South Loses OT Heartbreaker

Perhaps coach Mike Noll summed up his team's wild 34-31 IHSA Class 8A second round overtime loss to Lyons Township High School best.

"Our kids knew coming in that we had to play 48 minutes," Noll said. "Lyons is a team that had a bunch of late comeback wins this season. We had the chance to finish them off and we didn't."

The scenario: South led 28-14 with just over three minutes remaining in the third quarter, thanks to a blocked punt by Michael Demos inside the Lions' 20-yard line. The ball was then scooped up by defensive back Sully Stadler, who raced 15 yards into the end zone to give the Titans a two touchdown lead.

Less than two minutes earlier, with Lyons driving in Titan territory, Stadler also intercepted quarterback Zachary Mahoney, then returned the pick 58 yards to the Lions' 6-yard line.

On the very next play, South running back Kevin Schroeder (27 carries, 110 yards) found the end zone on a 6-yard run up the middle, which gave the Titans a 21-14 edge.

Quick momentum swing

With the Titans ahead by two touchdowns, and their defense suddenly dominating late in the third quarter following Stadler's two huge defensive plays, things quickly took a 180-degree turn.

Lyons needed less than two minutes to cut South's lead in half on its ensuing possession. A five play 64-yard drive - capped by a 21-yard touchdown run by Lions' running back Jaime Jones - made it 28-21 South with 1:23 left in the third quarter.

Jones (23 carries, 155 yards, 4 TDs) would strike again later multiple times when it mattered most, but not before a bit of misfortune cost the Titans the game - and a trip to the Class 8A quarterfinals.

Leading, 28-21 with 2:55 remaining in the fourth quarter, South faced a fourth-and-3 from the Lions' 29-yard line. Lyons was also out of time outs, meaning a first down by the Titans would have effectively ended the game.

Schroeder burst through the right side of the line of scrimmage, picking up the four yards he needed for the first down, but as he dove toward the ground, he had the football stripped from his hands. Lyons recovered the fumble on its own 22-yard line, with 2:47 remaining in regulation, but still needed to drive 78 yards to send the game into overtime. And they had to do so without the ability to stop the clock.

Amazing drive sends it to OT

Lyons needed just six plays to tie the game. A 21-yard pass from Mahoney to Matthew Harris, followed by another 13-yard catch, also by Harris, set the Lions up with first-and-goal at the South 5-yard line, with just under two minutes to go.

On the next play, Jones tied the game on a 5-yard TD run with 1:38 remaining - his fourth of the game - to send the game into overtime.

In overtime, South appeared to score when Sadler caught a pass inside the 5-yard line from quarterback Mac Zabriskie (12-for-21, 155 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INTs). Sadler dove just inside the orange end zone pylon after the catch, causing the referee to signal a touchdown.

However, the Titans were flagged for an illegal procedure/formation call on the play, negating the touchdown. South would instead settle for a 21-yard field goal by kicker Brandon McGarrity, instead of risking going for it on fourth-and-goal from the Lions' 4-yard line.

"I briefly thought about going for it there, but in that situation, you have to take the points," Noll said. "You just have to take the points to give yourself the lead there."

McGarrity's kick gave South a 31-28 overtime lead, at which point Lyons had four downs to either tie the game with a field goal and send it to a second overtime, or win it with a touchdown.

The Titans' celebration was extremely short-lived.

On Lyons' very first offensive play in overtime, they won the game thanks to Jones yet again. Jones plowed through the South line and several linebackers, for a 10-yard game-winning touchdwon run, ending the Titans' season in heartbreaking fashion.  

Noll said he will miss this group of outgoing seniors.

"They've been a great group," Noll said. "They all just put a lot of hard work into everything they did, and I want to thank them for that. Obviously this isn't the way we wanted it to end, and it hurts right now, but I am extremely thankful that our guys worked as hard as they did all season long."

A victory the Lyons community needed

Not lost in the dramatic comeback win by the Lions was the positive impact the victory had on Lyons Township High School and the surrounding local community.

Nearly every tree in town was wrapped with white ribbons and bows prior to the game, to honor the memory of 14-year-old Kelli O'Laughlin, whose life was tragically cut short on Oct. 27 by a senseless act of violence. 

O'Laughlin was a freshman at Lyons Township High School. Her memory was also honored in a pre-game moment of silence, and with a sign near the football field that read "Kelli."

After Lyons scored the game-winning touchdown, dozens of students and Lions' coaches openly sobbed both tears of joy and sadness. The tears weren't only due to the remarkable comeback - they were also ones honoring an innocent young girl whose memory is alive and well in a community that has quickly bonded together.

"Obviously it's been a very rough week," Lyons coach Kurt Weinberg said. "It (the win) gives our community something to smile about, which we need. But at the same time, nothing can ever replace her (Kelli), and our thoughts are all with her family and friends during this extremely difficult time."

"We've won two games this season on last second field goals, and last week we were down 35-10 and came back to win," Weinberg added. "So we're used to coming from behind like this. It's just an amazing feeling."

South finishes the season with an 8-3 overall record, while Lyons is now 7-4.

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