Rams march to homecoming win

It was a 60-yard drive to win a homecoming game, and everybody had a hand in it.

Glenbard East's 22-18 win over visiting West Chicago was punctuated by a 5-yard Aaron Hall touchdown run in Lombard and built on a 33-yard pass to Nick Hogan and a pivotal 1-yard conversion run on fourth down to keep the drive alive by Rams quarterback Jack Merrithey.

"You have to give him all the credit in the world," Rams coach Dennis Lueck said of Merrithey. "He's the smallest guy on the field, and he makes a huge first down there.

"We did a nice job last week with our two-minute, no huddle stuff, and he did a nice job again tonight."

Glenbard East (3-2, 1-2 DuPage Valley Conference) trailed 6-0 after West Chicago (1-4, 0-3) marched 80 yards to set up a 3-yard touchdown run by Mike Dylla, who had 22 carries and 94 rushing yards on the day.

The Rams answered with the first of two long runs by Matthew Clark. Clark's 56-yard run set up a 1-yard touchdown run from Mark Krueger, and the Rams led 7-6.

Glenbard East scored again in the second after a 43-yard Clark run set up a 2-yard touchdown pass from Merrithey to Krueger, but the Wildcats got a 20-yard touchdown pass from A.J. Romanelli to Clark Hudmon before halftime and trailed 14-12.

The third quarter belonged to the West Chicago offense, which ate up 11 minutes of clock with a 79-yard ground game drive, capped by a 1-yard touchdown plunge by Romanelli.

Romanelli threw for 101 yards to the Rams' 40 passing yards on the night, and the Wildcats earned a 246-206 edge in rushing yards.

"We played hard, and I'm certainly proud of our kids," said West Chicago coach Hal Chiodo. "They keep coming back and playing hard, and we certainly didn't get any breaks tonight."

West Chicago's Greg Vodicka stopped a Rams' fourth-quarter drive with an interception, and the Rams' Ryan Kasper returned the favor with an interception on the ensuing series.

With 2:37 left in the game, the Rams started their game-winning drive with a pass to Hogan. Lee Skinner caught a pass during the drive, before Merrithey's big run and Hall's touchdown gave the Rams the win.

"It came down to that fourth and 1, and they put the ball in my hands, which I'm always happy to do," Merrithey said. "The offensive line had a great push, and I just kept fighting for that 1 yard."

"He's got guts, I'll give him that," Hall said of Merrithey. "He only weighs like 130 pounds."