Key defensive plays lift South Lyon East
Nothing gets the blood of a pass rusher boiling like knowing that the opponent is backed up against their own goal line.
South Lyon East’s defense took advantage ofWaterfordKettering being pinned deep in its own territory twice in the final six minutes of the first half, scoring 16 points in that span to blow open a one-point game.
A second-quarter safety and a strip sack for a touchdown helped the Cougars jump out to a 23-6 halftime lead on the Captains, and hold on by that same score to go to 4-1 on the season for the first time in program history.
“It’s insane.… We’re getting it done. This doesn’t happen a whole lot. The program’s getting a lot better, and we’re going to hope to keep it going,” said senior Drake Willenborg, who had a hand in both of those big plays late in the first half.
In their 14-year history as a program, the Cougars (4-1, 4-1 Lakes Valley Conference) have only reached the four-win plateau three other times (2012, 2017, 2018), and only exceeded it twice (5-5 in 2012, 6-5 in 2018). Already, the Cougars have surpassed the win total fromlast year’s 3-6 campaign.
“It was just a great all-around defensive performance for our kids. It was just a greatwin. This was one we said would be huge for us this year — to be sitting 4-1 with South Lyon up next, it’s kind of a great spot to be in,” East head coach Joe Pesci said. “Third time we’ve hit four wins in the last four years. We talked about this being a war tonight, and they’ve got some really, really good players, tough kids on that team. Our kids battled all night.”
While Ayden Oliver was the workhorse on offense, carrying the ball a whopping 36 times for 196 yards and a pair of scores, the game turned on the pair of defensive plays that resulted in scores for East.
With the Cougars up 7- 6 in the second quarter, Willenborg downed Oliver’s punt just inches fromthe goal line to put the Cap