CN100 Game of the Week preview: Football Week 2 - Libertyville vs. Lake Forest Academy

LAKE FOREST – Libertyville quarterback Riley Lees is one of the most dynamic players in the state, and CN100 viewers will get a chance to see it firsthand this weekend.
Lees leads the Wildcats into a Saturday battle with Lake Forest Academy at noon, a game which will be shown on CN100, The Comcast Network, at Noon and 4 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 6, and at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 8. You can also watch it anytime in HD with Xfinity On Demand.
Lees got his senior season started with a bang in a 55-28 win over Elk Grove. Lees ran for 309 yards and six touchdowns in only 19 carries. He added 11-for-20 for 149 yards through the air. In June, Lees committed to Northwestern as a receiver, not quarterback.
“Obviously Riley Lees is a dude and no matter who they play, teams are going to try and contain him,” LFA coach Robin Bowkett said. “They have good size up front and athleticism on the perimeter. They do a nice job with their run-pass combinations and quarterback runs.”
Lees’ top targets in the pass game last week were Timmy Calamari and Cam Shaffer, who each caught three passes. Bowkett pointed out Ben Kimpler on defense. He lived up to his status with a pair of sacks against Elk Grove.
“Our team is progressing well at this point of the season,” Libertyville coach Mike Jones said. “We feel that the biggest improvement a team can make is from week one to week two. We hope we can see a more disciplined team and clean up some of the technique issues we had week one.”
The Wildcats are now 22-12 under Jones, who is in his fourth season as head coach. The Wildcats went 9-4 last year, losing in the Class 7A semifinals.
Lake Forest Academy dropped its season opener to Rock Island Alleman, 40-22. The Caxys play plenty of IHSA teams, but they are not an IHSA member.
Despite the loss, the Caxys had some highlights last week. Quarterback Dom Haubner had a big day, throwing for 328 yards and two touchdowns, but he had two interceptions as well. Daniel Joseph is all over the field for the Caxys. He led the team in tackles, blocked a punt for a touchdown, caught three passes for 81 yards and a touchdown while also handling all the punting and kickoff duties. Bowkett was also impressed with the LFA debuts of Jake Cirame and Keenan Clarke.
“(Last week’s game) was our first true live look since we don’t have a lot of guys to go full 11-on-11 live,” Bowkett said.
Despite the low numbers, Jones is impressed with what he’s seen of Lake Forest Academy on tape.
“They are big, physical team,” Jones said. “They have the ability to get explosive plays in the passing game and run it enough to keep you honest. They have some difficult matchups for us, so we hope our team speed will help us to handle those matches. We must control the ball and wear them down.”
- Paul Johnson, CN100 Correspondent

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