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Proviso West storms past Lyons
Pumpkins carved by the Lyons Township cheerleaders with senior football players numbers sit near the field during the home game against Proviso West on Friday, October 14, 2011.
| michael jarecki ~ for Sun-Times Media
Updated: October 15, 2011 12:32AM
Proviso West played like its backs were against the wall Friday night.
Quarterback Quincy Cole scored three touchdowns on runs of two, 42 and 18 yards and threw for two more touchdowns as the Panthers thumped Lyons Township 41-14 Friday night for a West Suburban Conference Silver Division victory in Western Springs.
Proviso West (4-4, 2-3) ended its three-game losing streak and kept its playoff hopes alive.
“We got all of our weapons back,” Cole said. “Our line played great and our receivers made great catches. We had a great week of practice.”
Cole rushed for 132 yards on 19 carries and completed 13-of-22 passes for 153 yards.
The Panthers took a 21-0 lead at halftime and stunned LT (4-4, 3-3) on the third play from scrimmage to open the game.
LT leading rusher Jaime Jones plunged into the line on first-and-10 at the 50, but the ball came loose and was scooped up by linebacker Ishmeal Akui, who returned the ball for a 45-yard touchdown return on the fumble.
“A great team should be able to handle that. We couldn’t handle it,” LT coach Kurt Weinberg said.
LT showed signs of a comeback early in the third quarter when Matthew Harris blocked a punt and Michael Thomas returned it 25 yards for a touchdown. But LT’s only other score came on Jaime Jones’ 3-yard TD run with 1:00 remaining in the third quarter.
“The frustrating thing was the lack of emotion a lot of times,” Weinberg said. “I don’t understand it. I thought we turned a corner the way we’ve played. We laid a giant emotional egg. Don’t take anything away from Proviso; we weren’t even here.”
Proviso scored twice in the second quarter when Cole ended a 16-play, 54-yard scoring drive with a 2-yard touchdown run. The drive stayed alive after LT was assessed a roughing-the-punter penalty near midfield. The Panthers needed only one play to score on their next possession. After LT’s next drive stalled at the Proviso 34 with back-to-back incompletions, Cole connected with Craig Lottie on a 66-yard TD pass. Lottie caught the pass across the middle and then weaved his way through the LT defense into the end zone.
LT’s drive, which ended at the Proviso West 34, was the farthest LT would reach into Proviso West territory in the first half. The Panthers led 153-82 in total yardage in the first half while Jones was limited to 45 yards on 11 carries before the half.
Starting quarterback Connor Onion threw an interception late in the second quarter and was replaced by backup Zachary Mahoney with 1:35 remaining.
The Panthers have a chance to wrap up a playoff berth while hosting Oak Park-River Forest Oct. 21. Proviso West had not won a conference game since beating Hinsdale Central 30-22 in Week 3.
Proviso West scored only 28 points during its three-game losing streak, but had three touchdowns by halftime against LT.
LT must beat Leyden (2-5) in Northlake Oct. 21 to be eligible for the playoffs. LT ended conference play after beating OPRF 16-14 and York 29-27 on last-second field goals by Jake Elliott in each game.
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