Return ends Leyden rally

Leyden football coach Tom Cerasani could only stare in disbelief as his Eagles squandered their bid for a late-game comeback against Downers Grove South on Friday in Northlake.

After trailing by as many as 16 points, the Eagles fought back to within 3 points in the fourth quarter of their West Suburban Gold opener.

With less than six minutes to play in regulation, the Eagles were forced to punt and managed to surround the Mustangs' return man at the 5-yard line.

Unfortunately for the Eagles, Jason Jozaites was back to return the punt.

The senior wideout broke two tackles while hurdling across the field and returned the ball 95 yards for a momentum-deflating touchdown. The Mustangs (1-2, 1-0) went on to win 42-25.

"I can't believe the kid fielded that ball," said Cerasani, who watched the Eagles fall to 1-2 on the season.

It was the third of four touchdowns in the game for Jozaites, having connected with Illinois-bound quarterback Chandler Whitmer (188 yards) three times. The 4 touchdowns were a career high.

"That's all I was thinking when I went out there, said Jozaites, who caught 9 passes for 140 yards. "I wanted to be the hero and there wasn't going to be an excuse for me not to be."

Eagles running back Angel Maldonado led the Leyden offense with 167 yards on the ground. He ran in three of Leyden's four scores.

Quarterback David Rose threw for 177 yards and ran for a 3-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter.

"It's really frustrating," Cerasani said. "I don't know how many dropped passes we had. We can't blow opportunities when we have them. Coming into tonight we felt like we had a chance to win every game."