Scouts Football: Lake Forest's 2023 Schedule Analysis
The IHSA officially announces schedule; let's break down all nine regular season games
The Scouts are deep into summer practices, the 2023 season starting to take shape.
What does the number 38 mean? As of the date of publication of this article, July 18, we are 38 days until the week one game. Let’s go!!!
Earlier this month, the Illinois High School Association officially published the schedule for all games in Illinois. Lake Forest plays nine regular season games—two non-conference, seven North Suburban Conference—and opens the schedule on the road at Lakes.
Scouts Football Newsletter breaks down the nine regular season games.
Week 1 –– Aug. 25 at Lakes (Lake Villa)
A strong week one matchup for two programs coming off non-playoff seasons. Lakes plays its 19th season in 2023 (the high school opened its doors in 2005 and started in the North Suburban Conference Prairie Division) and from 2009-2019, qualified for the postseason every year. The Eagles have arguably one of the best offensive line prospects in Lake County in junior Andy Mlyniec (6-foot-4, 275 pounds). He’s a good building block around an offense returning four starters from 2022. One skill position player to watch is senior wideout Prodive Matumona 6-3, 185), a three-sport athlete and the most productive returning offensive player for Lakes. Seniors Drew Schmidt (defensive lineman, 6-2, 220) and Austin Gonzales (DL, 5-8, 175) are two returning defensive players. I like this as a week one game for the Scouts as it’s an opponent the Scouts can handle physically. Mistakes will happen opening night. Both teams will be breaking in a lot of new players. Lake Forest should be able to overcome expected errors against an undersized team such as Lakes.
Week 2 –– Sept. 1 vs Carmel Catholic (Mundelein)
This is the third year in a row the Scouts and Corsairs have faced off in a non-conference Week 2 game. Carmel has won both, including a 17-7 victory in 2022. The Corsairs are coming off a 7-4 season that included the program’s first postseason appearance since 2016. Former Bear Jason McKie enters his third season at Carmel with likely his most talented roster. Johnny Weber, a 6-5, 210-pound quarterback, returns for year number three as a starter. But the Corsairs are otherwise young; sophomore wide receiver Kai Owens (6-2, 165) and junior running back Donovan Dey (5-11, 195) both played in last year’s game and are rising up recruiting boards in their respective classes. The Carmel game will be entertaining for fans as both teams have deep junior classes and experienced senior starters. Week 2 games usually feature great match ups and this season is no different with Maine South playing at Warren and Glenbrook South at Lake Zurich along with Carmel-Lake Forest.
Week 3 –– Sept. 8 at Waukegan
Smart scheduling as the Scouts travel to Waukegan to open the North Suburban Conference slate of games. I say “smart” as Week 2 opponent Carmel will likely be a playoff team. Regardless of the game’s result, it will physical and intense. Waukegan, the worst program in the conference and suburban Chicago, provides an opportunity to get healthy and rest guys for portions of the game. The Bulldogs have yet to win a conference game since joining the NSC in 2016 and are 1-50 since 2017. They will likely be bad again with Lake Forest’s only competitive challenge deciding when to score enough points to kick in the running clock.
Week 4 –– Sept. 14 at Libertyville
Another benefit of playing Waukegan in Week 3––the Scouts face rival Libertyville on a Thursday night in Week 4. The Wildcats are the epitome of an average program, having finished 5-4 in four of the last six nine-game regular seasons and have not won a playoff game since 2015. Lake Forest/Libertyville is a true rivalry as no team has dominated the other; the Scouts are 4-3 vs. the Wildcats since 2016. Libertyville brings back quarterback Quinn Schambow (junior, 6-foot, 185), will feature a massive offensive lineman (junior Rhett VanBoening) and will be otherwise inexperienced at the skill positions. The fact the Scouts are on the road makes little difference. Road teams are 5-0 in this match up since 2018.
Week 5 –– Sept. 22 vs Zion
Although Lake Forest has beaten Zion consistently over the past decade (just one loss since 2010), games against the Zee-Bees have typically been close and competitive. Zion plays hard, has enough athletes and good coaches to keep games interesting; not a Waukegan-type scenario. It’s a good Week 5 match up for the Scouts after what likely will be a hard-fought Week 4 game vs Libertyville. If the Scouts come out of that game healthy and confident, they should emerge with a win. This concludes the favorable part of the 2023 schedule as things get much tougher the rest of September and October.
Week 6 –– Sept. 29 vs Stevenson
Predictions are kryptonite for coaches, content catnip for reporters. If Lake Forest sits on a 4-1 record after the first five games, a return to the postseason is all but assured. It’s not an unrealistic scenario based on the schedule. A 3-2 record is also realistic with match ups vs Carmel and Libertyville amongst the first five. Either way, the Scouts must have a winning record heading into this home match up vs Stevenson to have a realistic shot at the playoffs. After a two-season absence, the Patriots returned to the postseason in 2022 only to get bounced in the first round by Warren. Lake Forest won four in a row in this series before losing 14-0 to Stevenson last season.
Week 7 –– Oct. 6 at Lake Zurich
The Bears’ 2022 season mirrored the Scouts semifinal run of 2021––terrific quarterback play, an offense that featured big plays, and an opportunistic defense that played its best when it mattered most. Lake Zurich dethroned Warren as North Suburban Conference champs, beat defending Class 7A champs Wheaton North in the postseason and went on to win 11 games before losing to Batavia in the semis. Lake Zurich graduates many key pieces off last year’s team and a drop off is likely. Just like with Libertyville, it’s best to be the road team in this series—the home team has only won one time since 2017.
Week 8 –– Oct. 13 at Warren
In 2014, Bryan McNulty took over as Warren coach. McNulty has not lost to Lake Forest in his nine seasons although many of the games have been close. The one-sidedness of the contests eliminates any “rivalry” talk. Warren gets a schedule break as by the time they face the Scouts, it’ll be coming off back-to-back games against Mundelein and Waukegan. Blue Devils senior Aiden Porrecca is one of the better returning two-way payers in the conference (OL/DL, 6-2, 245) and Warren’s strength will likely be up front (Anthony Soto, 6'0, 225 and Jeremijah Hixsonm 6-1 205 are retuning contributors on the defensive line). Warren will have new starters at the quarterback, running back and wide receiver positions. Will this finally be the year the Scouts pin down the Blue Devils?
Week 9 –– Oct. 20 vs Mundelein
For the second year in a row, the Scouts conclude the regular season facing the Mustangs. Lake Forest would be happy with this season’s game going along as 2022’s outcome—a 39-13 blow out win. An ideal scenario here is with the Scouts already assured a postseason berth and playing this game free of that pressure cooker. But if sitting on a 4-4 record and looking at a match up with the Mustangs—a program that hasn’t qualified for the playoffs in 19 years—we can be confident in a Scouts victory.
PREDICTION: Worse case, 5-4, high end 6-3 record for the Scouts in 2023. The conference overall will not be as strong as in 2022 with fewer returning players. But top down, there is a lot of young talent in the NSC, setting things up for a wide open race in 2023. Lake Forest has the best senior athlete in the conference in linebacker Tommie Aberle, arguably the best backfield one-two punch in senior Graham Garrigan and junior Marty Hippel, and quarterback Danny Van Camp is a promising junior. Devoid a slew of injuries, it should be a bounce back year for the Scouts and a postseason appearance.