Leyden continues revival, beats Proviso East

Updated: October 15, 2011 7:18PM

While sloppy tackling by the Leyden defense was a key factor in Proviso East staying in Saturday’s West Suburban Gold football game, it was two interceptions in the final four minutes of the game by that same defense that enabled the Eagles to hold on for a 35-28 win on the road.

The victory was the third consecutive for Leyden (3-5, 3-3), which started the 2011 campaign with five straight losses. The win also enabled the Eagles to finish .500 in the conference. They wrap up the season Friday by hosting Lyons.

“A win’s a win, and it is three in a row,” Leyden coach Tom Cerasani said. “Our tackling wasn’t good at all. We were diving at guys, instead of tackling. Our offense also didn’t put the game away when we had the chance.

“Still, though, it’s really good to get a win. It’s tough to lose your first five games, but this team hasn’t given up, and it’s gotten better. We’ve started a lot of juniors this year, but they’ve continued to improve, and now they have experienced some winning.”

Leyden’s offense clicked perfectly on its initial possession of the game. Quarterback Joey Difronzo (14-of-23, 239 yards passing) completed consecutive passes to Danny Schoedel, Keenan Davis and Krystian Chudoba to set up his own three-yard touchdown run with 10 minutes 44 seconds remaining in the first quarter.

Later in the opening quarter, a bad punt gave Proviso East the ball at the Leyden 34-yard line. Pirates quarterback Malcolm Hillard ran to the one and then into the end zone on the next play.

The Pirates took a 14-7 lead on a pair of long runs early in the second quarter. Langdon Johnson (eight carries, 102 yards) took advantage of two missed tackles by Leyden defenders to gain 42 yards to the Eagles’ 30-yard line. Ryan Jones (14 carries, 85 yards) ran up the middle on the next play for a 30-yard TD with 9:54 left in the opening half.

An interception and 13-yard return by Leyden’s Davis gave the Eagles the ball at the Pirates’ 13, and halfback Mickey Gulo (29 carries, 89 yards) scored from there on his team’s ensuing play from scrimmage to tie the game at 14-14 with 7:34 remaining.

The Eagles managed to take a 21-14 halftime lead by driving 56 yards in the final 2:23 of the second quarter, scoring on a 20-yard TD pass from Difronzo to Michael Lurigio with 55.9 seconds left.

Proviso East wasted no time in tying up the game after intermission. Johnson returned the second-half kickoff 84 yards to the Eagles’ 12-yard line, and Jones ran up the middle into the end zone on the next play.

Leyden also responded quickly, scoring on an 18-yard TD pass from Difronzo to Javier Rhoades on its next offensive possession for a 28-21 lead with 8:56 left in the third quarter.

A few missed tackles along with an impressive spin move allowed Hillard to break loose for a 55-yard TD run on the final play of the third quarter, tying the score at 28-28.

Leyden then drove 86 yards on 14 plays, scoring what proved to be the winning touchdown on a one-yard run by Difronzo with 4:44 left in the game. A 23-yard pass completion from Difronzo to Lurigio to the 1-yard line on a third-down situation was the key play in the drive.

Adam Morrison came up with an interception for Leyden on Proviso East’s next possession, and Mike Smith also picked off a Pirates’ pass with 1:14 left in the game to clinch the win for the Eagles.

“Our tackling wasn’t very good, but it was good to come up with the interceptions,” Smith said.

“It feels good to win three in a row,” Morrison added. “We didn’t tacklewell, but we stayed with it and came up with the two interceptions.”

© 2012 Sun-Times Media, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be copied or distributed without permission. For more information about reprints and permissions, visit www.suntimesreprints.com. To order a reprint of this article, click here.