Lisle comeback stuns Peotone

Lisle may have scored its first points Friday night against Peotone, yet things still looked grim for the Lions at the beginning of the third quarter.

Lisle quarterback Chris Wray - under constant pressure all night from the Peotone defense - absorbed a hard hit just after releasing his seventh pass attempt of the night with 10:45 remaining in the third quarter. The hurried throw landed directly in the arms of Blue Devils linebacker Brandon Smith, who returned the interception 45 yards to give the visitors a 20-6 advantage.

Yet Wray and the Lions refused to lose, piling on 21 unanswered points in the game's final 18 minutes to upend Peotone 27-20 at Benedictine University, grabbing their first win in the process.

Lisle's (1-2, 1-0 Interstate Eight Small) 6-foot-6 signal aller ironically seemed to settle down after Smith's interception, completing three passes on the ensuing drive - a 69-yard march that culminated with a 17-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Ryan Liss.

Afterward, Wray credited the men up front.

"I was getting great coverage by the line. In the beginning of the game, we had some miscues, and some plays where I couldn't really get the ball off that well," Wray said. "Everyone was more concerned about our line than anything going into it, and I think our line really stepped up and answered a lot of questions there."

One player no one questioned heading into Friday's game was Liss. The 6-1 senior did everything for the Lions in the second half, catching 2 touchdowns and intercepting a pair of Nick Ahlborn passes, the second of which came with 1:31 to play and all but iced the game.

Liss' first interception gave Lisle possession inside midfield with 4:58 to play in the third. After the Lions' drive stalled at the Peotone (0-3, 0-1) 10-yard line, Wray scrambled to his right and found Liss for the tying touchdown.

"We've been working on it, (Chris) has been working hard," Liss said. "I knew we could do it; we've been this close every week - and we broke through this week."

Sophomore running back Nick Leonard put Lisle ahead for good with 3:04 to go, rambling behind the right side of the Lion line for a 5-yard score. Leonard filled in aptly for the injured Anthony Ventrella, gaining 66 yards with a pair of touchdowns.

"I told him in the locker room, 'You really grew up tonight. Let's keep it going this way,' " Lisle coach Dan Sanko said.