Leyden Lions

LIONS FLAT VERSUS GENERALS

by Andrea Bradley

Melrose Park, IL - A rough outing by the Lions resulted in a 48-13 loss to the reigning IFL Champion and MSFL new-comers, the Indiana Generals, Saturday night at Serpico Field.

The loss came in light of what should have been a tough game for both teams, as Leyden (4-2 MSFL, 6-3 overall) pitted its league best defense against the league’s top offense. Coming into the game, the Generals (5-0 MSFL, 7-0 overall) put up 219 points in four MSFL games. Before Saturday’s contest, the Lions had given up only 40 points between its first five MSFL opponents, shutting out two of their competitors.

Despite the toe-to-toe match-up, the Generals put the game’s first 34 points on the board, scoring touchdowns on five of their first six drives. Indiana quarterback Jeremy Hibbeln led his offense down the field early and often, throwing for three touchdowns in that span. Hibbeln ended the game with five touchdowns and 341 yards through the air. The quarterback hit six receivers throughout the night, and completed 18 of his 30 attempts before being replaced by the team’s second-string quarterback late in the game. “[The General’s] quarterback is one of the best quarterbacks I have seen at this level of football ”, said head coach Jose Rodriguez. “Quick releases, quick passes, meets his receivers, and he checks downfield. He’s just really good.”

After trailing 34-0 with a little more than eight minutes left in the first half, defensive line coach Lester McDonald called his group together. “Stand-up right here and play ball” he said to his defensive unit.. “Stand up right here.” The message was heard loud and clear as safety Alex Soto came up with an interception on the next drive. Soto’s pick resulted in a touchdown two plays later when quarterback Jim Morris hit Michael Swiatkowski for a 58-yard score. Morris, who threw his first touchdown as a new member of the Lions’ squad, came in for starting quarterback and offensive coordinator Mike DeCook in the second quarter.

The Lions' next defensive outing resulted in another interception from Hibbeln. This time it was safety Mat Odigie who was credited with the pick. It took the Lions’ offense another two plays to reach the end zone as Morris connected with Chris Bork for a 24-yard touchdown to end the first half, and put the momentum in Leyden’s favor.

Unfortunately for the Lions, the momentum escaped by second half as the Lions allowed two touchdowns, and did not convert on offense. “It probably hindered our momentum a little bit,” Rodriguez said about the halftime break. “The thing is we started too late. The defense started making plays to end the second quarter, and they made plays in the second half, it was just too little too late.” The loss wrapped up home play for the Lions, as the team will take their bye-week to hit the practice field and get prepared for their travels to Peoria. They will play the Mid-Steel on August 27th at Peoria Stadium.