ARLINGTON HEIGHTS – Roosevelt persevered through a fourth-quarter roller coaster to outlast Quincy 23-21 on Saturday afternoon at Morris Field in Billy McKeon's debut as Lakers head coach.

The first three quarters were all a defensive struggle, but none moreso than the third quarter. Neither team was able to create any momentum and Roosevelt entered the fourth quarter up 13-7. However, the teams combined for three takeaways and 24 points in a wild final 15 minutes that also featured three missed field goals. The final of the three was Quincy's 35-yard attempt with 1:13 left that fluttered wide left.



The Lakers (1-0) didn't make it easy on themselves with turnovers on their first two plays of the fourth quarter. A fumbled allowed Quincy to score a quick touchdown to take the lead, then an interception set up the Hawks in great field position. However, Roosevelt's defense stood tall and forced 46-yard field goal attempted that wobbled and fell short and left of the uprights.

Three plays later, Roosevelt reclaimed the lead on Cam Davis' 57-yard explosion up the middle, juking out the final defender to reach the end zone basically unscathed. The Lakers found themselves in great field position moments later when Keron Pryor jarred the ball free on an open-field hit and Luke Desherow fell on the ball before it went out of bounds.

Senior quarterback Zach Zella quickly moved the ball down the field by recovering from a poorly-executed double pass to hit CJ Hood for an acrobatic 28-yard catch. The drive stalled at the Quincy 11 and Roosevelt had its only special teams miscue of the day as the Hawks blocked the kick and took it back for a touchdown.

Norbert Espadron gave Roosevelt a lift with a long return and the Lakers then methodically worked their way down the field. Mauricio Escudero knocked in his third field goal of the day to make it 23-21 with 4:17 left and the Lakers defense held from there. Roosevelt forced a punt on Quincy's first potential winning drive then buckled down and forced the 35-yard field goal attempt that sailed wide.

Zella threw for a respectable 221 yards in his first career while completing more than 68 percent of his passes, but showed great poise to keep the chains moving for Roosevelt. The California native averaged nearly 10 yards per completion and 6.6 yards per attempt, both of which easily surpassed his counterpart on the other side.

He undoubtedly had some help from his receivers as in addition to Hood, Jack Young Jr. and Norion Espadron hauled in phenomenal catches in traffic. Espadron's catch came on a third down on the opening drive, squeezing between two defenders to snag the pass to keep the drive moving and set up Escudero's first field goal, a 40-yarder. Escudero also added a 46-yarder to set his career high before Young ended the first half with a bang. The senior stole the pass from the defensive back on the final play of the half for a 3-yard touchdown that gave Roosevelt a 13-7 lead at halftime.

Norbert Espadron led the Lakers with five catches for 68 yards edging out his brother Norion, who caught six passes for 63 yards. Young also had six receptions but gained just 37 yards and the score. Davis finished with 126 yards on 22 carries on the ground as the main running back for Roosevelt.

On the defensive side, Payton Orth paced Roosevelt with eight tackles, including 1.5 for loss. Khalil Nichols made an instant impact at cornerback with four pass breakups and Carlos Conley had several key open-field tackles among his five stops on the day.

UP NEXT: Roosevelt stays at home next week for its first ever matchup against Southwest Baptist with kickoff scheduled for 1 p.m. at Morris Field.