Glenbard South jumps back into first place in conference

Glenbard South's football outlook changed for the better Friday night.

With their 34-14 victory over Yorkville on Friday night in Glen Ellyn, the Raiders became eligible for the postseason, and their playoff points make them a good bet to make it.

With Geneva's 21-14 loss to Rochelle, Glenbard South (5-2, 3-1) finds itself in a first-place tie in the Western Sun Conference with only road games at Rochelle and Sycamore to go.

There were many heroes for the Raiders. For instance, junior fullback John Hentges took advantage of the muddy field to grind out 101 yards rushing and a touchdown.

"I was really hoping to see a breakout game from John tonight," Raiders coach Dan Starkey said. "I don't know how many yards he had, but he was really a workhorse for us, and that's what we need on a night like this is some other guys to step up. Besides John our offensive line had probably one of their better games of the year also."

Connor Douglas added a 48-yard kickoff return on special teams, an interception on defense and 43 yards rushing and a TD on offense.

"Connor's a heck of a playmaker," Starkey said. "He's fast, he's talented."

"We just had good blocks, and with this muddy field we knew we had to have a good run game," Douglas added. "We just slammed it through. Hentges had a good game."

Quarterback Trace Wanless threw 2 touchdown passes to Nick Slezak and 1 more to Mike Rovansek. And the Raiders defense held Yorkville in check most of the night.

The score was tied at 7 late in the second quarter when the Raiders took over the ball on their own 20-yard line after a missed Yorkville field goal. Twelve plays later Wanless hit Slezak with a fourth-and-10 17-yard touchdown pass with 16 seconds to go.

That gave the Raiders momentum for the second half, and they quickly put the game out of reach with 3 TDs in the third quarter.

"Those are difference-making plays," said Yorkville coach James Still, whose team played wihtout starting quarterback Luke Parece. "(Starkey's) team is outstanding. They're going to have a show now with the Geneva loss to Rochelle to win the league, and I really thought they were the best team coming into this year because they the most experience returning and a ton of just talented players."