) will advance to the Class 6A championship game for the third time in five years.

Neither running back will be easy to stop.

Anzalone has 1,327 yards this season — a 120.6 yards-per-game average — and has 17 touchdowns. Foster has run for 345 yards the past two weeks, including 177 vs. Danville in a one-point quarterfinal win on the road.

Lemont’s defense has been exceptional, posting six shutouts in 12 games, including a 29-0 quarterfinal blanking of Hubbard.

The Indians haven’t seen anyone quite like Foster, but coach Eric Michaelsen finds a parallel in a familiar opponent.

“They’re a little bit like Oak Forest,” Michaelsen said. “But they run out of more formations than Oak Forest. Foster, he’s definitely a challenge. He’s a tremendous runner, and they’ve got a scheme that gets him the ball.”

It’s one thing to catch Foster, a 10.6 runner in the 100-meter dash, and another to tackle him. He has the singular quality great backs have to shed tackles in midstride. Just ask Crete-Monee’s defense. On at least three occasions, he was trapped at or behind the line of scrimmage, then got away. The last time he broke two tackles and ran 41 yards for a touchdown. That it came with less than three minutes to play speaks to the 5-foot-8 junior’s endurance.

“He’s a very determined individual,” Richwoods coach Roland Brown said. “He’s set some very lofty goals for himself. He’s never been under 100 (yards) this year. His low is 107, but he only played a half. He gets running, and all of a sudden, he’s got 200.”

Lemont’s offense won’t be a surprise to Brown.

“They pound it at you,” he said. “They’re like Quincy Notre Dame, or Crystal Lake Central, whom we played last year. They’re aggressive, get after it.”

While Richwoods has elements other than Foster, the Knights go to him whenever possible. Lemont’s offense is more diverse. Anzalone’s rushing yardage accounts for only half the Indians’ ground yards.

“I think they’ll do what most other teams do,” Michaelsen said. “They’ll try to make us pass.”

That works too. Quarterback Damon Aleman has thrown for 1,035 yards, with a stellar 16-1 touchdown-interception ratio. That’s how the Indians have piled up 485 points this season, yielding only 89.

“I hope we have another good start,” Brown said. “The last three weeks, we’ve had three good starts and two not-so-good finishes.”

Conversely, Lemont has started strong almost every week, the first round playoff game with Morgan Park the singular exception. They came back to score a 56-30 win, one of three times they’ve scored more than 50 points this season.

Lemont’s last championship game appearance was 2008. The Indians, with a gaudy 46-4 record the past four seasons, lost in the quarterfinals the previous two years, but are over that hump.

“The most gratifying thing is the hard work the kids put in,” Michaelsen said. “Our kids to a great job of buying into the program.”

Saturday’s game is important, but not the ultimate reward. If there’s success in Peoria, the big prize could come a week later in Champaign.

“We’ve talked to the kids that this is a special time,” Michaelsen said. “We should enjoy it, but at the same time, take it as business as usual.”

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