Lyons grad Elliott provides big lift
MINNEAPOLIS — Jake Elliott knewhis kickwas good the second he hit it. The biggest field goal of his life was a 46- yarder that put the Eagles up by eight points with 1: 05 left in the Super Bowl.
Elliott double- checked the clock when it expired to make sure that his dream came true. The Lyons Township High School grad was signed by the Eagles in September after being cut by the Bengals before the season.
“It’s surreal,” Elliott said. “I double- checked about three times to make sure it said zero because I was about to run out on the field. It was unbelievable.”
Elliott scored the first points of the game against the Patriots— a 25- yard field goal. He also connected from 42 yards about a minute into the fourth quarter.
But Elliott missed an extra point in the first quarter. The Eagles tried to make up for it by going for two after their next touchdown but failed.
“I just erased it as fast as I could,” Elliott said of the miss. “Just don’t think about it. And then I gotta be ready and hit a kickoff after that. That’s my next thought.
“You have your ups and downs in that game. But I’m just so grateful we came out on top.”
Elliott’s crazy journey had an appropriate ending. Atennis player as a kid, he didn’t kick until his junior year in high school. He received his only Division I scholarship offer — from Memphis — after his senior year at Lyons.
“This just makes it that more unreal, that more notbelievable,” he said. “I’m at a loss for words, honestly. Just a great end to a great season.”