Turkey Day Picks

Another year gone by and our favorite sports viewing holiday is once again upon us. There will be plenty of turkey served this day but none quite as large as the slate of football games the NFL is providing for our consumption.

When we limp into the warm comforts of home from our annual "Turkey Bowl' games we will have the pleasure of witnessing the suddenly strong Tennessee Titans destroy the hapless Detroit Lions. This should be a laugher, take your showers at halftime as this one should be well in the bag by then. The winless Lions might have had a chance if the Titans had come in undefeated, and full of themselves, but the Jets sank that ship last week.

Next on tap, John Madden will call the game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Seattle Seahawks. Tony Romo is back leading the Cowboys in their Super Bowl push while the Seahawks have fallen off considerably since anyone around here last checked. Enjoy your meal, my suggestion would be to eat huge quantities and nap during the second half of this one; the dead hawk will be swinging from the cowpokes lasso by the second quarter.

The only decent viewing option of the day comes in the nightcap. It will be a chance to see if the Arizona Cardinals are for real as they play the currently defunct Philadelphia Eagles. Perhaps the Eagles will show some heart, lacking the last two weeks, in front of the home crowd. My hunch is the Cards will dispatch the Eagles in a good game and prove nothing. They will be “one and done” come playoff time.

My best viewing bets for the weekend are on the local level. Drop by one of the two Thanksgiving Holiday Basketball Tournaments hosted at Lyons Township High School. Both the varsity boys and girls are playing a full slate of games over the next few days. The boys will play Friday and Saturday night at North Campus. The matchups start at 7:30 pm with Saturday’s games featuring an alumni reunion at half time. The girls play at 1:30 pm Friday and Saturday at South Campus.

The Lyons Township football team has not played in a little over a month but this is championship weekend for all of you prep fans. All eight levels will play their title games at the newly appointed Memorial Stadium in Champaign. The class 1A thru 4A games will be on Friday and the class 5A thru 8A games take place Saturday.

The game of particular interest, for those that follow the local scene closely, is the 8A match up pitting the always strong Maine South Hawks against LT division rival Hinsdale Central. If you recall, the Lions held a brief 7-0 lead against Central earlier this year. The Devils may have finally met their match with the Hawks this weekend however. Poor weather could help the boys from Hinsdale but the current forecast suggests that the Hawks will have their way in the air. We expect a good battle nonetheless.

Enjoy your weekend and check back often.

LIONS ROMP OVER LEYDEN 31-13

The homecoming day crowd at Bennett Field saw plenty of sun and, if they had time to reach their seats, an odd decision by the Leyden coaching staff.

In the opening series of the game, the Eagles advanced the ball a whopping nine yards in their first three plays giving them the confidence to go for a forth down conversion fairly deep in their own territory.

The Lyons Township defense was up to the test, stopping the Eagles and giving their offense good field position on the Leyden 29 yard line. Running back Nick Brown would score two plays later on a 22-yard scamper, giving the Lions (3-4) a lead they would not relinquish. LT took a 21-0 lead to the half.

The Eagles (3-4) made it somewhat interesting scoring late in the third quarter to make it 21-7. The Lions offense built the lead to 31-7 before the Eagles hooked up on a 50-yard pass with just under 4:00 minutes to play.

The Lions continue their push for the playoffs next Saturday, 1:30p.m. at Glenbard West.

It’s hard to beat the scenery at this stadium in the fall, and the leaves should be peaking by then, so take the short drive to Glen Ellyn and root your Lions to victory.

AGING WELL BY WALKING WELL

The Park District of La Grange Recreational Center at 536 East Ave. on the village's eastern border will host the October Walk for Health sponsored by the La Grange and La Grange Park community action teams of Aging Well.

The new organization, which has held a variety of community activities over the past year, will start walking at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 15 inside the center.

The walk, which starts at the same time on the third Wednesday of every month and lasts until noon, is open to all people, especially those over 50. There is no distance requirement and refreshments will be available on site.

La Grange Public Library programs of interest to older adults will be explained by library marketing director Bridget Bittman.

More information on the monthly walk or on participation in Aging Well is available at (708) 354-1323, Ext. 19.

NO JOY IN CHICAGOLAND

Only a short week after hopes were sky high on both sides of baseball town, the Cubs and Sox have bowed out of the playoffs, winning a combined one game. Embarrassing, perhaps, depending on what side of town you root.

The Sox, with little preseason hype, showed heart in just getting to the playoffs. The Cubs, arguably the best team in baseball all season, showed their lack of heart while in the playoffs.

Who had the more successful season, the Cubs or Sox, and why?

LIONS MAUL PANTHERS 41-12

The Lyons Township football team ran all over Proviso West Saturday in Hillside, literally.

Quarterback Ryan Mitchell (105 yards on 23 carries) along with running backs Deonte Brown (150 yards on 15 carries) and Nick Brown (91 yards on 19 carries) scored two touchdowns each for the Lions (2-4, 2-2) fueling their 41-12 trouncing of the host Panthers (2-4, 0-4).

The LT defense also turned in an inspired performance, holding the explosive Panthers to 12 total points and shutting them down completely in the second half. Proviso West tried to deploy a "high octane" passing attack utilizing respected receiver Kyle Prater but the Lions defensive backs would have no part... picking Panther quarterback Teddy Sloan off four times.

The Lions try to keep their slim playoff hopes alive this Saturday at 1:30 p.m. in the homecoming game vs. Leyden at Bennett Field.

LIONS FALL TO 1-4, LOSE TO YORK 21-20

The Lyons Township varsity football team could easily be sitting with a 4-1 record at this point of the season. Instead, it is at 1-4 after yet another close loss this time, falling to division rival York Community High School 21-20 Friday night at Bennett field.

The Lions never trailed until York scored on a 26 yard touchdown pass and then converted the always interesting extra point, taking a one point lead with 3 minutes 32 seconds left to play.

Just over two minutes earlier LT had taken a 20-14 lead on a 32-yard touchdown run by Ryan Mitchell (17 carries for 228 yards) but missed the extra point wide, thus opening the door for York.

The Dukes played catch up most the game coming back from LT leads of 7-0, 14-7 and finally 20-14.

The Lions then tried to play a little catch up themselves, driving to the York 35 before coughing the ball up and turning it over to York with 1:14 to go.

Next up for the Lions (1-4, 1-2) are the always scrappy Proviso West High School Panthers (2-3, 0-3) at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 6 in Hillside.

LT IN THE WIN COLUMN, BEAT OAK PARK 7-6

A 0-4 start would have meant certain doom to any hopes the Lions had for making the playoffs a seventh year in a row. The importance of Saturday’s game in Oak Park was known before the opening kick.

The Lions proved that they were up to the task coming away with a hard fought 7-6 victory against host Oak Park-River Forest on a picture perfect afternoon.

The victory didn't come easy. The Huskies scored on their opening drive of the game, but missed the extra point to take a 6-0 early lead. The Lions came back and secured the lead for good on a 22-yard run by quarterback Ryan Mitchell with 4:12 to play in the first quarter. The defense for both sides then took control of the game until the Lions looked as though they would put it all but out of reach with under five minutes to play.

RB Nick Brown broke through the line deep in Husky territory and looked as if he would score but the ball was forced from his hands on the one-yard line and trickled through the end zone for a Husky touchback.

Oak Park then marched the ball down to the Lions 16-yard line and attempted a 33-yard field goal as time expired. Fortunately for the Lions, the kick was wide right, and a bit short, assuring them their first victory of the season.

Up next for LT are the always tough York Dukes, this Friday at Bennett Field.

LT FALLS TO RIVAL HINSDALE CENTRAL 33-7

Both the rain and the Lions fell hard Friday night at Bennett Field in Western Springs.

After LT scored on the third play from scrimmage to take an early 7-0 lead, highly ranked rival Hinsdale Central went on to score 33 straight points to close out the game.

Red Devils running back Rich Zajeski proved too much for the Lions defense to contain. He ran for 168 yards on eight carries scoring three touchdowns for visiting Hinsdale Central.

The turning point of the game came late in the first quarter when Central blocked a LT punt and returned it 12 yards for a touchdown, taking a 14-7 lead that they would not give up.

Also notable was the fact that the Lions lost three of ten fumbles, bringing their season total to 11 lost fumbles and contributing greatly to their 0-3 start.

The Lions look to get into the win column next Saturday in Oak Park, a 1:30 p.m. game against the Oak Park-River Forest Huskies.