Lions king in West Suburban clash
Grabbing a road win at Glenbard West in Glen Ellyn requires a special effort, talent and a level head. No. 11 Lyons has all of that in quarterback Ben Bryant.
The 6- 3, 195- pound junior shook off two dislocated fingers — one on his throwing hand — to engineer a 28- 14 win over the No. 4 Hilltoppers.
“[ The right] one I hurt in the first half,” Bryant said. “My dad is an ER doctor, so he came and popped them back into place. This one [ left pinky] got dislocated, too. Honestly, it wasn’t that bad. I just iced it and moved it around a lot.”
Bryant, who has scholarship offers from Wisconsin and Central Michigan, finished 14- for- 18 for 172 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. He connected with six receivers.
“They are the best group I’ve ever thrown to,” said Bryant, a twoyear starter. “I can throw the ball up, and I know they will catch it. They are huge playmakers.”
Both teams spent most of the first half in the middle of the field. Bryant found Hasahn Austin for an 18- yard touchdown pass with 1: 46 to play in the second quarter.
“It was huge,” Bryant said. “Both teams weren’t scoring at that point, so I think that was a game- changer.”
Reggie Terrell ( 19 carries, 46 yards, two touchdowns) scored on a five- yard run on the first drive of the second half for Lyons. That’s when the upset started to look real.
“Our offensive line handled them very well,” Bryant said. “We had an edge on them. We attacked them very well.”
The Hilltoppers ( 4- 1, 2- 1 West Suburban Silver) entered with a 32game conference winning streak. The last loss, also to Lyons in Glen Ellyn, was in Week 9 of 2010.
“We understand how difficult it is, but I don’t think our guys are afraid to come to play,” Lyons coach Kurt Weinberg said. “All the respect to Glenbard West, but we came here to win the football game and our guys weren’t afraid.”
Glenbard West scored on a fiveyard pass from Cole Brady ( 20- for36, 192 yards, three interceptions) to Alex Pihlstrom ( seven catches, 90 yards) with 4: 28 left in the third quarter to cut the Lions’ lead to 14- 7.
The Hilltoppers moved the ball well in the second half. Running back Dre Thomas finished with 15 carries for 112 yards, most in the final two quarters. But they were undone by turnovers. Hareson Willis, Mickey Brown and Jack Walton each grabbed interceptions in the fourth quarter for Lyons.
“[ Glenbard West] is a great team, and when you get an opportunity to take the ball away, you have to take advantage of it,” Weinberg said.
Brown, a 6- 3, 305- pound defensive lineman, was an unlikely interceptor.
“That was so funny,” Bryant said. “He can’t catch. It hit him right in the hands, and he caught it. He’s going to remember that his whole life.”
The Lions ( 5- 0, 2- 0) entered with four solid wins but lacked a signature victory.
“People already had us 4- 1,” Bryant said. “We put a chip on our shoulder and played really hard. We didn’t want to lose.”
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