Pure skill can only take a team so far in high school football. Camaraderie on the field can be just as key.
This season, Lyons football is taking that lesson to heart, and the Lions’ record book can thank them for it. Four weeks into the new year, they have yet to lose a contest as they’ve systematically worked their way into the CHSAANow.com Class 1A 8-man rankings.
After defeating No. 9 Merino in a tantalizing top-10 matchup last Friday with a 36-16 final score, they moved up to No. 7 in this week’s coaches poll. If they continue down the road they’re currently on, having outscored their first four opponents, 156-38, they’ll continue climbing up in the rankings toward the top.
“It is definitely coming into fruition with everything they put in for the summer being applied, and everything’s kind of carrying through,” head coach Jason Yantzer said. “We’re building more off of that foundation every game. Game by game, we’re getting better. We have focus points and keys that we’re looking at to build this team and build a program and to move it forward. Every year, these guys are just ramping it up every week.”