The varsity football team won the annual rivalry matchup against Lyons Township 21-20 on Friday, Oct. 13 on Dickinson Field.

The team had to replace another significant player after losing the starting quarterback, Matt Rush, for the game; starting center Joe Monahan, junior, had a case of vertigo and could not play. Ayden Head, junior, replaced him from the beginning.

“I’ve never had to snap the ball before in such a big game, but I had to step up for my teammates when Monahan wasn’t able to play,” Head said.

Head’s teammates recognized that this was not an easy task and supported him right away.

“Head showed everyone that he could play with the best of the best while not having a full varsity game under his belt,” said J.T. Kolke, senior wide receiver. “We needed him to step up and help us, and he did big time.”

Junior running back, Andrew Doromal, added, “Garrett Oakey, our wide receiver and running back, got hurt during the game, and our starting center Joey Monahan couldn’t play. Ayden Head had to step in even though he hadn’t played center ever.” 

With a fan section of red camo cheering them on, the Red Devils soon scored first as Luke Skokna, junior running back, ran for his first touchdown of the day from five yards out. The team took a 7-0 lead as Quentin Wallace, senior kicker, successfully kicked the extra point.

The first quarter ended with the Red Devils up 7-0, and neither team would score until Skokna rushed for his second touchdown while there were 45 seconds left in the half. The team entered halftime up 13-0.

LT scored twice in the third quarter to set up a wild finish. The first LT touchdown came on a 52-yard pass from Ben Bryant, LT senior, who is the sixth-best football player in Illinois according to ESPN. LT rushed for their second touchdown of the third quarter and finished the quarter up 14-13.

The Red Devils fired back as Skokna scored his third rushing touchdown as the team took a 21-14 lead after completing a two-point conversion.

“The student section got really hyped up in the fourth quarter,” said Ryan Counts, junior. “It seemed like the team was feeding off of us and playing well.”

With just over a minute left in the game, LT scored to make it 21-20 in favor of the Red Devils. Instead of trying the game up and potentially sending it to overtime, LT decided to attempt a two-point conversion and failed.

With LT down 21-20, they attempted an onside kick and successfully recovered it, giving them a chance to win the game with 1:18 remaining.

The Red Devils defense held on and got the ball back with 26 seconds left on the clock. The team won the game 21-20 on their home turf.

“The rivalry definitely makes the game more interesting because so many students and parents come to support their school and having more people makes it way more fun,” said Sophie Papiernik, sophomore. 

Many of the fans went wild when the Devils held on at the end which many of the players said they enjoyed, especially when the score became so close. 

“Our coach always talks about E + R = O: Event plus response equals outcome. Many different ‘events’ happened in the game, particularly plays that the other team made or a penalty against us,” Kolke said. “Our response to the adversity during the game was phenomenal. We showed that no matter what happens, we will fight to the end and we never gave up during the game, and it is why we won.”

The team will play their last game of the regular season at Hinsdale South on Friday, Oct. 20 as they compete in the 35th Doings Cup.