With every game in their first season of existence, Lyons Township High School girls flag football players are gaining more than experience.
“Just having a good attitude really makes the team perform better. I feel like the more games we played, the more aggressive we got. We became more hyped,” said junior defensive starter Maren Cavanaugh.
“I never used to scream when we got a touchdown, but now I’m so happy about it.”
Cavanaugh and the sidelines had reason to be raucous Saturday. The Lions added significantly to their debut season by winning the LT Regional with a 28-14 victory over Solorio Academy in Western Springs.
These are the first IHSA-sanctioned state playoffs. While other schools have been club programs the past couple of years, the Lions are 13-2 and riding a nine-game winning streak after starting from scratch with a summer camp to promote interest.
“It’s a very big accomplishment since it’s our first year,” junior receiver Carly Granger said. “It means a lot to everyone. [At the start], I didn’t think we’d get this far, but we came to be better. We’ve worked hard. We’re really proud of ourselves.”
Seeded No. 7 in the Whitney Young Sectional, the Lions scored touchdowns on their first two possessions en route to a 20-0 lead and their first possession of the second half to lead 28-6.
No. 5 Solorio (11-6) had scored at least 28 points in seven victories. The LTHS defense stopped the first three drives, including interceptions by sophomores Christina Lid and Leah Monahan.
“That was one of our team goals, to have a strong, focused start. I give our defense credit for stopping their QB runs and our offense credit for inching their way to first downs,” said LTHS coach Meghan Hutchens.
“I was really grateful that we decided to host [regionals]. Starting from our summer camp, we’ve been saying we’re going to make history. It’s fun to leave your stamp on the first year it’s an IHSA sport.”
Junior quarterback Char Ebeid was 15-for-24 passing for 214 yards and four touchdowns.
Granger had four catches for 35 yards with wide-open TD receptions of 9 and 8 yards in the first half. Other receivers were juniors Anna Bigenwald (4 catches, 70 yards) and Fiona Sullivan (3 catches, 68 yards, TD) and freshman Taylor Hoffenberg (4 catches, 41 yards, TD), who also rushed for 24 yards.
Sullivan caught both two-point conversions and had the final score with a leaping catch at the 25 and run down the left sideline for a 46-yard TD play.
Hoffenberg caught a 4-yard TD pass for a 14-0 lead.
“That was a really great start to our game. They were pretty good throws, too,” Granger said. “That corner route’s worked a lot. They were more narrow [defensively] so our out routes and corners worked perfectly.”
Cavanaugh added a second-half interception. Flag-pull leaders were Cavanaugh (three) and Monahan and Lid (two each). Bigenwald broke up three passes.
The eight-team state finals are Friday and Saturday at Willowbrook. The Lions played No. 2 Young in Tuesday’s sectional semifinals with the winner most likely meeting No. 1 King for the sectional title and state berth at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Rockne Stadium in Chicago.