/notables/2021/04/week11-wrapup-saturday

Saturday: Lake Forest wins with four safeties

Lake Forest athletics file photo
 

Lake Forest had what was surely a record-setting performance on Saturday, while Mount St. Joseph held off a hard-charging Manchester rally and Albion prevailed in a back-and-forth battle with Adrian.

It was a couple of points here, a couple points there for Lake Forest as the Foresters (2-0) got four safeties sandwiched around two touchdowns in defeating Illinois College 21-14 on Saturday. The number of safeties is almost assuredly an NCAA Division III record for safeties in a single game. The NCAA does not track the record, but the record for safeties in a season is five, by Widener in 2014.

"The funny part is, we could have had a fifth," said Lake Forest coach Jim Catanzaro. "We had them backed up to the 2 on a punt, and the first play, we were close but we got called for a personal foul when trying to punch the ball out. And they hit a TD pass."

Logan Persson dropped a punt on the 1 to help make the record possible. The Foresters also failed to convert on a fourth-and-goal from the 2 and fumbled on the 1-yard line.

"It's really a feeling of disbelief. The first one it's just joyous excitement. And then you see 14-4, it's not a fotoball score, what's going on here. After we gave up a safety for the only points last week, it was just kind of a smirk on everyone's face, we got back on top, but then two more ... you win a game 21-14 and got eight points off safeties."

Lake Forest racked up 11 tackles for loss, four sacks, and had three interceptions against three Illinois College quarterbacks in IC's only competition of the spring.

Catholic's Brady Berger connected with Preston Jeffrey for a 65-yard touchdown pass to give the Cardinals a 27-22 victory at Wilkes in their first game in 518 days. Trailing 22-14 heading into the fourth quarter, Catholic rallied with 13 unanswered points, scoring the go-ahead touchdown with 7:37 remaining on a third-and-10 from its own 35. With Catholic preserving its second lead of the game, the defense once came up with a stop, forcing Wilkes to a three-and-out on its final two possessions, highlighted by sacks from sophomores Huey Bodger and Jaegar Wesley.

Manchester scored four fourth-quarter touchdowns, including one with 1.7 seconds left in the game, but was unable to hit on the potential game-tying two-point conversion and Mount St. Joseph escaped with a 44-42 win. After putting up 28 points in the final frame, it was a pass out in the flat that was overthrown on the conversion and fell incomplete.

For the Spartans, who finish the 2020-21 season with an 0-7 mark, it was by far the team's best offensive performance of the season. Manchester entered the fourth quarter trailing 37-14 before scoring on a 91-yard drive. MSJ added a touchdown with 4:17 left in the game to seemingly put the game back out of reach, leading 44-21, but the Spartans scored with 2:47 left, 0:37 left and recovered an onside kick to go back out on offense and do it again, scoring the game's final touchdown with less than two ticks remaining.

Jack Bush threw for a career-high 401 yards and three touchdowns as Albion outlasted Adrian 49-34. Adrian scored on the game's opening drive and did not trail until 4:31 left in the second quarter, when the Britons recorded a safety after Adrian couldn't get a punt off. And from there, the lead changed hands four more times before Albion scored the final 17 points of the game to put the game away. Phillip Jones-Price ran for 78 yards and three touchdowns as Albion improved to 2-0.

Bluffton freshman Montez Archer Jr. picked off his seventh pass of the season, but it was all Rose-Hulman on Saturday as Shane Welshans rushed for 236 yards on 36 carries with two touchdowns and Rashard Brown picked off three passes in a 35-0 win. Welshans scored all three touchdowns in the first half to help Rose-Hulman build a 21-0 lead at the break. He made a 7-yard reception to cap the opening drive and put Rose-Hulman up 7-0. Welshans added second quarter touchdown runs of 14 and 3 yards to provide the halftime lead. In addition to Brown's picks, Charlie Hahm grabbed an interception in the endzone to stop a red zone drive for Bluffton late in the first half.

This recap will be updated.

Dec. 15: All times Eastern
Final
Cortland 38, at North Central (Ill.) 37
@ Salem, Virginia
Video Box Score Recap Photos
Dec. 9: All times Eastern
Final
North Central (Ill.) 34, at Wartburg 27
Box Score Recap
Final
Cortland 49, at Randolph-Macon 14
Box Score Recap Recap Recap Photos
Maintenance in progress.