Senior two-way Patrick Cheney and his Lyons Township High School football teammates faced plenty of adversity just opening the football season against perennial power Joliet Catholic Academy. Leaving with a 24-14 road victory at Memorial Stadium in front of a playoff-like estimated crowd of 5,000 only added to one of the Lions’ most satisfying recent victories.
“This is totally up there. I’d say beating York on their home field last year is my No. 1 but this is up there for sure.” said Cheney, a third-year starter. “They had a big crowd. It was their Senior Night. All of the alumni was there. Their home opener. We took control of the ball in the fourth quarter. We brought it to them on Week 1. We were ready to play, ready to hit. We beat them up front, d-line and o-line both. We hit them at all angles.”
LTHS, a Class 8A quarterfinalist who went 11-1 in 2024, entered the game ranked No. 9 pre-season in the Associated Press. The Hilltoppers were ranked No. 7 moving up to 6A after losing to Nazareth Academy in last year’s 5A state championship game.
After their lead was cut to 21-14, the Lions could have wavered late in the third quarter when their next drive began from their 1-yard line. Senior quarterback Jack Slightom – one of many new starters – instead engineered a 19 play, 77–yard drive that consumed 11:56. Sophomore Wolfe Ketterling’s line-drive 20-yard field goal with 3:09 left basically put the game away.
After JCA turned the ball over on downs at the LTHS 46, the Lions ran out the clock.
“Our main goal was coming away with points because any points would make it a two-score game,” Slightom said. “Honestly, I didn’t really know [the drive] was that long until I walked off and there was so much time off the clock. I think we were all in the moment, in the flow state, just moving.”
Senior two-way starting lineman Roman Sosnovyy’s sack and caused fumble recovered by senior Lou Ratcliffe was the biggest play by a defense that allowed just 42 rushing yards with six tackles for loss.
Slightom was 15-for-20 passing for 195 yards with touchdown passes to juniors Owen Matela (4 yards) and EJ Kuhlman (7 yards).
“When you play a team like Joliet Catholic, a premiere exceptional program, for our kids to go there, play confident, play hard, not turn the ball over. We’re happy about that,” LTHS coach Jon Beutjer said.
“Were there mistakes? Absolutely. But the effort was there, the energy, the discipline, the execution. It’s really good to get that Week 1 win on the road against a really, really good program.”
With JCA at the LTHS 41 in the final minute of the first half, Sosnovyy’s sack on third-and-15 caused a fumble at the JCA 44 that Ratcliffe recovered at the 19 and returned to the 12. Two plays later, Slightom found Kuhlman 4 seconds before halftime for a 21-7 lead.
“I feel like that play really turned the game over,” Sosnovyy said. “I saw the quarterback scramble out. I got lucky, I would say, and made the tackle, the sack. And then Lou was right behind me to make the fumble recovery, which was also huge, so props to him.”
JCA closed to 21-14 to open the third quarter, including a 38-yard carry for most of their rushing yardage. After the Lions stopped the Hilltoppers’ next possession, came their game-changing drive from the 1. Kuhlman began with gains of 3 and 5 yards to create some breathing room and running back Frank Suero’s 26-yard run got the ball to the LTHS 45.
On fourth-and-5 at the JCA 37, Slightom found Cheney for a 10-yard gain. On third-and-4 at the 21, Kuhlman broke a tackle at the 25 and gained 15 yards to extend the drive at least another three minutes and provide closer range for Ketterling, who missed a 48–yarder on the Lions’ opening drive.
“We felt like that was the game there, especially fourth down where we converted,” Beutjer said. “We wanted to score, but we also wanted to eat clock.”
Suero and Kuhlman rushed for 58 and 50 yards and Matela caught five passes for 68 yards. Ratcliffe scored the Lions’ first TD on a 3-yard run 10:19 before halftime.
Nathan Fitzgerald and Cole Harris each had six tackles and Anthony Pearson and Ratcliffe four apiece. Fitzgerald and Sosnovyy contributed to two tackles for loss.
“For a team that likes to run the ball, I think we did an outstanding job. All the credit to our d-line, linebackers,” Sosnovyy said. “The stands were packed. Our crowd was big. It was a great game. The [LTHS] student section brought the energy for sure.”