Glenbard West does (almost) everything right
Glenbard West coach Chad Hetlet didn't like the bad penalties or poor kick coverage he felt marred Saturday's Class 7A quarterfinal.
When those are a football coach's greatest concerns, his team's in pretty good shape.
The top-seeded Hilltoppers were, beating No. 12 seed St. Charles North 45-12 in the last game Glenbard West's seniors will play at Duchon Field.
Glenbard West (12-0) advances to its second straight 7A semifinal, either at No. 15 seed Wheaton North or No. 11 Lake Zurich.
"Our defense has really been carrying us the last few weeks, and we really got challenged this week. I thought we really came out, we executed really well," said Glenbard West receiver J.T. Mesch, who scored on a 3-yard run and a perfect 53-yard pass from Tyler Warden to give the Hilltoppers a 35-6 halftime lead.
Glenbard West's 3-5 defense intercepted 4 passes and recovered 2 fumbles, creating momentum for an offense that gained 387 yards to the North Stars' 181, including a 195-36 disparity on the ground.
"We saw them play and we saw it on film - they're a very aggressive, very fast team. It wasn't anything we didn't expect," said St. Charles North coach Mark Gould, who led his 8-4 North Stars further than in seven prior playoff trips.
Glenbard West led 14-0 before the North Stars ran an offensive play. Adam Bruere scored on a 2-yard run, and Joe Busch's fumble recovery on the ensuing kickoff led to Pierre Washington-Steel's 4-yard touchdown run.
"Physical and mental mistakes will happen. They're just a good enough team that they capitalize on just about every one of them," said St. Charles North quarterback Jake Bergren, who teamed up with Jeff Stolzenburg on a pair of 20-yard touchdown passes.
The first one, a flare right, sent a 14-6 score into the second quarter.
Glenbard West answered on a 6-play drive capped by a Bruere 3-yard touchdown run.
Then three bad North Stars omens. Josh Mikes' 52-yard kickoff return was brought back on a penalty. Two plays later Glenbard West's Tim Hollowed stripped the ball, Connor Loftus recovered and took it to the North Stars' 3 to set up Mesch's scoring run.
"I lost count of the turnovers we forced, (but) we hit hard and we intimidated them all day," Loftus said.
Third, Glenbard West's defense held after Conner Mohs' 72-yard kickoff return to the 8-yard line with 17.2 seconds left before halftime.
Bergren and Stolzenburg's hitch-and-go provided the third quarter's only scoring, but 2 Cody Olsen interceptions cooled the North Stars.
Glenbard West added a 37-yard Hollowed field goal and a late touchdown pass to Mark Hiben from Mike Matthew to end St. Charles North's furthest playoff encroachment.
"It's almost bitter that we were that team, but we just couldn't get that far, all the way," said North Stars senior linebacker Spencer Swarts. "But it feels very good."