Brady guides Glenbard West past York
Senior quarterback Cole Brady added his name to the list of weapons for the Glenbard West football team.
When York's strong defense hoped to stuff the Hilltoppers' running attack Friday, Brady threw his first two touchdown passes of the season in the first half. He finished with 3 and 225 passing yards as the Hilltoppers won their West Suburban Silver opener 42-7 in Elmhurst.
"It's nice to start off offensively and give the defense a break for at least a week, but hopefully we keep it going," Brady said.
"We always try to pound the ball and then go play action (passing). It was just open right away. We just kept going to it and it just kept working."
Brady completed 8 of 16 passes for the Hilltoppers (3-0) and had a key 80-yard TD bomb to Alec Pierce for a 21-7 lead 8:20 before halftime just after the Dukes (1-2) turned a muffed punt recovery at the Hilltoppers' 18-yard line into a 2-yard TD pass from Charlie Pakenas to Grant Melion.
Brady added the game's final TD with a 63-yard strike to Ben Reifel with 5:16 left. Deonte Moorehead, Ryan Diver and Keith Bowers had TD runs of 3, 16 and 19 yards, respectively.
"I think York is very good defensively. But I was really impressed with how we played on the offensive side of the ball for sure," Glenbard West coach Chad Hetlet said. "We moved the ball extremely well. I thought Cole had a good night. I thought our receivers did a good job catching the ball. Our offensive line did an awesome job when we were running the ball."
The Hilltoppers went 72 yards on their opening drive with Brady hitting tight end Alex Pihlstrom on a 4-yard TD pass. Dre Thomas, who rushed for 145 yards, had a 44-yard run to initiate the next drive ended by Moorehead's TD run.
York's Keith Freeman recovered the muffed punt. The Dukes' TD was the first allowed by Glenbard West over the first three quarters this season, but their success was short lived. The Dukes only had eight first downs and their second half began with a lost fumble near midfield and linebacker Eric Samuta's interception at the 15.
"We tried to change some things up a little bit on their pass but they got behind us," York coach Matt Monken said. "They've got good receivers and they caught the ball. They just wore us down a little bit. I thought our kids fought hard. It's just they're a good team."
Pierce's first touchdown came as he leaped and beat the defender to the ball. He then stumbled but managed to recover to run the final 40 yards.
"Cole just threw a great ball," Pierce said. "I just kind of kept my knees driving and kept on running. I just wanted to make sure I didn't slow down. Maybe I put my hand down. I wanted to score a touchdown for the team."
The Hilltoppers overcame 139 penalty yards compared with York's 75. After three road victories the Hilltoppers now play at home next week against Downers Grove North.
"I think we grew up a ton as a team," Hetlet said. "Each group each year you've got to find your own way. It was a big win for us in terms of growing up as a team and cleaning up some mistakes."