ARLINGTON HEIGHTS – The Roosevelt defense stepped up in key moments Saturday to help the Lakers finish the non-conference season unbeaten with a 31-10 victory over Wisconsin Stout at Morris Field.
Roosevelt's home opener featured a pair of high-octane offenses, but it was the defenses that stole the show early. The Lakers stopped the Blue Devils on fourth down on the game's opening drive then the teams traded punts until late in the first quarter. The first big play of the game for either side came from Khalil Nichols, who punched the ball free from the UW Stout ball carrier and John Sherrod fell on the fumble.
It took just one play for the Lakers (4-0)Â to make the Blue Devils pay for the turnover as Justin Bland connected on a 47-yard touchdown pass to DJ Simmons Jr. The score was the final play of the first quarter and helped change the momentum of the half for Roosevelt.
Bland took control of the offense again on the next drive and immediately found Dashaun Gage Jr. for 25 yards and Simmons for 35 yards to move inside the 10-yard line. The possession stalled there and Sean Sample made a routine 20-yarder, but those first three passes accounted for 107 of Bland's 248 yards on the day.
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The teams headed to the locker room with the Lakers in front 10-3, but Bland and the offense came out of the locker room and drove 70 yards in 11 plays to extend the lead. This time, it was Bland finding Joe Spaulding over the middle, and the receiver willed his way the final two yards into the end zone for the 12-yard touchdown.
After the Lakers forced another punt, the offense went 91 yards down the field on 11 plays, capping off the drive with a 1-yard Jamari Thomas touchdown plunge. Bland and Simmons again flipped the field on the possession with a 38-yard connection. Simmons finished with 143 yards on five catches to lead the Roosevelt receiving corps.
While the offense was speeding up, the Roosevelt defense was continuing to hunker down against UW Stout. The Blue Devils converted just five third-downs in 25 chances and were denied on four of their fourth-down opportunities as well. They completed less than half of their 80 pass attempts and averaged just 3.5 yards per play, including 2.4 yards per rush, in the game.
Angelo Arnold and Derek Whaley both had sacks for the Lakers while the team was credited with 10 quarterback hurries. Keron Pryor returned to action and broke up seven passes while Corey Webb had five and Nichols had three. Nichols also had an interception wiped away by a penalty
Carl Bew ended any hopes of a UW Stout comeback with 3:25 left when he escaped for a 54-yard touchdown run to seal the deal. The rush came three plays after Nichols broke up a fourth-down pass to force a turnover near midfield.
UP NEXT: Roosevelt enters its bye this coming week before returning to action Oct. 3 at Morris Field against Michigan Tech in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opener at 1 p.m.
