by Roy Taylor, Daily Herald Correspondent

Prior to their Class 3A playoff football game Friday night, Lisle coach Dan Sanko reminded his players that they hadn’t scored a point in eight quarters at Plano, which is home of the Reapers and a haunted house of sorts for the Lions.

Score some points, force Plano to punt and take care of the ball, Sanko told them, and anything can happen.

The Lions looked like a different team in the early part of the game, quieting the home crowd with a touchdown on the game’s opening drive. But Plano’s running game was too much for the visitors in the end, as the Reapers (10-0) defeated Lisle 31-14.

Plano’s attack was led by running back Nick Nasti, who amassed 293 yards rushing and 4 touchdowns.

“After losing that first game this year (42-0 in August), the biggest thing the team needed this week was an attitude adjustment,” Sanko said. “The kids had to believe that they could come in and play with these guys, and I’m very proud of them for the way they moved the ball.”

This attitude adjustment was apparent on the first drive of the game when the Lions (5-5) drove 67 yards on 11 plays for a touchdown. The drive concluded with a 7-yard scoring run by running back Josh McLeod.

“We used our crossbuck play all night, and we were getting 5 yards a crack,” McLeod said. “We changed our blocking schemes on that play from the last time we played them, and we think that helped,” he added.

Lisle’s confidence got a further boost on Plano’s first play from scrimmage when the defense stuffed Nasti for a loss. On the next play, however, the running back dashed for a 73-yard score.

The teams traded punts, and after Lisle’s second punt offensive lineman Pat Kolosky recovered a Plano fumble. This set the Lions up at the opposition’s 39, but they couldn’t move the ball and were forced to punt themselves.

Plano went on to score 2 touchdowns in the second quarter, giving them a 19-7 lead at the half.

Sanko urged his team at the break to regain its aggressiveness.

“I felt we may have gotten a little complacent after that first score,” he said.

The team responded by stuffing Plano on fourth down, and on another series forcing a Nasti fumble that was recovered by Ed Fisher.

On the first play after the fumble recovery, quarterback Ryan Husch connected with Kyle Kovich for a 24-yard touchdown pass, narrowing the margin to 19-14. But Plano scored 12 more points in the final period, sealing the win for the Reapers.

“We played them real tough, but we just didn’t make enough plays when we needed to,” McLeod said.