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Lyons lines up a winner at Warren

It couldn't have gotten much better for Lyons Township football coach Kurt Weinberg on Friday night at Warren.

Before the opening kickoff, he walked out to the middle of the field for the coin toss and looked across at his son, Weston, a senior and starting center for Warren. Weston Weinberg was named a captain for the season-opening game.

"It was strange," Kurt Weinberg said. "I was a little emotional for the coin toss. But it was fun for me. I enjoyed it."

By game's end, the football dad was feeling proud again. Lyons came up with 4 interceptions and forced 5 turnovers, in total, as the Lions won 19-7, topping the Blue Devils for the second year in a row on Opening Night.

"Starting off with a win against a very, very, good football team at their place is a feather in your cap," Kurt Weinberg said. "We're proud of them, for sure."

Warren coach Bryan McNulty was holding his head high too afterward, despite a performance by his team that included too many mistakes. Lyons cornerback Hasahn Austin, who started last season on offense but didn't play any defense, had a pair of huge interceptions in the second half, after the teams were tied 7-7 at the break.

Warren quarterback Luke Schmitt threw all 4 interceptions, completing 14 of 28 passes for 154 yards, but McNulty stood by his senior QB.

"I'm very pleased with Luke, and I know that sounds odd right now," McNulty said. "But I thought that kid competed. He did the best he could. We just got to put him in better positions. I got no problems with Luke Schmitt right now. He's fine."

Schmitt did rush for a game-best 115 yards on 21 carries and scored Warren's only touchdown. He gained most of his yards on designed draws or scrambles.

"It just came as it came," Schmitt said. "I was expecting to run, just not as much as I did."

Lyons junior QB Ben Bryant also showed off good bursts with his legs (14 carries, 47 yards), but it was his 42-yard screen pass to Brandon Fischer on the first series of the second half that snapped a 7-7 tie. Warren's Scott Rogers blocked the PAT kick.

Warren responded with a sustained drive that started at its own 25, but the offensive series ended when Austin made a leaping interception in the end zone. Warren's highly touted wide receivers, Jalin Tolbert (5 catches, 43 yards) and Micah Jones (3 catches, 36 yards), were both in the vicinity of the pass.

Lyons came up with another key turnover early in the fourth quarter, as the visitors recovered a muffed punt at the Lions 33. That came after Warren's defense forced a punt from the end zone.

Two plays later, Bryant's pass to Riley Kloes resulted in a 65-yard scoring play.

Down a pair of scores, Warren's offense threatened again. But Austin picked off Schmitt at the Lyons 2.

"I left the ball short (on the interceptions), but I made decent throws and they just made athletic plays," Schmitt said.

Two of Warren's first three possessions to start the game ended with interceptions, by Hareson Willis and Thomas Jackson. Jackson picked off Schmitt at midfield, and his return set Lyons up at the Warren 5. Reggie Terrell sprinted into the end zone on the next play, snapping a scoreless tie with 9:06 left before halftime.

Schmitt engineered a 12-play, 60-yard drive that he capped by scoring on a draw from 3 yards out with 43 seconds left in the half.

"I thought defensively we played well, if you consider that offense," McNulty said. "They're explosive. If you give that team that many opportunities, you're going to get burned sooner or later."

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