Hayden the difference for Oak Lawn

Updated: August 27, 2011 2:12AM

Sean Hayden wasted little time making his presence felt in the third quarter Friday night during Oak Lawn’s season opener against Niles North.

After not seeing action the first two quarters, Hayden took the opening kickoff of the second-half and returned it 95 yards for a score to give the Spartans their first lead of the game.

The senior running back also churned out 100 yards on 14 carries and helped the Spartans secure a 21-17 victory in Oak Lawn.

“We were just trying to get back in the game, and get our team back in it,” explained Hayden. “Since we were down (10-7 at half), that motivated us real bad. We could not really run the ball, and then in the second-half, we just came out and did what we do.”

In addition to energizing the offense, Hayden also ended any hopes of a Niles North comeback by intercepting a Billy Voitik pass attempt near midfield and running out the clock on the game’s final play.

Oak Lawn (1-0) managed just a 36-yard field goal by Fabian Martinez on the offensive side of the ball, but benefitted from two special teams mishaps by the Vikings.

Poor snaps on two punt attempts by Niles North resulted in safeties, and the Spartans also scored a defensive touchdown on a 58-yard interception return by Alec Barnhart.

Following a 37-yard field goal by Joseph Lopez at the end of the first quarter, Niles North built a 10-0 lead when Voitik tossed an 18-yard scoring strike to Edi Zamfir with just under seven minutes gone in the second period.

The Vikings (0-1) also took a 17-16 lead in the third quarter when Oshayne Brown broke loose on a 80-yard scoring run. He finished with 125 yards on 15 carries.

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