Although just nine games are played, the high school football season still is a marathon rather than a sprint.
The race for all is to get to five wins and become eligible for the playoffs. And just like in a 26.2-mile run, there are plenty of opportunities along the way for a football team to make adjustments in order to get to the finish line a winner.
On Friday night, Lakes coach Luke Mertens made one such adjustment, and it paid off with a 14-9 victory over intradistrict rival Antioch.
The win put the Eagles (1-2) in position to win their fifth straight North Suburban Prairie title, and extended the program’s winning streak in league games to 22.
And it might not have happened if Mertens, the only coach Lakes football has ever had, didn’t shift speedy junior Cameron Ruiz from the defensive backfield to the offensive backfield.
Ruiz, who probably is best known across the state for his track ability as a long jumper, was the backup to the backup at running back during his sophomore season, and pretty much remained there this fall while starting and excelling at what likely will be his position in college: defensive back.
But when Lakes started this season with losses to quality opponents Grayslake North and Highland Park, Mertens made the move to spark his team.
And in the first half against Antioch last Friday, Ruiz wasn’t just a spark, he was on fire.
He scored both of Lakes’ touchdowns and carried 20 times for 120 yards. His first TD was on an 11-yard run to complete an eight-play, 80-yard drive.
On Lakes’ next possession, Ruiz scored again, this time on a 35-yard run that gave the Eagles a 14-3 lead.
“Cameron is a great athlete. He had been begging us to take put him in the backfield, and since we hadn’t finished the last two games, we made the switch. He played a great game,” Mertens said.
Antioch (2-1) won it first two games by employing a smothering defense that didn’t just stop opponents but also produced points.
And though the Sequoits did slow Ruiz in the second half, Lakes had enough to hold off the NSC Prairie team that many considered the biggest threat to end the Eagles’ title reign.
“I thought it was a total team effort,” Ruiz said. “We came together after our last two losses and we played as a team in tonight’s win. I give my offensive line the credit. They did a great job.”
Even with Ruiz playing well, Lakes had to hang on at the end.
Antioch got within 14-9 on Griffin Hill’s 1-yard TD run with 2:52 left, a drive set up by a 49-yard run by Nick Dorosan (21 carries, 140 yards).
Antioch recovered the ensuing onside kick, then moved in seven plays to the Lakes 16. But on a fourth down, a pass from sophomore quarterback John Petty to Hill (25 carries, 91 yards) hit the ground at the Lakes 5.
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Petty, a sophomore starting his first game at the varsity level due to injuries to the team’s starting and backup QBs, was 1-for-5 passing for a team that rarely passes regardless of who’s under center.
“I thought he played great. He was definitely a bright spot,” Antioch coach Brian Glashagel said of Petty. “We kind of had to throw him to the wolves and he responded.”
Phillyp Bonato is a freelance writer for the News-Sun.