Lyons T. 7
Oak Park 6
With their season ostensibly hanging in the balance, the Lyons Township football players must have felt some nervousness when Oak Park kicker Marty Finnegan lined up for a game-winning 33-yard field goal attempt with 39 seconds left in the game.
Fortunately for the Lions (1-3, 1-1 West Suburban Silver) and their resuscitated playoff aspirations, Finnegan perhaps had the yips himself, kicking the ball well short and wide, preserving the Lions’ 7-6 win on Saturday at Oak Park Stadium.
At the 4:15 mark of the fourth quarter, the ball literally bounced the Huskies’ way after an afternoon of stalled drives for both teams. With LT moving down the field for an insurance touchdown, the Lions’ Nick Brown fumbled the ball at Oak Park’s 1-yard line, which proceeded to roll through the end zone out of bounds.
Regaining possession at their 20, the Huskies orchestrated a 15-play, 64-yard drive to set up Finnegan’s field goal attempt. With less than a minute left and the ball on the LT 9, the Lions’ Matt Polega sacked quarterback Elliott Davidson for a critical seven-yard loss. Lyons kept applying pressure the next play when Davidson threw an incomplete pass on third down.
Rafal Redlinski (2 sacks) and Pat Thomas (sack) led the Lions’ defense which held Oak Park in check.
“Pat is a great player who draws so much attention,” Redlinski said. “He really opens things up for me.”
Matt Lakis, Jake Konovsky, Brennan Cunningham, Tim Stuart and Spencer Ellison also contributed defensively for LT.
For the game, the Lions and Huskies battled to a virtual standstill statistically. The Lions collected 15 first downs compared to Oak Park’s 14. Lyons also held a slight time of possession edge (24:40 to 23:20), but the Huskies averaged more yards per play (6.5 to 5.4). Both teams had 287 yards of total offense.
Oak Park (1-3, 0-2) opened the game in dazzling fashion with a six-play, 79-yard scoring drive, highlighted by passes from Davidson (16-for-25, 240 yards passing) to Darnell Lee (51 yards) and Finnegan (18 yards). James Cole (7 carries, 51 yards) capped off the series with a 3-yard touchdown run to give the Huskies a 6-0 lead at 10:08 of the first quarter.
On Oak Park’s next series, a fumble by Cole allowed LT to set up camp at the Huskies’ 35. Two plays later, LT quarterback Ryan Mitchell (15 carries, 97 yards) scampered 22 yards off left tackle into the end zone. Kicker Ryan Guenther added the extra point to put the Lions up for good at 7-6.
The Lions host York on Friday at 7:30 p.m.