Stevenson recovers against Ross, Lyons

Real time seemed to move in slow motion, and Patrick O'Connell's eyes got as big as saucers.

There was the ball, sitting there on the turf for the taking.

Finally, the Stevenson defense had foiled Lyons workhorse running back Leonard Ross.

Ross had been running circles around the Patriots on Friday night. But as he made one last push to help his team try to rally from behind, Stevenson linebacker Tyler Vincent laid a hit on him that popped the ball from his hands.

O'Connell, a lineman for the Patriots, fell on the ball and all top-seeded Stevenson had to do from there was spend the final minute salting away a 21-17 Class 8A first round win over Lyons.

The Patriots move to 10-0 and will face the winner of today's game between No. 9 Warren and No. 8 Loyola, which will host the game at noon next Saturday in Wilmette. Both teams are 7-2.

Lyons, a No. 16 seed, closes its season at 5-5.

"It was like the clouds opened up and everything," O'Connell said with a laugh, hinting at divine intervention on his fumble recovery. "I saw that ball there, it got into my hands and I wasn't going to let it go.

"I think it was just a reward for working our butts off and doing our jobs. A couple bounces didn't go our way tonight, but we got it eventually and that's all that matters now."

Leonard, who will be playing at Miami (Ohio) next year, had steam-rolled over the Stevenson defense for 171 yards and 2 touchdowns on 35 carries before the fumble.

"Hats off to that kid, No. 33, he was running the ball so hard," O'Connell said of Ross. "He was a tough kid to tackle one-on-one. He kept his legs moving and put his head down. He's a big kid and when you get that kind of momentum going, it's tough to hit him."

Stevenson had its own workhorse in the backfield.

Jack Joseph scored all three of Stevenson's touchdowns and provided a safe and effective alternative to the normally prolific passing game, which was hamstrung by windy conditions and a tough Lyons defense.

Quarterback Willie Bourbon finished with 103 passing yards and completed 10-of-20 passes but found Northwestern-bound receiver Cameron Green only once for a 1-yard gain.

Meanwhile, Joseph rolled up 98 rushing yards on 9 carries. He also caught 3 passes for 35 yards, including a 23-yard touchdown.

"It was huge, definitely with the conditions the way they were," Joseph said. "It's never good to blame anything totally on the weather, but it's always good to have a run game. Because, yeah, we have a ton of talent on the outside, but in order to set up that pass, we've got to run the ball. I think it was huge that we got it going. You've got to give props to the offensive line. They work hard all week and it definitely shows in the game."

Joseph got Stevenson on the board just four minutes into the game, capping the Patriots' first drive with a 5-yard touchdown run on the fourth play.

Lyons tied up the game on a Ross 3-yard touchdown on the next series, which ate up seven minutes and included 15 plays.

The Patriots answered right back with another score by Joseph, this time on his touchdown reception of 23 yards.

But Lyons managed to squeeze in a score late in the second quarter when Joe Bruni drilled a 31-yard field goal.

That cut Stevenson's halftime lead to 14-10.

"We have a lot of respect for Lyons," Stevenson coach Bill McNamara said. "All of their losses are to playoff teams. We knew this was not going to be an easy game, and man, it was a hard-fought game."

Lyons took a lead midway through the third quarter when Ross scored his second touchdown on a 3-yard run.

But the Patriots regained control on another Joseph touchdown run (18 yards) with about six minutes left in the game.

After empty possessions by each team, Lyons began moving the ball well on its final drive and had just gotten into Stevenson territory when Ross fumbled.

"(Leonard Ross) has been so much of us, our offense and everything," Lyons coach Kurt Weinberg said. "We give it to our best player all the time. He's the best player we've got and the best I've ever had. (The fumble) is a tough break. It's a tough situation.

"We weren't scared coming in here. We weren't intimidated. We play in one of the toughest conferences in the state. We just came up on the short end of the stick."