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Playoff hopes high after Lyons tops Leyden
Updated: October 22, 2011 12:39AM
Matthew Harris’ one-man-wrecking-crew performance Friday night for Lyons Township against Leyden sparked the Lions to a 30-14 win on the road and secured a fifth victory of the season, which likely will put LT into the state playoffs when pairings are announced Saturday night.
The Lions (5-4, 3-3) entered Friday’s game needing a victory to have a chance at earning a playoff berth. And they look to be a near-lock to advance to postseason play as a 5-4 at-large team. The Lions had 45 playoff points prior to Friday’s game. Last year the cutoff was 39. The points are based on opponents’ victories during the season.
Harris caught touchdown passes of 79 and 35 yards from Zachary Mahoney and Connor Onion, respectively, in the final 1 minute, 16 seconds of the first half to give LT a 14-7 lead at intermission. He then returned the second-half kickoff 81 yards to the Leyden 9-yard line and caught a 9-yard TD pass from Mahoney two plays later to put the Lions ahead, 20-7
Ironically, it was a fumble by Harris on LT’s first offensive possession of the game that gave Leyden (3-6, 3-3) the ball at its own 27-yard line. Two plays later, Mickey Gulo ran 73 yards to the Lions’ 2-yard line, and Eagles’ quarterback Joey Difronzo followed with a 2-yard touchdown run with 6:11 second remaining in the first quarter for a 7-0 Leyden lead
“I really wanted to make up for that fumble,” Harris said. “I knew I had to try to get our team going. I was able to get behind their defenders and got a couple of great passes
“We may have come out a little flat, but everyone was really psyched up at halftime.” LT coach Kurt Weinberg said the two big TD catches by Harris at the end of the first half provided a huge lift for the Lions
“He’s a special football player, and scoring those two touchdowns right near the end of the first half really seemed to get our guys going after that on both defense and offense,” Weinberg said. “We made some mistakes early, and (Leyden) came out with a good plan, but we did play much better in the second half.” The Lions extended their lead to 27-7 on a 20-yard run up the middle by Mahoney with 1:44 left in the third quarter
A 36-yard field goal by Jake Elliot extended the LT advantage to 30-7 with 7:20 remaining in the game. Leyden drove 76 yards in 14 plays and scored on a 1-yard run by Difronzo with :44 to play to account for the final score
“Those two big plays at the end of the first half were the difference,” Leyden coach Tom Cerasani said. “We were able to move the ball against them in the first half and did a good job, defensively, until we gave up the two big passes.”
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