The Lions fell to the visiting Naperville Central Redhawks on Nov. 15 in a stunning end to the season, losing by a score of 7-24. What looked to be an even contest on paper became a surprise road victory for the Redhawks, as they ran away with the game in the second half. 

The LT offense–which had averaged 37.9 points per game before Friday night’s game–was handled by the disruptive Naperville Central defense. Anchored by Vanderbilt commit and all-state defensive lineman Jake Stanish ‘25, the Redhawks were able to put a lot of pressure on LT quarterback Dominic Pisciotti ‘25. 

The Redhawks offense struck first with a 50-yard strike to Indiana State commit Deshaun Williams ‘25, who also scored a 41-yard touchdown later in the second quarter. A 42-yard field goal as time expired in the first half gave them a 17-7 lead entering the break. 

Although the Lions only put up seven points offensively, they had several strong drives, most notably in the second quarter, as running back Danny Carroll ‘25 answered back with a 25-yard touchdown to cut the deficit to 7-14 after Williams’s second touchdown of the game. It looked as if the Lions had the momentum towards the end of the second half. A couple of the Lions’ drives had stalled out in Redhawks territory, including two turnovers on downs. 

The Redhawks scored a touchdown on the opening drive of the second half to balloon the lead to 17. Neither team would score the rest of the way, with both teams playing stout defense in the second half. 

Regardless of the outcome, the Lions’ previously undefeated season ended with a strong postseason run. Tied for the furthest the school has ever placed in the state tournament (1987, 2022), tied for the winningest season in school history (1987), and the first outright conference championship since 1987, one could argue that this was the most successful football season in LT’s history. 

A lot of credit has to be placed in the hands of head coach Jon Beutjer for bringing the team to the quarterfinals for the second time in the last three years. But this time, it was under a new quarterback, Pisciotti, who had a breakout season in his senior year and his first year as the starter. 

While Lyons will lose a lot of key players to graduation this spring, the same thing was said last year after the Lions’ second-round loss to York. A lot of people expected struggles from this year’s squad, but those were met with continued success and an unexpected but undefeated regular season.  

LT’s football program seems to be heading in the right direction and looks to follow this successful season with another one in fall 2025. While they still lack that state title they’ve been searching for, a new standard of success has been placed in the hands of the Lyons football program.