The Lake Forest College football team rolled up more than 600 yards of offense and posted a 56-38 Midwest Conference victory over Lawrence University on Saturday in the Banta Bowl.
Lake Forest quarterback Pete Scaffidi completed 17 of 29 passes for 367 yards and five touchdowns. Scaffidi also ran for another score. Running back Al Mitchell ran 27 times for 127 yards to pace the Foresters (2-5, 2-5 MWC) ground game, which accounted for 239 yards. The Foresters finished with 610 yards of offense.
Wide receiver Tyler Mazur caught seven passes for 63 yards and two touchdowns for Lawrence (1-7, 1-6). Mazur also ran five times for 31 yards and two touchdowns.
Lawrence quarterback Luke Barthelmess was 19 of 26 for 215 yards and three touchdowns. Barthelmess now has 2,293 yards passing on the season and broke the Lawrence season record of 2,124 yards set by All-American Bill McNamara back in 1986.
Lawrence simply couldn’t slow down the Lake Forest attack, which scored touchdowns on eight of its first 10 possessions. The Foresters scored touchdowns on four of their six first-half possessions and led 28-17 at the half.
Lawrence hung close in the first half as Mazur ran five yards for the Vikings’ first touchdown, and Barthlemess hit Dominque Dirden on an 18-yard touchdown to trim the lead to 21-14. Lawrence completed the scoring in the first half when Cody Robel boomed a career-long 40-yard field goal as time expired to cut the lead to 28-17.
The Foresters used a fake punt to keep a drive alive to start the third quarter and then finished the drive on Scaffidi’s 18-yard touchdown pass to Rocky Al-Mutawa for a 35-17 lead.
Lawrence countered immediately when Shawn Martin returned the ensuing kickoff 37 yards to the Lake Forest 39. Mazur ran it in from seven yards out six plays later to cut the lead to 35-24.
Lawrence attempted an on-sides kick, and the Martin recovered for the Vikings after a scramble at their own 35. The officials ruled the Vikings touched the ball before it went 10 yards and Lake Forest took over. The Foresters scored five plays later to go up 42-24.
After an interception thrown by backup quarterback Sam Kossow, Lake Forest scored four plays later to lead 49-24. The Foresters added another touchdown early in the fourth quarter to go up 56-24. Barthelmess came back into the game and threw two more touchdown passes, both to Mazur, against Lake Forest’s first-string defense to trim the lead to 56-38.
Lawrence goes on the road and faces Beloit College next Saturday.