Lake Forest, led by quarterback Danny Van Camp, drives 99 yards in 95 seconds to beat Libertyville

Libertyville’s football stadium is snug, especially in the end zones. So when Lake Forest quarterback Danny Van Camp started the game-winning drive at the Scouts’ 1 with 1:41 left in the fourth quarter, several hundred Libertyville fans were screaming and doing everything possible to disrupt the snap.

“We knew the defense was going to come after us,” Van Camp said. “It was loud and whoever was behind us, the students section or the band, was right in our ears.”

The score was tied, and at that point, Van Camp was hoping for overtime or, at best, a field goal.

“There are two things going through your mind,” Scouts coach Chuck Spagnoli said. “One is let us get out of here, punt it, and go to overtime. The other is to take one shot at it. We did that and got 48 yards on the play. That changed everybody’s mindset.”

It was a 48-yard pass from Van Camp to Charlie Markee. Then Van Camp connected with Jack Burger on 37-yard and 16-yard passes.

Eventually, Lake Forest was at Libertyville’s 1. Van Camp punched it in with six seconds left on the clock to give the Scouts a 23-17 victory in the second round of the Class 6A playoffs on Saturday.

Van Camp was hoarse but happy after the game and immediately knew where it ranked in his mind.

“This has to be number one,” Van Camp said. “It had everything a good game needs, November, playoff football. I don’t even know how we did that. It was incredible.”

Van Camp was 16 for 26 for 235 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. Senior Marty Hippel has 26 carries for 115 yards for Lake Forest (9-2).

“[Hippel] has been like that all year,” Spagnoli said. “He’s not the biggest guy in the world but his heart is gigantic and he has enough ability to make things happen.”

Markee also made things happen on defense. He had two interceptions, including one that he returned 25 yards for a touchdown to tie the score at 7 in the first quarter.

“I knew [Blaise LaVista] was [Libertyville’s] best receiver and that they would get impatient when they were down,” Markee said of his second-quarter interception. “The ball kind of went my way and I made a play.”

Wildcats quarterback Quinn Schambow was 20 for 32 for 262 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. He found LaVista in the end zone after a long scramble to tie the game at 17 with 9:00 left.

“[Schambow] is a hard kid to defend because even if you put pressure on him you have to knock him down and he doesn’t go down,” Spagnoli said. “That’s difficult. He’s a really, really talented kid as everybody knows.

LaVista had seven catches for 152 yards. Brock Williams caught seven passes for 87 yards for Libertyville (9-2). But the Wildcats managed just 57 yards of rushing, 49 from Schambow on 15 carries.

Finn Goodman, Timotei Dan and Nate Borland had sacks for the Scouts, who beat Libertyville 42-35 on Oct. 18 in Lake Forest.

Lake Forest will face the Burlington Central vs. Geneva winner in the quarterfinals next weekend.