In praise of Parker: Rochester coach credits senior linebacker with run to state finals

ROCHESTER — When a veteran coach says one of his players is one of the best he’s had, that’s quite the compliment.

When that coach has won eight state championships, has produced many successful collegiate football players and has had all-staters on an almost annual basis, that’s very high praise indeed.

Rochester senior Parker Lyons is one of those types, according to Rockets’ coach Derek Leonard.

The Rockets’ linebacker and left guard continues to impress Leonard and guide his fellow teammates. When Lyons’ close friend and co-interior linebacker Tyson Binion was lost for the rest of the season with a broken right ankle in the second round of the Class 4A playoffs, Lyons’ leadership skills were on display to get Jamal Bramer and Aaron McDannald up to speed.

Lyons, listed at 6 foot 1 and 220 pounds, has just one goal left: to help Rochester (13-0) win its ninth state title and the Rockets’ first since 2019 on Friday in the 4A championship game against Burbank St. Laurence (10-3) at Illinois State University’s Hancock Stadium. The game begins at 7 p.m.

“It's kind of what I’ve been fed from my family, my parents, my community is the big state championship and doing it the senior year,” said the National Honor Society member, Lyons.

"Special, special" player

Spend even a little time around Leonard and he’ll heap praise on many players. But what he doesn’t do is throw around terms like “one of the best” willy-nilly.

But Lyons draws those sentiments from the coaching legend.

“No. 1, he’s so tough. He’s one of the best o-linemen I’ve ever had and one of the best linebackers we’ve ever had,” Leonard said. “He could be a tight end or H-back in college. He’s a great leader but he’s also one of the smartest players I’ve ever been around.

“He’s a good athlete for his size. He could be our starting (defensive end), he could be our starting nose tackle, he could play tight end: he could be any of those positions and kind of be a college D-II (NCAA Division II) kind of kid at it. He’s one of those special, special kids and he’s brilliant on the field and his teammates play hard for him.

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Leonard said Lyons’ potential first caught his eye after he grew — both in height and filled out — ahead of his sophomore season.

“He’s so valuable at what he does. Those (linebacker and offensive line) are his best positions; he could just play those other things, which is rare for a lineman a lot of times or vice versa, for a defensive guy to play the line. He’s so versatile he’d be great at everything.”

Defense first

Ask Lyons to pick just one position and he’ll choose linebacker. He leads the team with 69 tackles — including 19 for losses — and has three interceptions and 2 ½ sacks for a defense allowing just 9.8 points per game with four shutouts and less than 170 yards of offense on average.

His body’s maturity has been a “huge game-changer,” Lyons said.

“You can kind of feel it with every play: just somebody coming to block you and you shed it that much easier,” he said. “You go to tackle somebody and let go down a lot easier. It’s a lot better.”

The increased size didn’t slow him down. Just the opposite he said, but he admitted with a chuckle that there wasn’t really anywhere for him to go but up.

“I think I used to characteristically be slow — I’m not the fastest guy in the world by any means, that’s why I’m playing offensive line,” Lyons added. “I’ve been in the weight room more, trying to build speed because that’s what I’ve lacked my whole life.”

Unsure future

Leonard called Lyons a coach on the field and Lyons embraced that role.

When the playoffs roll around and the junior varsity and freshman players dress for the postseason, Lyons said he encourages everyone to constantly observe during practice — whether or not they expect any playing time.

“I try to keep our practices on a script because I hate seeing people jacking around on the side and not really paying attention (instead) of getting mental reps, because they could be getting better each and every play,” Lyons said.

With Binion’s injury, senior Brody Nelson and juniors McDannald and Bramer have taken on an increased role at linebacker. Depth at the position has helped alleviate what might otherwise have been the devasting loss of Binion.

“Parker has to play a little bigger role but he’s also good for the younger guys, helping them,” Leonard said. “I think it’s more just his leadership every day. At our place, it’s awesome because those kids wanted to do it for Tyson.”

Lyons, who also was the catcher on the Rockets’ sectional finalist baseball team, is still undecided if he’ll play sports in college. He said that will be determined after he settles on a career path. He’s considering either kinesiology or finance. But could he see himself as a coach in the future?

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“It wouldn’t disappoint me,” Lyons said. “I could totally see myself being here. It would be fun.”

Maybe not as fun as winning the school’s ninth football championship might be. But first things first.

Contact Ryan Mahan: 788-1546, ryan.mahan@sj-r.com, Twitter.com/RyanMahanSJR.

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Rochester's Parker Lyons leaves it all on field in pursuit of ring