Lake Forest High School football finished its 2026 season 2-7, the program's worst record since 2005 and only the third two-win season in 92 years of Scouts football.

The season ended with a 28-24 win over Mundelein, but the Scouts missed the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) playoffs for the second straight year. The IHSA expanded its football playoff field to 384 teams in 2026, 48 per class. Lake Forest, slotted in Class 5A, was one of just seven teams in its class that failed to qualify, The Athletic Scout first reported in a post-season analysis. Eight of the Scouts' nine opponents made the postseason.

The numbers are stark.

The 2-7 mark follows a 4-5 finish in 2025. Head coach Spagnoli, in his 24th season, has now missed the playoffs three times in the last five years after making 11 consecutive postseason appearances.

Offense at the center

The Athletic Scout's Jon Kerr pointed to scoring as the program's core problem. Over five seasons, the Scouts have averaged 21 points per game and hold a losing record of 24-26 in 50 games. In three non-playoff seasons during that stretch (2022, 2025 and 2026), they averaged 17 points per game. Against North Suburban Conference (NSC) rivals Libertyville, Stevenson, Warren and Lake Zurich, the Scouts averaged under 13 points across 20 games and scored single digits in 12 of them.

Kerr argued the quarterback position has been the biggest factor. In 2023 and 2024, starter Danny Van Camp helped the Scouts win 15 games, including three playoff victories. In 2025 and 2026, the program rotated four quarterbacks without settling on one. Senior Rafi Karam started five games in 2026 before junior Colin McMahon provided a spark in the second half of a Week 5 loss to Warren, throwing two touchdown passes to Jack Burger.

After that Warren game in September, Spagnoli told The Athletic Scout, "… Our guys have to play better for us to have success, and I have to coach better for us to have success. It's that simple."

What Kerr says must change

Kerr's analysis prescribed several fixes. He urged the coaching staff to identify a starting quarterback immediately rather than waiting until August camp. He cited the 2019 season, when a mid-season switch to Richie Hoskins at quarterback sparked a run to the Class 6A quarterfinals.

Kerr also called for Spagnoli to hand off defensive play-calling duties to an assistant such as Ryan Carney or Joe Busse. Spagnoli holds three roles: head coach, defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach. Kerr noted that in 2009, Spagnoli made a similar shift, moving from offensive coordinator to the defensive side, launching an 11-year playoff streak.

A third recommendation: hire a young, offensive-minded assistant to coach quarterbacks and help redesign the scheme. Current offensive coordinator Dylan Johnson also coaches quarterbacks. Kerr wrote that the staff, largely intact since the early-to-mid 2010s, needs fresh ideas.

The Athletic Scout plans a follow-up installment focused on program culture. The IHSA playoff brackets, released Saturday, Oct. 17, show NSC rivals Libertyville (7-2) and Lake Zurich (6-3) among the Class 6A qualifiers.