Carev lifts Glenbard N. past Glenbard E.
Glenbard North coach Ryan Wilkens knew if senior receiver Mike Carev got the ball on the kickoff, he'd do something special with it. Turns out Wilkens was right.
The Panthers used a 93-yard kickoff return from Carev to spark a second-half dominance that finally put pesky Glenbard East away. After the Rams nursed a 14-13 lead into the half, the Panthers outscored their DVC brethren 31-3 in the final 24 minutes en route to a 44-17 victory Friday evening.
"It was huge for us," Wilkens said of the kickoff return. "I told the team to pick up a man and he'll beat a person. And then bang, it lifted us in the second half."
Carev admitted his coach wanted him to touch the ball more.
"Coach actually wanted me to get the ball every time (on kickoffs)," Carev said.
Rams coach Dennis Lueck admitted the quick score changed the complexion of the game.
"That opening kickoff doesn't help," Lueck said. "It just seemed like everything snowballed from there."
Glenbard North opened the scoring after senior Watkins hit Carev with a 39-yard strike after a flawless play-action fake. Glenbard East responded with a 14-play, 73-yard drive that ended on a 3-yard score by junior Matthew Clark.
Glenbard East (3-4, 1-4) took the lead after turning a fumble recovery into a 5-play touchdown drive that was punctuated by a scrambling touchdown pass by junior quarterback Jack Merrithey. Merrithey eluded two tacklers, scurried to his left and made a throw on the run to senior tight end Nick Hogan for a 9-yard touchdown score.
Watkins and the Panthers answered almost immediately after the senior quarterback found fellow senior receiver Andrew Ngyuen with a 55-yard pass that set up another Glenbard North score. Senior back Tyler Doll rushed for a 3-yard score, but the Panthers missed the extra point, trailing 14-13 at the end of the half.
Following Carev's kick return, the Panthers dominated the second half. Watkins utilized both his arm and legs to score touchdowns while sophomore running back Devin Harkins found the end zone twice. The Panthers rolled up 377 total yards. Watkins finished with 159 yards through the air and 46 on the ground.
"We started out rusty," Watkins said. "The kickoff return gave us a lot of momentum and we marched downfield well."