Tom Fiedler keeps Lyons in playoff hunt with clutch play against York

WESTERN SPRINGS — Lyons’ senior night was characterized by falling short in key moments.

The Lions (4-4, 2-4) survived West Suburban Silver rival York (4-4, 1-4) 21-10 despite having two possessions in Dukes territory halted by fourth-down stops and they missed a 35-yard field goal.

After receiving a punt at their own 43 with 1:09 left in the first half, Lions senior quarterback Tom Fiedler helped the Lions break through with a short reception up the middle to senior running back Leonard Ross. The Miami, Ohio, commit managed to slip past the defensive line and linebackers into the wide-open field, taking the ball from midfield all the way to the Dukes’ 7.

“We had our two-minute offense system set up,” Lions coach Kurt Weinberg said. “We were looking for a quick strike before the half and Tom made a great read on the defense and got the ball to the right guy.”

“We’ve had a lot of success with that play this season,” Fiedler said. “They put in some man coverage on us and I was able to find Leonard over the middle.”

Ross finished what he started on the next play to give the Lions a 14-7 lead. The drive went two plays in 57 yards and lasted a total of 14 seconds.

The Lions never looked back as they were able to keep their playoffs hope alive. They need a win over Proviso West next week to secure their 13th postseason berth in 15 years, and sixth in a row.

Fiedler had a solid night throwing the football for the Lions, going 9 of 16 for 155 yards and a touchdown. He found a wide-open Ross on a scramble in the first quarter and made an easy 18-yard toss to put the Lions on the board.

“The defense put a lot of guys in the box tonight and I knew we had them outnumbered on the sides so we were able to take advantage of the situation,” Fiedler said.

Over half of his passing yards went to Ross, who finished with 102 yards on four receptions. Ross also had 183 yards on 23 carries.

• The Lions aren’t taking anything granted with they head to Proviso West, which entered Week 8 still looking for its first conference win. “The quality of our conference and the quality of opponents is so strong,” Weinberg said. “Last year, we played Proviso and beat them 21-20. Every game is a battle.”
• Senior running back Morgan Alexander led the Dukes with 24 carries for 144 yards. He also had two kickoff returns for 38 yards.