Foresters Rush for 270 Yards in 26-15 Victory at Beloit
Team is 3-0 for the third straight season

Anthony Gebhart scored on runs of 78 and 16 yards.

Sophomore Anthony Gebhart (Addison, IL/Addison Driscoll) led the Foresters offense with 22 rushes for 218 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Sophomore Devin Furlong (West Palm Beach, FL/Cardinal Newman) chipped in 63 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries. The 270 rushing yards are the team’s highest total in nearly four years.

Sophomore quarterback Matt Mahaney (West Chicago, IL/Addison Driscoll) was 13-of-26 for 139 yards with an interception and a touchdown pass to senior Nick Hildreth (Lombard, IL/Willowbrook). Hildreth, who broke the school record for career receptions on September 11, is now just 65 receiving yards and 5 touchdown catches shy of the career records in those categories as well.

Freshman safety Ed Kidd (Round Lake, IL/Buffalo Grove) and sophomore linebacker Ryan Gallegos (Plantation, FL/St. Thomas Aquinas) led the defense with 14 tackles apiece. Senior safety Drew Holman (Morris, IL/Morris), who intercepted a pass in each of the team’s first two games, had 10 tackles and a fumble recovery. Junior cornerback Keith Hanson (Fairfax, VA/Chantilly) had nine tackles, including three behind the line of scrimmage, and a blocked kick. Senior defensive end David Bleitner (St. Louis, MO/Vianney) also recorded nine tackles and his sack on Beloit’s final possession raised his school record total for career tackles for loss to 38.5.

A Beloit interception ended the Foresters’ opening drive but the Buccaneers were unable to record a first down and were forced to punt. After an incomplete pass, Gebhart broke loose for a 78-yard touchdown run, giving the visitors the lead with 9:41 remaining in the first quarter.

The Buccaneers’ next possession stalled at the Lake Forest 6-yard line and Hanson blocked the field goal attempt. After the teams combined for five punts and a missed field goal on the next six possessions, Beloit finally got on the scoreboard with a five-play, 48-yard touchdown drive and took the lead on the extra point with 7:44 remaining in the second period.

The Foresters responded with a nine-play, 67-yard drive of their own, culminating with a 2-yard touchdown run by Furlong, whose rushing attempt for the two-point conversion failed.

Beloit fumbled the ensuing kickoff and Lake Forest reached the Beloit 2-yard line before turning the ball over on downs.

Each team punted on its first possession of the second half. The Buccaneers took a 15-12 lead with a touchdown and two-point conversion on their next possession, a 10-play drive that covered 40 yards.

A fumble in Beloit territory ended the Foresters’ next offensive effort but, three punts later, the visitors finally took the lead for good on a 5-yard touchdown pass from Mahaney to Hildreth with 9:18 to play.

The home team lost a fumble a minute later and Lake Forest took advantage with Gebhart’s second score of the game, a 16-yard carry.

The Buccaneers drove to the Forester 7-yard line on their next possession but came away empty-handed after the field goal attempt hit the right upright. Lake Forest was able to record a pair of first downs to run out the clock.

It was the Foresters’ fifth consecutive victory over Beloit, despite the fact that the Buccaneers have held fourth-quarter leads in four of those contests. Lake Forest will be at home next Saturday (September 25) against Ripon College (1-2, 1-2 MWC). Kickoff is at 1:30 p.m.

Box Score