Raiders roll to fifth victory
Glenbard South's offense is set up to take whatever the defense gives the Raiders, according to coach Dan Starkey. On Friday night at Yorkville, Starkey's offense did just that, with additional contributions from the defense and special teams.
The Raiders (5-2, 4-1 Western Sun Conference) overwhelmed host Yorkville (1-6, 0-5) in a 55-14 victory.
True to Starkey's words, the offense excelled in all areas from start to finish. Running back Curtis Ford paced the running game with 131 yards and 3 touchdowns. Junior quarterback Trace Wanless, playing in his third game after replacing injured starter Kevin Marshall, threw for 177 yards and 3 touchdowns. Wide receiver Jon Holland not only caught 4 passes for 129 yards and a 50-yard touchdown but also contributed a blocked punt that was recovered for a touchdown by Connor Douglas.
"You have to give credit to our offensive line first, not only allowing for the night we had running the football but for protecting Trace, who wasn't sacked," Starkey said. "We also had a lot of open receivers, and that's because our kids ran great routes. And you can't discount how Ford's running opened up the passing game. It was a total team effort."
The Raiders quickly opened the night's offensive onslaught. After a 44-yard pass from Wanless to Holland, Ford scored his first touchdown on a 25-yard run. Then after forcing a Yorkville three-and-out, the Raiders turned the ball over on downs, and it looked like the Foxes might have found an answer to the Raiders' offense.
But on the following Yorkville possession, Holland blocked the punt, and the ball was recovered in the end zone for a touchdown. Following the special teams touchdown, the Raiders went on to score 20 unanswered points, a deficit from which the hosts would not recover.
On defense Glenbard South held Yorkville to just 48 yards rushing and 154 overall. Raiders defensive back Brandon Phillips intercepted 2 passes, and Dan Parks added another to stifle several Yorkville threats.
"Brandon is a guy that no one seems to know about, but he's a tough hitter in the box, and tonight he made his presence known to Yorkville," Wanless said.
Speaking of himself, Wanless would only give credit to his offensive linemen and receivers. "I'm just trying to improve each week," he said.
Starkey, though, sent a bit of praise to the quarterback that wouldn't give any to himself.
"He's just a heck of an athlete. Trace can help us in a lot of different ways, but as you can see, as a quarterback, he has a real knack for making plays," Starkey said.