Lake Zurich Bears Defuse Grenadiers 17-10

Regarded as a dark horse for getting deep into the Class 7A playoffs, the are proving a lot of so-called experts wrong, as they continue to defy the odds by beating their post-season opponents.

Saturday afternoon, the Elk Grove Grenadiers were their latest victims, as the Bears notched a 17-10 victory in a game that was not as close as the score indicated. The Bears let the Grenadiers work the ball downfield on a drive that started with 3:08 remaining in the fourth quarter, and Elk Grove eventually scored their first and only touchdown with 0:28 remaining in the game.

“That was the plan,” admitted defensive back Chris Rantis, “to let them run out the clock on that last drive."

It worked — with under 30 seconds remaining, Elk Grove kicker Julian Leija tried an onside kick, but Lake Zurich recovered at midfield and quarterback Steven Kuhn took a knee to run out the clock.

It was a matchup of two teams with exceptional defensive units, and each squad’s first downs were few and far between. In fact, both teams went three-and-out on their first two possessions, although the Bears gave the Grenadiers the ball back when John Orlando fumbled the punt return on his team's second possession. The Bears defense induced another three-and-out, however.

The Bears finally broke through early in the second quarter with a field goal to take a 3-0 lead. Elk Grove quarterback Adam O’Malley — one of two QB’s that the team employed, and who is used mostly in passing situations — was picked off by the Bears’ Kevin Bellew on the second play of the quarter, setting up Lake Zurich at their own 19-yard line.

After Mike Shield ran for no gain and Orlando ran for a loss of 1 yard, Bears quarterback Steven Kuhn — playing in place of injured starting quarterback Zach Till for the second straight week — connected with Brandon Markert for a 10-yard reception, setting up a fourth-and-one situation. Mike Leiva then nailed a 27-yard field goal, giving Lake Zurich a 3-0 lead with 9:55 remaining in the quarter.

The Grenadiers did manage to evade another three-and-done scenario on their next series when quarterback Dejan Basara found Jeff Miceli open for a 10-yard completion. But Elk Grove was stymied after that, and had to punt the ball back to Lake Zurich.

The Bears weren’t able to score on their next possession, but they were able to get far enough downfield to give the Grenadiers terrible field position on their next series. After starting at their 37-yard line, Shield ran for a 10-yard gain. After Orlando ran the ball for 4 yards, Kuhn connected with Jack Lynn along the right sideline for a 10-yard reception.

After Connor Schrader ran the ball for six yards and then one yard, the Bears opted to punt on fourth-and-one. Mark Weber, who had another stellar day kicking and punting for Lake Zurich, drilled a 40-yarder, and Elk Grove started at their own 12-yard line.

“That was definitely part of the plan,” admitted linebacker Jack Lynn, “to keep them as pushed back as possible.” It worked glowingly all afternoon, much like it did last week in the . On several occasions in fourth-and-short situations, the Bears opted to punt rather than attempt a first down. The net result was that the Grenadiers were continually pinned deep in their own territory.

After a 57-yard punt by Leija that rolled about 30 yards to the Bears 32-yard line, Lake Zurich put together their first touchdown drive of the day. After an 8-yard run by Shield, and short gains by Jake Stauner and Mike Rantis, Kuhn found Lynn open along the far right side of the field for a 25-yard completion.

After a 15-yard holding penalty against the Bears, Shield picked up a 5-yard gain and Stauner, on a pitch from Kuhn, motored for 17 yards. Then Kuhn hit Lynn in the end zone with a down-the-middle pass, allowing the Bears to take a 10-0 halftime lead.

After Lake Zurich went three-and-out to start the third quarter, Elk Grove’s coach Brian Dole chose to let Basara run the ball on six straight plays. After being stopped by defensive lineman Rocky Triggiano for no gain on the first play from scrimmage, Basara gained 5 yards. He was knocked out of bounds for a 3-yard loss by Schrader on the third play of the drive before an offsides penalty against the Bears cost them 5 yards.

Basara then gained 3 yards and 10 yards on two more carries. On the second run, he fumbled the ball but managed to recover. Basara then finally went airborne, and connected with Darren Little for 18 yards to Lake Zurich’s 18-yard line.

After two 1-yard keepers by Basara that were sandwiched around a 7-yard reception by Miceli, the Grenadiers opted to kick a field goal in a fourth-and-one situation at the Bears’ 9-yard line, narrowing the lead to 10-3 with 4:20 remaining in the third quarter.

The score remained 10-3 until deep into the fourth quarter, when the Bears engineered their final big drive of the game. It started very tentatively, with Orlando fumbling the punt. Fortunately, Colton Wagner recovered the ball for Lake Zurich.

The drive was virtually all Mike Shield, demonstrating once again his propensity for delivering in big games. He reeled off a 7-yard run followed by a 3-yard gain. After running for a loss of a yard and then a three-yard gainer, Shield found the crease down the right sideline for a huge 53-yard run. Although he summersaulted into the end zone, he stepped out of bounds at the 5-yard line.

After Shield gained two more yards, Kuhn punched it in from 3 yards out. After the PAT, Lake Zurich led 17-3 with 3:08 remaining in the fourth.

“It would have been really nice if I got into the end zone,” said Shield.

“That was a designed play,” said Rantis about Shield’s run. “We were going for it all the way.”

Bears Pause: In a game that was largely defined by each team’s defense, the offensive numbers weren’t staggering, although Mike Shield did rush for 108 yards on 24 carries, with 53 of them coming on his game-clincher late in the fourth quarter. The remaining 55 yards were mostly hard-fought against a stingy Elk Grove defense. Steven Kuhn didn’t pass a lot, but he was 4-for-4 for 57 yards, and accounted for both touchdowns, one passing and one rushing. The Grenadiers’ two quarterbacks, Dejan Basara and Adam O’Malley combined to rush for 71 yards on 28 totes while completing 14 of 29 passes for 124 yards. Lake Zurich edged Elk Grove on total yards, 221-206. The Bears had just nine first downs. The Grenadiers had 10, although five of those were accrued on their final touchdown drive.

Next Up: The Bears will travel to Rockford next Saturday to play Boylan-Rockford in the final. The starting time has not yet been announced. If they win, they'll travel to Champaign for the championship game for the second straight year.