For the second year in a row Stevenson was playing in a highly anticipated game in week 9 and with a 7-7 tie going into to halftime the Patriots looked like they might be headed towards another overtime thriller, but the Bears had other plans as the second half began.
With both teams coming into the game at 7-1 and 4-1 in North Suburban (Lake) Division play, a win would not only mean a better seed in the playoffs, but a chance to share the conference title if Libertyville was upset by Warren.
Last year Stevenson beat Lake Zurich soundly in Lincolnshire, but this year Lake Zurich got their just revenge.
In a battle between two of the top defenses in the North Suburban area, Lake Zurich proved that they are a serious threat as they held Stevenson to a lone touchdown to win 35-7. It would be the 7th time this season that the Bears held a team to 7 or less points.
Stevenson's lone TD came on a a 1 yard dive by Dan Dowd. While Lake Zurich's Kyle Skarb found the endzone on a 2 yard run with 3:42 left in the half.
The second half was all Bears though. After scoring just two plays into the second half on QB Matt Blanchard's 61 yard run.
The Bears Rattled off two more touchdowns to end and start the fourth quarter as junior running back Adam Simpson zipped up the field for a 55 yard touchdown run at the end of the third quarter, before the Bears' defense forced Stevenson to go 3 and out and Jon Janus broke a 72 yard run just 14 seconds into the fourth.
The Bear's started clicking and before you know it Mike Dietrich snatched a pass from Stevenson quarterback Kevin Murtha and returned it the other way for 6 points. Two minutes later it was Dietrich, who has 7 picks in the last 6 games, snagged another pass, but without the six points this time.
"We watch film so I know what [the opposing defense] is going to do and then, I don't know, I just do it," said the junior cornerback. "We adjusted something with the linebackers at halftime so they weren't able to run and they were passing a lot more. And that's why I could get more interceptions."
The Lake Zurich Bears (8-1, 5-1) now wait for Saturday's football pairings to figure out who will be their first round match up.
