Lake Forest goes 98 yards for late TD to beat Libertyville

A few decades ago, Libertyville vs. Lake Forest was about as high-powered as a high school rivalry gets. At basketball games, Libertyville fans taunt the other side by waving argyle socks, while Lake Forest countered with white trash bags.

The rivalry faded a bit in recent years, but returned with a vengeance Saturday.

The first playoff game between the neighboring suburbs was a classic, as Lake Forest somehow drove 98 yards for the winning touchdown in the final two minutes. Danny Van Camp’s 1-yard QB sneak with 6.6 seconds on the clock gave the Scouts a 24-17 victory in the Class 6A playoffs.

Lake Forest advanced to face the Geneva-Burlington Central winner.

“I’d say it’s still a rivalry,” Van Camp said as students stormed the field. “They’re such good opponents. It’s always fun to play them. I’d say there’s still something there.”

Libertyville downed a punt at the Lake Forest 2-yard line with 1:41 remaining. After a first-down run went nowhere, the Wildcats called time out, hoping to get the ball back in good field position.

On second down, Van Camp threw a slant to Charlie Markee, who split the defense and gained 47 yards out to midfield. After a procedure penalty, Van Camp went deep to Jack Burger, who was well-covered and made a nice catch to the 19-yard line. Another pass to Burger put it at the 4 before two runs produced the TD.

“I heard the slant and I saw them go into zero coverage and I was like, ‘Maybe I’ll get a chance here,’” Markee said. “It’s just what we do.”

Sitting at your own 2-yard line in a tie game, most teams don’t think, “Two minute offense, time to score.”

“We’re like, ‘Well, we’ve got nothing left to lose, let’s just let it all out,’” Van Camp said. “Two guys made two incredible plays and we just got it within range. I did the easy work. They did all the hard work.”

Lake Forest’s defense made a huge play to set up the final drive. On third down, Libertyville QB Quinn Schambow had an open receiver near the 25-yard line, but a big hit by Marty Hippel forced the incompletion and a punt.

The Scouts (9-2) made an interesting position switch this week, using two of their biggest offensive stars, Hippel and Markee, on defense for the first time all season. While Hippel rushed for 113 yards on 25 carries, Markee made two interceptions and returned one for a touchdown. Genius move?

“They didn’t play a down (on defense) until today,” Lake Forest coach Chuck Spagnoli said. “It’s only genius because of what the result is. They make the plays. I’m just the guy who asks them to do what they can. I can’t take credit for that.”

Libertyville trailed 17-10 at halftime and tied the score with nine minutes left on an impressive play by Schambow. He escaped two Scouts pass rushers, ran to his right and found Blaise LaVista in the back of the end zone for a 19-yard touchdown.

When the game ended, there were obviously two extremes on the field — jubilation from Lake Forest, heartbreak and sad hugs on the Libertyville side.

“It was a great high school football game, it really was,” said Wildcats coach Mike Jones, who is retiring after 13 seasons. “I just said, if I was in the stands, it would be a great game. They’re really a close-knit group of guys. You feel bad for them, because they put a lot of work and effort in. It’s tough.”

To start the game, Libertyville (9-2) got a fourth-down stop at the Lake Forest 30-yard line and scored the opening TD on a 7-yard pass from Schambow to Sam Seth. Markee’s interception tied the score on the Wildcats’ second drive, then a 53-yard pass to LaVista set up a 40-yard field goal by Ben Ratner to make it 10-7.

Lake Forest came back with a long, 80-yard drive, got help from a pass interference penalty that had the home crowd booing and scored on a 9-yard pass to Luke Pasquesi. A 39-yard field goal by LF’s Dan Timotei made it 17-10.

Schambow, who is headed to Oklahoma State for baseball, completed 19 of 31 passes for 249 yards. LaVista, a junior, finished with seven catches for 152 yards.

https://www.dailyherald.com/20241109/prep-football/lake-forest-goes-98-yards-for-late-td-to-beat-libertyville/