A disappointing season ended in frustrating fashion for the Lyons Township football team over the weekend.
After Friday night’s game against Downers Grove North was pushed back a day due to lightning, the Lions were struck by the Trojans’ potent offense on Saturday and fell 23-10 at Bennett Field.
Reflective of their struggles the entire season though, the Lions (3-6, 2-4 West Suburban Silver Conference), simply gave up too many big plays against Downers North.
Lyons quarterback Ryan Mitchell scored on a 25-yard touchdown run in the second quarter to briefly give the Lions a 7-6 advantage. The Trojans (5-4, 4-2), needing a win to qualify for the playoffs, regained the lead at 16-7. Kicker Ethan Guenther booted an 18-yard field goal for LT to close the gap to 16-10.
In the fourth quarter, Downers North running back Jermal Jones broke free for a 60-yard touchdown run on a critical fourth down in Trojans territory to seal the victory.
“This game really encapsulated our whole season,” said LT head coach Jack Derning. “We have given up big plays all season, which really has hurt our chances to win some close games. You take away a handful of big plays against us, and we could have five or six wins.”
Derning praised the competitive attitude and work ethic of the Lions’ 2008 class, which included leaders like Pat Thomas, Matt Lakis, Deonte Brown, Tim Stuart, David Bellisario, Matt Polega, Jake Konovsky, and Rafal Redlinski.
“Coming into the season, we really had no returning experience other than Pat [Thomas] and Matt [Lakis],” Derning said. “We had a really good group of kids who grew as the season went along. We shot ourselves in the foot too many times, but no one could ever say we didn’t play hard.”
The Lions also showed resiliency during an often erratic campaign. After a 0-3 start, LT rattled off three wins in four games only to drop their last two conference contests.
Despite failing to repeat as conference champions, LT’s expectations will be high next year.
“The future looks bright,” Derning said. “It all starts for the returning players during the off-season, and how hard they hit the weight room.”
Several key players like Mitchell, running back Nick Brown, cornerback Mike Phillipp, offensive linemen Wes Ott and Tim Brockman return, plus promising reinforcements from a sophomore club that went 9-0 this season.
Mitchell, in particular, is already looking forward to next year.
“We have some meetings already planned for this week with our juniors and sophomores [about next season],” he said. “Even though we didn’t make the playoffs, our seniors were great this year. They gave me a lot of support and always had my back.”