Glenbard West, South to renew football rivalry

In what is being billed as the Cross Town Kick-Off Classic, Glenbard West and Glenbard South football teams will meet for the first time in 20 years this weekend.

The Glenbard West Hilltoppers will travel across town Saturday to play the Glenbard South Raiders in an afternoon football game at Raider Stadium, 23W200 Butterfield Road, Glen Ellyn.

The varsity game kicks off at 1:30 p.m., while the sophomores will warm up the crowd with an 11:15 a.m. contest.

While the two schools are athletic rivals in almost every other sport, the last time they squared off on the gridiron none of the current students at either school had even been born. The Chicago Bears were still basking in the glow of Super Bowl XX, and Barry Bonds was more than 700 home runs shy of Hank Aaron's record.

So what should we expect with this renewed rivalry? Based on other meetings between the schools, there should be no lack of enthusiasm on either side, according to John Treiber, assistant principal for athletics at Glenbard South.

"Football is probably the most intense sport because of the physicalness of it all," he said. "But we play them in everything, and the kids grow up together in town. They play on each other's teams in feeder programs and things like that, so they all pretty much know each other."

Treiber cites as evidence the continued rivalry between the two schools in baseball and softball, as well as the annual Thanksgiving basketball tournament at Glenbard West when all four Glenbard teams participate.

"It's a wild crowd," Treiber said. "We always play them (West) in the finale so it's a wild night over there at West."

Glenbard West Assistant Principal for Athletics Barry Huitema joined the school this past July after serving for 22 years as athletic director for several other schools. He knows something about rivalries, although he is new to the Glenbard version.

"I really am very open-minded about it," he said. "Everybody goes into it hoping they're going to win and hoping that they're going to start off their season on the right foot. I guess that's what we're doing right now. Not only with the athletic program, but starting off the school year right with behavior and getting enthusiastic about the beginning of the school year."

The idea for the renewed rivalry took hold nearly two years ago. Once the scheduling conflicts could be worked out, the principals of both schools gave their approval, assuming certain stipulations were met.

Seating was a concern, and the game was originally going to be played at North Central College in Naperville. With a seating capacity of 5,500, the attendance concerns seemed to be put to rest.

A few weeks ago, however, North Central deemed it necessary to move the game from an afternoon time slot to Saturday night, which upended another stipulation that at least the initial game should be played during the day.

"We decided to talk to our new principal, Terri Hanrahan, and she said she'd like to have the game at our place because we're the host team," Treiber said.

"So we moved it over, and now we're just trying to seat everybody. We're going to squeeze them in and the town of Glen Ellyn will probably be rocking (tomorrow)."

Huitema was also pleased with the change of venue for the game.

"It doesn't bother me because that means we're going to be the host school next year," he said. "And we won't have to go to North Central."

Although the game is being played just a few days after the start of classes, both schools have been doing their best to promote the game and generate interest. They have been promoting advance ticket sales since registration, and have had a commemorative ticket designed.

They have had T-shirts made up, and have even had the team captains of both teams pose for a photo shoot together posted on the Glenbard South Web site.

Both booster clubs also have been working together to promote the renewed rivalry, and a traveling trophy has been put together for the winner to hold on to until the next season.

Admission to the game is $4 for adults, $2 for students. Fans are also being asked to bring canned goods to be donated to a local food pantry.

With the opening kick off just hours away, both teams are hoping to have a good showing for their fans. The Raiders finished last year with a 3-6 record, while the Hilltoppers were 1-8.

"Not exactly two powerhouses going at it," Huitema said. "But sometimes games like this can be the best."

And well worth the wait.