Linebacker John Lyons is Naperville North’s ‘heartbeat on defense.’ He keeps ticking to beat Metea Valley

Naperville North’s John Lyons thought he had it all figured out.

He was going to be a baseball star.

“Since I can remember, I was always a baseball fan,” Lyons said. “It’s always been a baseball household. I thought I was going to be a baseball player.”

Lyons was one for many years. He grew up playing baseball and football and played both sports during his freshman year.

“I found my true love when Huskie football came around freshman year,” Lyons said. “I gave up baseball freshman year.

“I didn’t know if it was for me, and football was so awesome. I just fell in love with football and never looked back.”

After leaving the diamond behind, Lyons became a dominant force on the gridiron. The second-year starting linebacker was an all-conference selection last season and has really turned it up a notch as a senior.

“He’s just a special kid,” Naperville North coach Sean Drendel said. “He studies the game super hard, and he prepares the right way. He’s kind of our heartbeat on defense, and he makes big plays for us.”

The 5-foot-11, 210-pound Lyons has made plenty of big plays this season. He leads the team with 32 tackles, including three for loss and two sacks, and also has two interceptions.

Lyons had a team-high seven tackles and a sack during the Huskies’ 41-3 DuPage Valley Conference win over host Metea Valley in Aurora on Friday.

The Huskies (4-1, 2-0) allowed only 101 yards of total offense, and the Mustangs (2-3, 1-1) mustered 20 yards rushing on 27 attempts.

“What I think about playing linebacker is what I can do for the team,” Lyons said. “I can just create chaos for the offense on the other side of the ball and just do my job.

“If I’m doing my job well, I feel like the team really forms together because being able to stop the run is definitely a huge part of high school football. I think once you’re able to do that, teams really are like in their corner, like kind of banged up. They don’t really know what to do when you stop the run.”

Lyons and the Huskies faced a tough challenge against dual-threat junior quarterback Iggy Amorrortu, who led Metea Valley to its first-ever win against Neuqua Valley in the previous game. But Amorrortu was held to 26 yards rushing on nine carries and completed 7 of 12 pass attempts for 81 yards.

“We knew Iggy has an electric arm, for sure,” Lyons said. “He’s a great quarterback, but we’ve seen great quarterbacks.”

The best was Purdue recruit Jackie Ryder, who led New Trier to a 45-13 win over the Huskies in Week 1. But Naperville North hasn’t lost since then and has allowed 9.5 points per game in four straight wins.

“Obviously, that was a lopsided loss, but we know how to play that now,” Lyons said. “Everyone’s got to do their jobs. If you do your 1/11th of the game, then that’s how you win the game. I have to do my job, and that’s just stopping the run.”

There’s no stopping Lyons, it seems.

“I love watching him play,” Naperville North senior offensive lineman Jake Johnson said. “He’s like my best friend, and when he gets those big hits, I get hyped. It gets me going, makes me want to go hit someone after that.”

Johnson sometimes faces Lyons in practice drills, so he knows how difficult it can be to keep Lyon from hitting people.

“He’s squirmy,” Johnson said. “He’s always low, and he’s like a worm. It’s hard to grab him because he’s always spinning and stuff. He’s all over the place.”

Lyons wants to continue playing in college and is awaiting an opportunity. In the meantime, he knows his place is in the middle of the field, mucking things up for opposing offenses.

“He knows our game play, knows what we want to do,” Drendel said. “He loves the game. He’s a lifer.”