Shane Golden's gift shifts momentum in Eagles' favor

The defensive back intercepted a pass and returned it 51 yards for a touchdown.
By TOM WILLIAMS
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
AUSTINTOWN -- For 35 minutes, the unheralded Lisbon High football team was hanging tough against bigger, faster, second-seeded Warren JFK.
But in the final minute of the third quarter of Friday's Region 17 championship game, Eagles defensive back Shane Golden stole a pass by the Blue Devils' fourth-year quarterback, Jay Yorty, and returned it 51 yards.
Golden's touchdown gave the Eagles a 21-7 lead and some breathing room against the pesky Devils. It also ignited a JFK celebration while deflating the Lisbon sideline to funeral-home quiet for most of the fourth quarter.
"I was blessed to come up with the pick, make a couple of moves and get to the end zone," Golden said.
"Bad throw," Yorty said. "We had to keep possession, but we got that third-and-long and ..."
Out of reach
The Eagles added two touchdowns in the fourth quarter for a 35-13 victory that sends them to the Division V state semifinals.
"That score, I don't think it reflects the game we played," Yorty said. "We were right there. We challenged."
Moments before Golden's touchdown, the Blue Devils threw a scare into the Eagles when sophomore defensive back Josh Grafton jumped high and stretched to intercept a long pass by Eagles quarterback John DiFiore at the Lisbon 37.
"It was tremendous, a very athletic play that really helped us by getting some momentum back," Lisbon coach Jim Tsilimos said.
Three plays later, Golden put momentum in his pocket and took off for his long score.
"That interception took a lot away from us," said Frank Gallo, Lisbon's senior fullback/linebacker. "The defense started missing tackles and they played a lot better than we did [in the final quarter]. Turnovers killed us."
Although the Eagles dominated the first half with 42 offensive plays, they led just 7-0, a score that had the eighth-seeded Blue Devils clinging to hope.
"We knew we were in the game with a chance to win," said Yorty, who plays linebacker on defense. "Our defense was playing great. But when we went out for the second half, we didn't execute."
Tsilimos cited the Devils' six turnovers as damaging.
"We had a lot of mistakes and they force you into some turnovers," Tsilimos said. "JFK is a great football team and they deserve to move on. We just didn't get it done, [but] I was pleased with how we played in the first quarter."
Lineman Adam Snyder, one of JFK's handful of two-way players, said, "We were flat in the first half, we weren't blocking very well.
"They were aggressive, they were physical up front," Snyder said. "[But] our hard work [paid off] and we just wore them down."
Passing the test
After easy wins over Smithville and South Range, Snyder said Lisbon gave the Eagles their toughest postseason test.
"This team was a lot more physical than the first two [playoff] teams we played," Snyder said. "These kids didn't quit -- they played until the end."
Golden agreed.
"Oh man, Lisbon is a great football team," the senior wide receiver/defensive back said. "I was absolutely not surprised that the score was that close. I know Lisbon from track and there are some competitors on that team. They were hitting hard."
JFK coach Tony Napolet said the Eagles dominated in the trenches, which led to his team running 68 plays.
"[We] should all thank the offensive line because John never was pressed in throwing the ball," Napolet said.
Tsilimos said the 14-point deficit forced Lisbon to start throwing.
"We're not that type of offense -- we're more stacked-I and they took us out of it," Tsilimos said.
williams@vindy.com