LYONS — On a day Lyons paid homage to its legendary late coach John “Jet” Johnson, it was the latest pack of Lions who pulled off one of the greatest wins in the program’s storied history.
Wearing retro jerseys that more resembled those of their opponents from Akron, Lyons made its 17-0 halftime lead over the Rams hold up for a 17-15 win in the first round of the Class 1A state playoffs.
“We told them at 17-0 we didn’t want that scenario because you get lulled into complacency,” said Lyons coach John Nichols, whose team lost 49-22 to Akron in the quarterfinals last season. “We told them you’ve got to play 48 minutes, and that has been our mantra.
“Last year, we played 41 and got beat in the last seven.”
Up next for No. 7 Lyons (8-2) is a date with No. 2 Hotchkiss (9-1) on Saturday, back on its home field.
After a big first half in which Lyons quarterback Roland Valadez rushed for 107 yards — including a 59-yard touchdown — the Rams buckled down on defense in the second half and gave their dangerous single-wing attack plenty of chances.
Akron (6-4), seeded No. 10, put together back-to-back scoring drives of 65 and 94 yards, each culminating with a Jourdan Hottinger touchdown, that drew them to within one score with nine minutes to play.
“We just shot ourselves in the foot one too many times,” Akron coach Brian Christensen said. “But they did what they needed to do, and congratulations to them.”
After managing just 4 yards on nine plays in the second half, the Lions got the ball back with 3:39 to play. Valadez ran the ball three straight times, forcing the Rams to burn their final timeout, and eventually ran out the clock.
“This is a huge mental monkey off our back, because that team has been knocking us out of the playoffs for years,” said Valadez, who finished with 133 yards on 15 carries. “We finally kicked them off.”
Hottinger finished with 177 yards on 24 carries and the two scores.
Akron 0 0 8 7 — 15
Lyons 0 17 0 0 — 17
L — Valadez 59 run (Donnell kick). L — Wicen 13 run (Donnell kick). L — FG Donnell 28. A — Hottinger 1 run (Hottinger run). A — Hottinger 5 run (Hottinger kick).
Jon E. Yunt: 303-954-1354 or jyunt@denverpost.com
