LAYTON — Strong defensive play has been a bread-and-butter staple for both Syracuse and Layton this season.

In the process of busting out to identical 6-1 starts, the Titans had allowed only 7.14 points per game and the Lancers had given up just 12.57 per outing. Those numbers only proved that points would be at a premium when the two teams finally clashed on the same field.

Layton defensive end Thomas Bryson helped show which defense was ultimately superior.

Bryson recorded four quarterback sacks — including two in the fourth quarter — to help the Lancers rally for a 17-10 victory over Syracuse on Friday night. He fell one sack shy of matching his season high set against Jordan earlier this season.

Layton sacked Braden Hamblin four times and limited the Titans to 11 yards over the final 11 1/2 minutes after they took a 10-7 lead on a 42-yard field goal by Josh Kealamakia 11 seconds into the quarter.

Bryson figured as long as they kept up the relentless pressure on Hamblin, it would keep Syracuse from doing any serious damage — even after Layton fell behind.

"Offensively was where we were thinking we needed to pick it up more," Bryson said. "But defensively I knew what we had to do. I wasn't surprised that's how well we were going to do because I knew our defense was good."

It didn't take long for Layton's offense to follow the defense's lead. Karl Williams broke open for a 75-yard touchdown gallop down the far sideline to help the Lancers retake a 14-10 lead only 35 seconds later.

It was the biggest part of a big night for Williams, who finished with 175 yards and two touchdowns on 29 carries. And it was also his first game in a while where he seemed like his old self after battling injuries for the past few weeks.

"This is the first game back I would say that Karl is even close to being 100 percent healthy, and we could see a difference," Layton coach Jim Batchelor said.

Williams helped the Lancers take a 7-0 lead in the first quarter after powering his way past the goal line for an 8-yard touchdown run. The Lancers held the Titans in check until T.J. Blickfeldt broke through the line and ran 42 yards untouched to make it 7-7 on the opening drive of the third quarter.

Syracuse tried desperately to answer Williams' fourth-quarter touchdown. But Bryson sacked Hamblin twice on the ensuing drive, and it seemed to rattle what was left of the Titans' confidence.

"When we needed to have some defensive plays made, Thomas — as well as the rest of our defense — came up big for us," Batchelor said. "They stepped up and made plays."

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E-mail: jcoon@desnews.com