Glenbard W. at full speed against Hononegah
ROCKTON - Glenbard West's defense is the envy of its opponents.
"We both run the 3-3 stack defense, and there were things we picked up from film that they were doing that we'd like to put into our 3-3 stack," Rockton Hononegah coach Tim Sughroue said Saturday.
Last week Glenbard West's defense was so good the Hilltoppers could win with half a team, but Hononegah got the full Glenbard West treatment in the Hilltoppers' 27-14 second-round Class 7A playoff victory.
The Hilltoppers beat No. 16 seed Rockford Guilford 28-0 last week by forcing 5 turnovers and allowing 0 first downs after the opening drive, but Glenbard West also didn't score in that game until a fourth-down run with five seconds left in the half.
Saturday, the No. 1-seeded Hilltoppers never punted until the final three minutes and led 27-0 at the half.
"In the last couple of weeks, we've been coming out slow," quarterback Tyler Warden said. "We wanted to show that the offense can carry our own and we don't have to rely on the defense to win."
Warden did much of that showing himself. He threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to JT Mesch to cap a game-opening drive and put the Hilltoppers (11-0) ahead 7-0. On Glenbard West's second drive Warden rolled right on third-and-5 and hit Mesch in the corner of the end zone for a 15-yard touchdown to make it 14-0.
"Those two pass plays were huge," Sughroue said. "That one couldn't have been thrown any better in the corner of the end zone."
The Hilltoppers drove 67 and 70 yards on those first two drives and converted all four third-down attempts. They actually gained 90 yards on the second TD drive, overcoming three penalties.
"If we're really clicking on all cylinders, our offense can go against anyone," Warden said. "We were unstoppable in the first half."
Jack Marston's 38-yard interception return made it 21-0 on the third play of the second quarter.
No. 9-seeded Hononegah (8-3) got its first stop when Glenbard West fumbled a snap at the 9 with less than a minute left in the half, but the Indians fumbled the ball back on the very next play. Mesch made it 27-0 one play later with a 16-yard run.
He was one of five Hilltoppers with at least 20 yards rushing in the first half. Glenbard West finished with 207 yards rushing, including 139 in the first half. Adam Bruere led the way with 76 yards on 9 carries. Warden passed for 92 yards, 52 of them to Mesch.
Hononegah scored 2 touchdowns against Glenbard West's backups in the last five minutes but never threatened.
"We just couldn't move the ball against them," said Brian Rothmaler, who scored both Hononegah touchdowns, the first on a 29-yard hook-and-ladder play.
Glenbard West now moves on to play St. Charles North (8-3) in the quarterfinals. The Hilltoppers lost in the semifinals to eventual state champ East St. Louis last year and are a school-record 23-1 the last two years. They were 1-8 before coach Chad Hetlet took over three years ago.
"Twenty years ago we won state," Warden said of Glenbard West's 1983 Class 5A state title. "We want to bring it back to those glory days.
"Coach Hetlet really brought discipline and hard work into the program. We did a complete 180 that first year, going 1-8 and then going to the second round of the playoffs."
"It was talent," Hetlet said. "A lot of talent. Plus some great assistant coaches and a community that wanted to be winners. It was the perfect formula."