Glenbard W. finds a couple more stars
A lot of newsprint and cyberspace has been devoted to Glenbard West lineman Chris Watt, Illinois' No. 1 football recruit, who deserves all the praise he receives.
Another pair of Hilltoppers seniors evidently wouldn't mind a piece of the action.
After a first-half tussle Saturday with visiting Glenbard South in the Crosstown Kickoff Classic, Glenbard West quarterback Chris Cochrane hit receiver Jessie Condie on touchdown passes of 19 and 39 yards.
That vertical element combined with Glenbard West's 262 rushing yards earned a 34-7 Hilltoppers win at sunny Duchon Field.
"Coach (Chad Hetlet) really fired us up at halftime," said the 6-foot-4 Cochrane, who completed 6 of 10 passes for 142 yards. "We knew we weren't tired and we knew they were tired, so we came out and just punched them in the mouth. We showed them how to play some football."
Glenbard West (1-0) gained revenge after last season's inaugural Kickoff in which the Hilltoppers did everything but win. But even in a first-possession drive capped by Brandon Venson's 12-yard touchdown run, penalties hurt Glenbard West.
"We had to just settle down," Hetlet said.
Not before Glenbard South (0-1) compiled a 17-play, 74-yard drive featuring Sam Mitchell's circus catch of a 35-yard Kevin Marshall pass. Curtis Ford's 1-yard touchdown run tied the score with 5:05 before the half, nearly an 8-minute drive.
Before halftime Cochrane just missed on a fourth-down pass into the end zone that glanced off Condie's fingers. Still, they knew they had something.
"Our receivers coach is up in the press box, and I thought he was trying to get that play to happen a little more often," said Condie, whose orange, glare-reducing contact lenses looked otherworldly but helped him catch 4 passes for 98 yards.
He thought right. On Glenbard West's second possession of the third quarter Cochrane hit Condie for a 19-yard touchdown on the same flag pattern. It capped a 12-play, 90-yard drive that saw Watt, Mike Sandoz, Marty Detmer, Tim O'Neil and Mike Dixson gain control of the line against a winded Raider defense.
"At that point," said Raiders coach Dan Starkey, "that kind of broke our kids' backs a little bit."
The break was complete after Glenbard West's defense forced a three-and out. Venson returned a punt 21 yards and Cochrane and Condie teamed on a 39-yard touchdown pass for a 21-7 Hilltoppers lead at 11:06 of the fourth quarter.
Glenbard West added scores by Adam Bruere and Venson, who ran for 90 yards.
"We just lost it in the second half," said Marshall, who was sacked four times. "It was 7-7 in the third quarter and then we just kind of gave it to them."
Montini 34, Sacred Heart Griffin 31: Tommy DiCristina's 1-yard quarterback sneak with 1.5 seconds left on the clock pulled Montini all the way back from a 21-0 first-half deficit.
Montini (1-0), which trailed 28-7 at halftime, beat Griffin for the second straight year after five prior defeats in the season-opening nonconference series.
DiCristina threw for touchdown passes to Christian Westerkamp and Brendan Shannon, and Matt Sloan ran for a touchdown.
More than one of the greatest comebacks in program history, the victory marked the 200th career victory in the 30-year career of Hall of Fame Montini coach Chris Andriano.