Though Lake Forest College doesn’t begin its football season until next weekend, many of the Midwest Conference’s 11 teams start action this weekend. Based on the preseason coaches poll, the 2015 season could be a long one for the Foresters.
The league has two divisions, and the winners of each play in mid-November for the right to compete in the NCAA Division III playoffs.
Lake Forest is in the six-team South Division, and the Foresters were picked by coaches to finish fourth.
Carroll College and Monmouthwere the picks to win the North and South divisions, respectively.
Last year, Macalester from Minnesota joined the league for the first time and won the conference title.
Lake Forest was 4-6 last year, 2-3 in the division. The team’s best returning players are expected to be senior defensive back Pat Clark from Naperville Central, junior running back Charlie Quinn from Arizona, and junior wideout Alex Pasiewicz from Zion-Benton.
Pasiewicz came to LFC after playing at Z-B as a hard-nosed running back. Last year, he caught 25 passes.
The other local player on the team is punter/kicker Jon Gurchak from Grayslake Central. Last year, he made six field goals.
Of the 11 teams in the Midwest League, four of them have area grads on the roster. LFC has 10, Carroll has eight, St. Norbert five and Knox one.
Here’s the list:
Knox (1) — Aaron Hoover (senior linebacker from Grayslake North).
Lake Forest (10) — Alex Pasiewicz (junior wideout from Zion-Benton), R.J. Pompey (sophomore defensive back from Warren), Max Sorby (sophomore wideout from Warren), Joey Valdivia (junior running back from Grayslake Central), Henri Viola (sophomore defensive back from Warren), Jon Gurchak (senior kicker from Grayslake Central), Tom Steen (sophomore offensive lineman from Warren), William Danner (junior offensive lineman from Wauconda), Josh Jones (junior offensive lineman from Zion-Benton), Keegan McKenna (junior defensive lineman from Lakes).
Carroll (8) — Dillon O’Donoghue (sophomore defensive back from Mundelein), Kevin Foley (senior defensive back from Stevenson), Daniel Arden (senior running back from Antioch), Adam Sivia (junior linebacker from Waukegan), Lee Shannon (senior offensive lineman from Antioch), Matt Spitzer (freshman defensive lineman from Mundelein), Austin Piekarski (junior wideout from Wauconda), Connor O’Donoghue (senior wideout from Mundelein).
St. Norbert (5) — Sean Ferraro (freshman running back from Libertyville), Patrick Ryan (freshman linebacker from Libertyville), Alex Swanson (junior defensive back from Lake Forest Academy), Jake Kerkorian (freshman linebacker from Warren), Bryan Nolan (freshman defensive lineman from Warren).
Stevenson’s Weisman on injured reserve: Stevenson grad and former University of Iowa fullback Mark Weisman didn’t make the cut with the Cincinnati Bengals after signing with them as an undrafted free agent.
However, Weisman was placed on the Bengals’ waived/injured list. When he cleared waivers, he was then placed on the Bengals’ injured reserve squad, which means he won’t be able to play this season.
He will remain part of the team, however. He can rehab his undisclosed injury and then try to make the in team in 2016 as a fullback.
Spencer survives cut to 75: When the Washington Redskins cut players to get to the 75-man limit this week, Vernon Hills grad and former Ohio State player Evan Spencer was not one of the players dropped.
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Alas, the sixth-round draft pick of the Redskins had concussion symptoms during last week’s preseason game against Baltimore and did not play in Thursday’s final practice game.
What a way to debut: When Wisconsin opens its football season Saturday against Alabama in Texas, starting at inside linebacker for the Badgers will be Lakes grad T.J. Edwards (No. 53).
The redshirt freshman played quarterback at Lakes, but the 6-foot-1, 238-pounder was targeted for defense before he ever stepped on campus in Madison. This is his first college game.
Also on the team is Grayslake North grad Titus Booker (No. 9). Like Edwards, Booker was an offensive star in high school, but the running back was immediately moved to cornerback by Wisconsin’s coaches.
Twitter: @JeffBonato