It was third-and-5 for Lake Forest with the ball at its own 25-yard line. Senior tailback Liam Pooler took the handoff and hit the hole up the middle, broke free of a few tackles and raced 29 yards before Riverside-Brookfield defenders finally brought him down.
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“After my first big run, I really felt I was going to have a big game,” Pooler said. “Our line was blocking these guys well.”
Pooler capped off the drive with a 12-yard sweep to the weak side to give the Scouts a two-score lead. They would score touchdowns on three of their next four possessions en route to a 40-7 win in the first round of the Class 6A playoffs. Pooler finished with two rushing scores, including a 43-yard run, and a touchdown reception.
And while the game plan wasn’t geared toward Pooler, it didn’t stop him from making a clear impact.
“Liam made the best of the opportunities he had,” head coach Chuck Spagnoli said. “He is a much more confident player than he was last year.”
But as confident as he looked running between tackles, it wasn’t an easy start to the season.
Pooler missed most of the team’s preseason weightlifting sessions due to various ailments. He had offseason surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff and labrum and another to fix his torn meniscus, which he suffered in the season-ending loss to Prairie Ridge last fall. On top of that, the former two-way player suffered a concussion playing defensive back early in the season, and afterward he focused solely on playing offense.
The missed time in the weight room didn’t keep him from gaining 10 pounds before the season.
He has excelled in his singular role.
“He loves the position. He always wants the ball in his hands,” senior quarterback Charlie Reinkemeyer said. “Every time I give him the ball, I expect a good thing to happen. He’s done such a great job of setting the tone running the ball, and for us to be successful it needs to continue.”
Overcoming the injuries also gave Pooler a new, mature perspective.
“I’ve developed a sense of urgency to do what needs to be done the way it needs to be done,” Poole said. “I’ve been able to hit on that this whole year and in the offseason.”
He also cited how painful the loss to Nazareth was two years ago in the 6A quarterfinals, when he saw some of the seniors with tears on their faces.
“I feel for the seniors in the past,” Pooler said. “I’ve worked hard but clearly not hard enough. I want to work as hard as I can so I don’t experience that feeling of loss again.”
Pooler said this team has the chance to make a deep run. The improved Scouts’ defense held opponents to seven points in each of the past three games. Lake Forest (7-3) will look to continue that streak against St. Viator (6-4) on Friday.
“There’s no bad teams left in the state,” Pooler said. “We really have to step up next week.”
Lee Bosch is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Twitter @Pioneer_Press