Staff photo / Brian Yauger. Mathews’ Corey Lilley weaves his way through the Mahoning Valley offense after picking off a pass during the Jack Arvin All-Star Classic on Thursday.

HUBBARD — One of the most explosive plays of this past week’s Jack Arvin Football Classic came from Mathews senior Corey Lilley.

Lilley not only made a great interception off a deep pass, but returned it nearly the whole length of the field for a score in what would be a 31-21 victory for the Trumbull County squad.

Getting to represent Mathews one last time was a special feeling, especially playing one last time with quarterback Isaiah Munno.

“It was amazing,” Lilley said. “I had a really great time and it was very good with the coaches this week and a couple of weeks ago. It was great.”

Lilley has had a crazy week of his own. Before Thursday’s all-star game, Lilley was down in Columbus representing the Mustangs at the state track and field meet in the long jump event. He qualified for the state meet, placing third in the region with a jump of 20 feet, 9.5 inches.

The Mathews senior placed 13th with a jump of 19 feet, 11 inches in Columbus.

Just a few days later, he had a set of pads on, wearing his helmet and representing Mathews and Trumbull County.

“(It’s been) a little hectic. Not too bad though,” Lilley said. “I love putting in the work and making myself better every day. … I didn’t do the best, but I still placed 13th out of the whole state. I’ll take it.”

When he made that interception, it felt like time kind of stopped. Rather than instantly going to stop him, he said that everyone just froze.

That being said, the freeze didn’t last long. As soon as everyone realized what happened, the Mahoning team bull-rushed Lilley, but the Mustang wove through the hordes and broke off down the sideline. When he hit the endzone, the Trumbull sideline cleared to go celebrate with him.

“It was kind of weird because I saw players just kind of standing there looking at me,” Lilley said. “I honestly felt like I was in a video game, zigzagging through the field and whatnot.”

Lilley was listed as a running back and defensive end for the Mustangs this past season, and helped guide Mathews to its first winning season since 2017 with a record of 6-4.

“I played both sides (of the ball) and we had a way better season than our junior year,” Lilley said. “We just came out and played this year and had a better record.”

He hopes this isn’t just a blip of a season and the future generations of Mustangs use last season as a jumping off point to greater success down the road. The size of Mathews makes it a special community.

“I hope Bohren gets them together, gets them in line and continues to coach them well,” Lilley said. “I hope they continue to do well for the school and make the school a bigger program and it makes people want to go to Mathews.

“It’s an honor (to represent Mathews) because it’s such a small school and everyone’s basically family there. Everyone just is thankful for each other.”

byauger@tribtoday.com