The Lions football team wrapped up their undefeated regular season with a 50-6 win over the Proviso East Pirates on Oct. 25. Having already cemented both a conference championship and a spot in the postseason, the Lions avoided the upset and handed the Pirates a thrashing for LT’s senior night.

The Lions ended up with their best regular season since 1948, with an outright conference championship and an undefeated regular season; the Lions went above and beyond, shattering preseason expectations after finishing tied for third in the conference and going 6-3 in the regular season last year before falling in the second round to the York Dukes. 

What’s next for the Lions? They play on Nov. 1 at Bennett Field to face off against the Joliet West Tigers in the first round of the IHSA 8A State Playoffs. The Lions are seeded as the second best team in the 8A division, trailing behind the Lincoln Way East Griffins, who finished at 9-0 and earned the number one seed in the division. 

Joliet West finished their season at 5-4, clinching a playoff spot on Oct. 25 with a 48-0 win over the Plainfield Central Wildcats. Placed as the 31st team in the division, the Tigers will have to travel to SC and snag an upset over the favored two-seed Lions. The Tigers went 4-1 in the Southwest Prairie Eastern Conference, playing well enough for a second place finish behind the champion Plainfield South Cougars, who went undefeated in conference and went 7-2 overall. 

If LT avoids the upset in the first round at home, they will end up playing the winner of the first round matchup between the 15th seeded Downers Grove South Mustangs and the aforementioned 18th seeded Plainfield South Cougars. If the Mustangs win, the second round game will be played at LT since the Lions are the higher seeded team. If the Cougars win, they will host the Lions since they will not have played a home playoff game yet. 

Head coach Jon Beutjer and quarterback Dominic Pisciotti ‘25 have led the explosive Lions offense, who averaged 35.1 points per game in the regular season. The Lions defense only allowed 12.5 points per game while forcing plenty of turnovers, from interceptions to fumbles recovered; the Lions defense has been nothing short of stout and disruptive throughout the season. 

The Lions continue to chase a ghost in their trophy case, having not won an 8A state championship yet in football. A deep postseason run is the goal for the Lions this November, and they hope to be playing at Illinois State’s Hancock Stadium in Normal, Illinois, for the IHSA 8A State Championship on Nov. 30.