Lyons Remains Hospitalized in Serious Condition

DeWayne Lyons, a defensive back at Chatsworth High, was still in serious condition at Northridge Medical Center on Tuesday after suffering a neck injury in the Chancellors’ 16-8 victory over Fairfax in the first round of the City Section 3-A Division football playoffs last week.

Lyons injured his neck in the second quarter while tackling a Fairfax receiver.

“He came up on the wide receiver and made a good hit,” Chatsworth Coach Myron Gibford said. “He tackled the kid, but Wayne didn’t get up.”

Lyons, a 5-8, 152-pound senior whom Gibford describes as a “tough kid with a big heart,” was taken to the hospital’s intensive-care unit after suffering the injury.

A hospital spokeswoman would not release information regarding the extent of Lyons’ injury. “It’s a real shock to the coaches and all the kids in school,” Gibford said of Lyons’ injury. “It’s a very emotional time for all of us, one that we’re going to have to overcome.

“It shakes you up pretty good. I don’t know if I’ve come to grips with it.”