Jacob Baker runs for 2 TDs in Downers South comeback win over Leyden

DOWNERS GROVE — With a 10-0 lead in the fourth quarter on Friday, it looked like Leyden would secure its first victory of the season.However, 14 unanswered points by Downers South (3-2, 2-1) secured the 14-10 home victory and dashed the Eagles’ hopes in the West Suburban Gold matchup.“It was a tough one,” Leyden coach Tom Cerasani said. “I thought the kids played extremely hard. I thought we played well offensively and defensively … too many penalties.”Indeed, the Eagles (0-5, 0-2) racked up penalty flags when they were marching to pad their 10-0 lead. At one point, it was third-and-41 for Leyden. One penalty wiped out what would’ve been a touchdown by senior John Robles.“We’ve got to put it in the end zone when we get inside the 10-yard line,” Cerasani said.Leyden junior Kevin Vargas made big contributions in the loss. He sacked the quarterback on fourth down in the first quarter and recovered a fumble in the third quarter. In addition, Vargas nailed a 45-yard field goal in the third quarter that made it 10-0.“We’ve been practicing on special teams a lot; we’ve been practicing on field goals a lot,” Vargas said. “We expect to make all of those, but obviously, we didn’t finish it. … We just got to keep believing.”The Eagles took a 7-0 lead into halftime. Senior quarterback Tom Pajor rolled to his right and found Alex Lemon. Junior David Demarais ran to the 7-yard line on the next play, then bolted five yards into the end zone with 1:08 remaining in the half for the first points of the night.The Mustangs’ offense came alive in the fourth quarter. With 11:32 left, Jacob Baker ran 28 yards to the goal line to put Downers South on the board. After a series of Eagles penalties, the Mustangs got the ball back and Baker again applied the finishing touches on a 10-yard run.On the final drive, it was fourth-and-2 for Leyden at midfield when the Mustangs bottled up the Eagles’ ball carrier and ran out the clock.“We knew we had to score,” Pajor said. “We wanted to march down the field and score right here. Beating DGS would be big for us and give us a huge confidence boost.”Leyden’s continues action on Friday at Hinsdale South.“We got to keep our heads up,” Vargas said. “It’s been a tough season, but we got to keep going.”