skip navigation

Walled Lake Western avenges earlier loss, tops unbeaten South Lyon 35 - 14

By By Timothy Arrick For Digital First Media, 11/04/18, 10:00PM EST

Share

2018 District Champions

SOUTH LYON >> South Lyon looked to continue its perfect season when Walled Lake Western came to town Friday night, but the Warriors were looking to avenge their loss earlier in the season to the Lions and in the end, it was Walled Lake Western pouring it on in the second half to take home the district title with a 35-14 victory.

Early on, neither team was able to muster much offense as they both failed to move the ball on their first two possession, but on their third possession, Western quarterback Sam Johnson connected with CJ Brown on a 54-yard touchdown pass to give the Warriors a 7-0 lead.

The Lions took the ensuing kickoff at their own 24-yard line and strung together a drive that would culminate with a 21-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Conner Fracassi to Keegan McGrath. A blocked PAT however left the Lions trailing 7-6 as the game headed into halftime.

The momentum would swing quickly in the second half though as South Lyon took the opening kickoff and then a tipped pass landed in the hands of defensive end Chris Harris who took the ball 23 yards for the score, giving the Warriors a 14-6 lead just minutes into the second half.

Western head coach Alex Grignon talked about getting things going in the second half. “The first time we played them they started fast and we didn’t. Starting the game and starting the second half were the biggest drives for us. We needed to start fast on those and it went perfect, they had a strong screen tendency, we dropped our d-end under it and the kid made a play.”

This was actually Harris’ third touchdown of the season with the other two coming on fumble recoveries. Talking about the play Harris commented: “We adjusted to it, the d-ends had to drop off in coverage on an inside blitz, the ball was tipped and I just had it.”

Western’s next two possessions resulted in scores as Johnson would score on a 1-yard touchdown run and then after taking the ball at their own 1-yard line, the Warriors would drive 99 yards with a 34-yard pass from Johnson to Abdur-rahmaan Yaseen to give Western a 28-6 lead with 4:50 left in the third quarter.

South Lyon managed another score late in the fourth quarter on a 2-yard run by Fracassi, but the Warriors would close things out on a 5-yard touchdown run by Kevin Jackson.

The loss ends South Lyon’s season with a 10-1 record while the win allows the Warriors to advance to the regional finals next week when they host Midland.

PHOTO GALLERY HERE

Tag(s): News  Walled Lake Western  WLW JV