Box Score The Lake Forest College football team scored two touchdowns in the final 70 seconds to defeat visiting Monmouth College 35-28 on Saturday. Both teams entered the game undefeated in Midwest Confernce play with two games remaining so the winner would also clinch the league title.

All five of the Foresters' touchdowns came from graduate student A.J. Jackson, who also became the program's all-time scoring leader with 422 career points. Jackson ran for 159 yards and four touchdowns on 28 carries and was also the team's leading receiver with five catches for 77 yards and another score. He also covered 76 yards on three punt returns.

The teams went back-and-forth on the scoreboard. Monmouth went 85 yards to the end zone on its first drive of the day and the Foresters tied the score at seven on a 19-yard run by Jackson late int he first quarter.

A 47-yard catch and run by Jackson put the home team on top early in the second quarter and he forced his way into the end zone on 4th-and-goal from the one midway through the period to make the score 21-7. The Fighting Scots battled back with a pair of scores in the final two-and-a-half minutes of the quarter to make the score 21-21 at halftime.

Another touchdown from the visitors at 9:02 in the third quarter put them back on top and the score remained 28-21 until late in the fourth.

The Fighting Scots were forced to punt after an incompletion coming out of the two-minute timeout. It was caught by Jackson at his own 25 and he worked his way to the right side of the field and up the sideline for 60 yards. Two plays later he ran it in from eight yards out and freshman John Shannon's extra point tied the score at 28 with 1:10 remaining.

Monmouth faced fourth-and-one from its own 45 on the next drive and decided to go for it. Forester senior defensive lineman Donovan Plummer stopped the Fighting Scots' running back from gaining that yard and the Foresters took over with 38 seconds on the clock. Senior quarterback Joshua Gasca completed a 34-yard pass to senior wideout Tee Land on the next play and quickly spiked the ball to stop the clock with 28 seconds left. Jackson then scored on a 6-yard run to put the home team on top.

A strip-sack and recovery by Forester junior defensive end Preston Mosher on the final play of the game clinched the victory and the 2024 conference title.

Junior safety Thomas DeChesaro led the Lake Forest defense with 13 tackles, including one behind the line of scrimmage, and his 50-yard interception return set up Lake Forest's third touchdown.

Sophomore linebacker Jackson Sander was next on the team with 11 tackles while senior safety Trenton Brail added eight and sophomore linebacker Blake Ware seven. The Foresters added to their turnover total when grad student Jaylen Johnson recovered a fumble forced by Sander on the first drive of the second half.

Lake Forest improved to 9-0 overall and 8-0 in the MWC while Monmouth fell to 7-2 overall and 7-1 in the league.

The Foresters will close out the regular season at the University of Chicago next Saturday at 1:00 p.m.