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Feel-good finale for Leyden against Willowbrook

Somebody on the Leyden sideline Friday night was comparing senior Antonio Lemon to Dallas Cowboys star receiver Dez Bryant.

That description wasn't too far off the mark.

Lemon caught two touchdown passes, one that got the Eagles out of a huge early hole, and the defense dominated in the second half in a 16-7 West Suburban Gold victory over visiting Willowbrook.

The Leyden pass rush recorded 6 sacks in the final two quarters as they denied the Warriors a sixth win on the season and an automatic berth in the state playoffs.

"It was great to play on this team," said Lemon of his final prep game. "I love these guys - they're my brothers.

"Our season didn't go the way we had planned, but we got it done tonight."

Willowbrook scored first and had Leyden on their heels on offense early before watching it slip away.

"We struggled up front," said Warriors coach Nick Hildreth. "They (Leyden) were doing a good job of mixing up their coverages."

Willowbrook (5-4, 4-2) found the end zone just three minutes into the game when Josan Murphy made an acrobatic sideline coach on a 23-yard pass from quarterback Billy Degnan.

Then the Warriors had Leyden pinned back on their own 5-yard line with third and long when the Eagles made a spectacular strike.

Quarterback Michael Wilms retreated to his end zone and heaved the ball 45 yards in the air to a waiting Lemon, who gathered the ball despite blanket coverage and outraced Warriors defenders to the end zone.

"One of our other receivers was having a problem with his ankle," said Lemon, "so they've been working the deep ball to me in practice. That was the first deep ball I got (in a game)."

"That was tough," admitted Hildreth of the 95-yard completion. "Third and 17 from their 5-yard line. We were playing loose coverage and I'll have to look at the tape, but that was a backbreaker."

Lemon caught another TD pass from Wilms in the second quarter, from 15 yards out over the middle.

Then came the second-half sack parade by the Eagles as Alan Jaffrey (3), Azu Whigham, Steven Gulo, Taylor Morioka and Aaron Ashley all had solo or assisted sacks.

"AJ (Jaffrey) is just a great player," said Leyden sophomore Ata Hinnawi, "and our defensive line came up big."

It was the Leyden defensive rush that sealed the win late in the game.

After a punt by Hinnawi pinned Willowbrook back deep in its own territory with 4 minutes left, the Eagles rush forced the Warriors quarterback into an intentional grounding call.

Since the throw came from the end zone, a safety was called and it sealed the deal for Leyden.

Wilms threw for 211 yards for the Eagles, who can only imagine what might have been this season.

They finished the year 4-5, 3-3 in conference - but had 2 losses by just 1 point and 1 loss by 3 points.

"I think about that a lot," said Leyden coach Tom Cerasani, "but you can't change the past - you can only attack the future."

"These guys finished strong," added Cerasani. "I couldn't be prouder of them, and I was happy for the seniors. They deserved this."

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