Lake Forest Still Controls Football Destiny, Beck's Elbow Getting Healthier by the Day

It might be the most famous left elbow in at this moment.

It belongs to the red-haired quarterback of the Scouts, 18-year-old Jordan Beck.

Injured on an on Oct. 7, Beck was forced to miss . 

Although he has yet to be officially cleared by doctors, don't be surprised if he's padded up and starting Friday at Libertyville.

"I got rid of the (sling) over the weekend," said Beck, standing in front of the coaches' offices at Lake Forest's West Campus Wednesday night. 

The hardest thing about the injury for the ultra-competitive Beck -- who has so much nervous energy he makes the Angry Birds look lethargic -- is not the loss of dexterity in performing simple domestic tasks like brushing his teeth or tying his shoes. No, it's not playing. Watching him pace the sidelines in the Lake Zurich game was tough for everyone to watch, agonizing for him.

"It was horrible just watching," said Beck. "I just had to do what I could."

In preparing for Friday's showdown with Libertyville, what he's been doing is taking reps in practice with a brace. If he plays, he will wear it during the game to prevent complete extention of the elbow, which could lead to further injury.

A final decision on Beck's status will be made just before gametime Friday. If he is cleared, don't expect the brace to limit the fiery leader, who hopes to lead his team to a North Suburban Lake Division championship.

"It's everything," said Beck. "Growing up, it was the only game that mattered. You just want to beat them."

Libertyville Poses threat, Coach Retiring

Any game against Libertyville is a circle-on-the-schedule contest for Lake Forest. But this year's match up has a bit more juice on both sides.

The Scouts (6-2, 4-1) are vying for a league title (a win guarantees a tie with Lake Zurich and/or Stevenson) while the Wildcats (5-3, 3-2) are playing their last regular season home game under long time coach Randy Kuceyeski, who is retiring after this season.

Kuceyeski, who spent 18 years as head coach and 15 as an assistant at Libertyville, has witnessed quite a few Scouts-Wildcats games over the decades.

"In the 1980's it was the best rivalry in Lake County," said Kuceyeski, who won a state championship in 2004. "I've seen the wishbone in the late 70's and early 80's to the spread. One extreme to the other."

After a lull in late '90's and early part of the century, he said the arrival of Chuck Spagnoli in 2003 "brought back the competitiveness (of the games). It's been a challenge every time we've gone against them."

and said he's been planning his retirement "for four years."

Spagnoli said he has always respected how Libertyville plays under Kuceyeski.

"They know what they are doing over there," said Spagnoli. "When we play them, we’ve never had a game with them where the game ended where we said 'Geez, why did they do that.' 

This year's version of the Wildcats features a young offensive line -- four juniors and a sophomore -- and a big, maturing quarterback in 6-foot-5, 205-pound junior Jack Deichl. In last Friday's win over Warren, Deichl completed 15 passes to seven different receivers.

If the Scouts can force turnovers as they did at Lake Zurich -- they are plus nine in turnover differential on the season - -they should quiet the crowd and rattle the less-experienced Wildcats.

"Defensively we want to be able to dictate to them what we want to have happen. Don't guess, don't wonder," said Spagnoli. "Our pass rush will be an important part."

Wagener and Cirame take on new roles

Lake Forest has avoided the rash of injuries that impacts many teams this time of the year. When senior wideout Bo Dever went down early in the Stevenson game Sept. 30, it forced coaches to resuffle the deck.

Senior Matt Wagener, who also plays linebacker, is seeing more snaps at tight end. Sophomore Stephen "Hub" Cirame, who was playing defense to start the season, flipped to offense. 

The 6-foot-4, 200-pound Wagener is tied for second on the team with three sacks. On offense, he has caught just two passes for 50 yards as his role is more of a blocker than receiver. That's just fine with him.

"I like hitting more than getting hit," said Wagener. "When I'm on offense, I try and hit the other guys but it's not the same."

Cirame has been an asset to the offense, catching a team-leading three balls for 45 yards in the loss to Lake Zurich. 

"I'm in on certain packages as an open field runner," said Cirame, who went to . "It's great to be around the guys. They've accepted me."

Dever Surgery Successful

Scouts senior wide receiver and  had successful surgery on his right knee earlier this week. He is expected to make a full recovery. 

Don't be surprised if you see him on the sidelines Friday, although he won't be suiting up.

Kicker Sam Moran, who has missed the entire season with a knee injury suffered in the spring, has been cleared by doctors. If he suits up, he will provide depth to the Scouts special teams unit.