Glenbard South breathes easy against DeKalb

If Glenbard South ever needed a breather of a game, it was Saturday.

Down a few starters due to injuries, many other Raiders football players stepped up for a blistering 42-6 Western Sun Conference win at DeKalb.

The biggest loss on the field was senior quarterback Kevin Marshall, who had surgery this week to repair a broken index finger on his throwing hand. Junior Trace Wanless, however, made a seamless transition behind center to keep the offense running in top form.

Glenbard South (3-2, 2-1) scored on five of its seven first-half possessions while breaking out to a 35-0 halftime lead. After the Raiders scored less than three minutes into the second half, the remainder of the game was played with a running clock.

Curtis Ford scored on 2 touchdown runs, and Wanless threw for 4 touchdowns - two to Jon Holland and one apiece to Kyle Slott and Ryan McKean - and completed passes to six receivers.

"We definitely had a lot of guys out, but we had different guys come in and fill the positions," said Wanless, who completed 10 of 16 passes for 156 yards. "I was comfortable back there, but Marshall's a huge asset for this team, and losing him is going to be tough. But it was good today. We stepped up and played well."

It started on the Raiders' very first play from scrimmage when Ford ran 75 yards for a touchdown. He added another first-half touchdown run of 12 yards on his way to 119 yards on 10 carries, all but one coming in the first half.

Many of the starters, Ford included, earned a much-deserved rest for virtually the entire second half on a warm afternoon.

"Everybody came out to play," Ford said. "I knew I was going to touch the ball more and I just ran hard and did my best. The defense played hard and the line was blocking great."

While Marshall is at best questionable to play against Kaneland on Friday - and only at linebacker - the Raiders should get back two-way starter Nick Slezak from a concussion. They also played without defensive lineman Branden Shustar because of a shoulder separation.

None of it mattered against the Barbs (1-4, 1-2), who struggled until they scored a fourth-quarter touchdown on Damian Nelson's 14-yard run.

The Raiders outgained DeKalb 386-204 in total yards, limiting the Barbs to 6 first downs.

"Our coaches did a great job making sure we had depth on both sides of the ball," said Raiders coach Dan Starkey. "And our kids did a great job executing."