It’s Allgood: Bears roll into final
Senior QB comes up big; Lake Zurich reaches 4th title game in 7 seasons
Early on Saturday afternoon, Lake Zurich was giving up yards in chunks and not doing much on offense against Glenbard West.
But it was all good for the Bears. Or make that Allgood.
Senior quarterback Noah Allgood got the Lake Zurich offense going after a slow start, throwing for one touchdown and running for another as the Bears knocked off defending Class 7A champ Glenbard West 16-7 in a 7A semifinal in Glen Ellyn.
No. 7 Lake Zurich (12-1) advanced to its fourth state final in seven seasons and will play top-ranked Mount Carmel (12-1) in the 7A championship next Saturday at Huskie Stadium in DeKalb.
No. 3 Glenbard West (112), which hadn’t lost since dropping its season opener to WW South, dominated early and reached the red zone on each of its first three drives. But two ended with lost fumbles — among the Hitters’ five turnovers on the day — and Glenbard had just Devonte Toney’s 27-yard touchdown run at 2:37 of the first quarter to show for it.
“I never lost confidence in our defense,” Allgood said. “We know they’re going to get the [opposing] offense off the field.”
And that’s what happened as the game went on. Lake Zurich allowed just 62 yards to Glenbard West’s potent ground game, which was hurt by the loss to injury in the first quarter of 6-5, 295-pound North Carolina State recruit Eric Shute.
Glenbard West had success throwing the ball early, as Drew Vogg (9-for-16, 138 yards) completed his first five passes for 77 yards. But the Bears regrouped and got interceptions from Colton Wagner, Sam Walstrum and Trevor Staley.
Meanwhile, Allgood and the offense were playing keep-away and catch-up at the same time.
After Wagner recovered a Hitters fumble at the Bears 25, Lake Zurich drove to the Glenbard West two-yard line before settling for A.J. Trittschuh’s 19-yard field goal. Allgood had completions of 16 and 42 yards (to Staley) on the drive.
Allgood came up big again on the Bears’ last drive of the half, running three times for 21 yards and going 3-for3 for 29 yards passing. His six-yard scoring toss to Ben Klett with 33 seconds left gave the Bears a 10-7 lead.
“He had an unbelievable performance,” running back/ defensive back Sean Lynch said. “Not only throwing the ball, which he did well — but also his heart. Big runs, fighting for those yards. He’s a senior leader quarterback who you expect to make those plays. And he did for us today.”
“There’s nothing fancy about Noah Allgood,” Lake Zurich coach Dave Proffitt said. “He’s like that Duracell battery. He just keeps clicking.”
Allgood finished 11 of 16 passing for 134 yards and had a team-high 42 rushing yards on 15 carries. His two-yard touchdown run with 1:50 left, set up by Staley’s interception return to the Glenbard 14, sealed the win.
“We started fast and kind of let the game get away from us,” Glenbard West two-way star Hayden Carlson said. “Lake Zurich, I’ve got to give them all the credit in the world. Third [straight] year we’ve played them in the playoffs and they won two.”
“They outplayed us,” Glenbard West coach Chad Hetlet said. “They out-hit us, they were more physical than we were. ... There’s no way there’s anybody in the state or in the country that’s going to beat Lake Zurich turning the ball over that many times.”