Beck's Status Still Up in the Air, Lake Forest Visits Lake Zurich With Conference Title on the Line

Standing in the front hallway inside West Campus, wearing a white T-shirt and jeans, Jordan Beck looked like he always does on Wednesday's after practice. With one exception.

His left arm is in a sling. 

The elbow he injured is still immobilized. Results from an MRI are expected by Friday, which will determine whether he will play against Lake Zurich.

"We are prepared for him not to play. If he can, we are good with that too," said Scouts coach Chuck Spagnoli. "He’s been at practice, he just hasn’t been running around so we’ve kept him out of any contact."

If Beck is cleared by doctors to play, he will be fitted with a brace designed to protect the sore elbow. It will also prevent the 5-foot-11, 175-pound quarterback from extending his arm too far, which could lead to further injury.

Two obvious questions jump out:

• Will he be able to extend enough to receive the snap from center?
• How effectively will he be able to clutch the ball with his left hand during passing attempts?

Those are two things to look for during warm-ups before Friday's game against Lake Zurich. 

While those questions remain unclear, one does not. What does Beck want to do?

"I'm preparing (to play). I didn't take a week off just because of this," said Beck. 

Said Spagnoli: "It's not as if he's a first-year guy who hasn't had reps. If the doctor says he's clean, we'll make that choice."

Andrew Clifford Ready if Needed

It was just after Beck had been knocked out of the game against Warren. His replacement, junior Andrew Clifford, was now the Scouts triggerman. With his teammates looking at him for leadership, the 6-foot-3 junior calmly called the next play.

Clifford promptly threw a tight spiral over two Warren defenders and into the hands of wide receiver Luke Bernardi, who received the ball just in front of the left pylon, a spectacular 21-yard touchdown pass which after the extra point, made it 21-0 Scouts. 

It was an awe-inspiring throw, one that wins over college scouts. It was also the type of .

"We feel good when (Clifford's) in there," said senior running back Owen Williams, whose 808 yards rushing and 13 touchdowns lead the Scouts. "He controlled the huddle."

More of a traditional pocket passer than Beck, Clifford's throws have more trajectory and a tighter spiral. The son of a youth coach, and whose grandfather was a high school coach, the baby-faced Clifford has high football I.Q., one reason the Scouts have played him early in games this season, not just in mop up duty. 

"He was a good player last year and as a freshman," said offensive coordinator Phil DeWald, who calls the offensive plays. "He's a big kid who throws the ball well. He's been a starter wherever he's been."

Which would include middle school, where Clifford was the quarterback in a Deerpath recreational league. One of his teammates was Williams.

"He's been my quarterback for a long time," said Williams.

Game Determines NSC Lake Champ

Although the Scouts finish the regular season against Libertyville on Oct. 21, Friday's clash at Lake Zurich is effectively for the North Suburban Conference Lake Division Championship. 

Lake Forest is unbeaten (4-0) while . A victory over Lake Zurich would guarantee at least a tie for the division title. If the Scouts were to beat the Bears and lose to Libertyville next week, the only team that could mathematically finish with the same record is Stevenson, which lost 10-7 to Lake Forest. 

While they understand the significance of the game, players are quick to default to the "focus on what we do" theme fed to them all season from their head coach. 

"We know it's a big game. We just need to do what we do," said Williams. 

What the Scouts haven't done is beat the Bears. This year's senior class has yet to beat Lake Zurich. The Bears advanced to the Class 7A championship game last season (losing to Wheaton South).

Field position will play an important role. Consider this -- on , the Scouts average starting field position was on their own 20 yard line. 

"We need to flip the field and not force ourselves to go on long drives," said senior wide receiver Cam Douglass, who has 15 catches for 194 yards and a touchdown this season.

The Lake Zurich offense this season no longer runs through all-area running back Jacob Brinlee, who graduated. Quarterback Zach Till has blossomed this season, giving the Bears (averaging just under 30 points per game) a run-pass dimension challenging to defend. 

"They have a downhill running game and they pass and throw," said Spagnoli. "They choose to run first. Till is a big part of that." 

After slaying two longstanding conference rivals back-to-back (Stevenson and Warren), this will be another benchmark game for the Scouts. Sure, they have the cushion of knowing they are in the playoffs, but a win over Lake Zurich would further legitimize their season in the eyes of outsiders. Don't tell that to Spagnoli, who continues to preach stay the course. 

"I don't spend time rah-rahing them. I haven't spent a minute this week talking about the streak (six wins in a row) or what this means," said Spagnoli. "For them it is a huge thing, but the game got bigger because of what happened last week. They created that. They should embrace it."