Plano routs Lisle in opener

Lisle running back Brad Leonard said he and his teammates were pumped up for the season opener against Plano Friday night at Benedictine University.

That excitement lasted all of 12 minutes.

The Lions (0-1) fell behind by 21 points in the first quarter as they lost the season opener 43-9. It only took the Reapers 16 snaps to get in the end zone three times in the first quarter.

“We came out extremely slow tonight and that cost us,” Leonard said. “We came out all jacked, but then we couldn’t stop anyone or do anything offensively. After the first quarter, people on our sidelines just laid down.”

It was especially a tough night for the Lions defense as they had to try and stop Northwestern-bound running back Joseph Jones. The Plano (1-0) standout only touched the ball nine times in the game but made the most of them as he had 220 yards of total offense and 3 touchdowns, including two receiving scores of 85 and 77 yards. In the game the Lions gave up 469 yards of total offense.

Plano coach Jim Green said he expected his team to be ready to play but was surprised by one aspect of the game.

“I knew we were a fast team coming in,” Green said. “But I had no clue that we were going to be this fast tonight. I think the turf really made a difference. Lisle knew we were going to run the ball, but we liked our matchups through the air as well. So we used our quick-strike offense to our advantage.”

One positive for the Lions was Leonard, who scored the Lions only touchdown late in the fourth quarter. Leonard finished the game with 47 yards rushing on 14 carries.

But that lone touchdown did not matter with Lisle coach Dan Sanko.

“This was absolutely an embarrassing loss for our program tonight,” Sanko said. “Plano is a good football team, but they are not that good of a football team. Right now we are trying to find a positive after this game but we can’t find one. Nothing. Neither side of the ball played well and we just mailed it in after our slow start.”