Scouting Glenbard West at Lake Zurich
CLASS 7A SEMIFINALS
No. 1 Glenbard West (12-0) at No. 11 Lake Zurich (9-3)
When 1 p.m. today
Road to the semifinals Glenbard West def. No. 16 Rockford Guilford (28-0) in the first round, No. 9 Rockton Hononegah (27-14) in the second round and No. 12 St. Charles North (45-12) in the quarterfinals. Lake Zurich def. No. 6 Rolling Meadows (16-6) in the first round, No. 3 Crystal Lake South (30-28) in the second round and No. 15 Wheaton North (24-17) in the quarterfinals.
Glenbard West's playoff history Glenbard West earned a playoff appearance in 2001 after missing the cut the previous six years. The Hilltoppers then qualified for the next two years before missing the next three (2004, 2005, 2006). In 2007, in coach Chad Hetlet's first season, the Hilltoppers ended that drought and qualified for the playoffs. They haven't missed since. Glenbard West won its only state championship in 1983.
Lake Zurich's playoff history The Bears have been to the playoffs 12 times since 1987 but had a six year drought prior to 2002. They haven't missed since then. In fact, Lake Zurich has been one of Lake County's best playoff teams in recent years. This will be the third time in the last four years that the Bears have played in the state semifinals. In 2006, Lake Zurich advanced to the state title game and wound up taking second place. In 2007, the Bears took the next step and won the state title, beating Wheaton Warrenville South in Champaign, 7-3.
Coaches Chad Hetlet of Glenbard West (30-6, 3 years); Bryan Stortz of Lake Zurich (40-10, 4 years).
Skinny Just one victory stands between Lake Zurich and its third state title game appearance in four years. But you won't catch the Bears thinking about that. "We're not really talking about state," Lake Zurich coach Bryan Stortz said. "We talked to the kids about how you can't get too caught up in looking ahead and not focus in on what's right in front of you." - Lake Zurich is coming off a wild quarterfinal win over Wheaton North. The Bears were up 24-3 at the end of the third quarter but had to hang on for a 24-17 victory after Wheaton North scored two quick touchdowns in a furious fourth-quarter rally. "It was good for our kids to come away with a win in a game like that," Stortz said. "Obviously, they were pretty concerned (during Wheaton North's rally), but they seemed calm and they did we they had to do to close out the game. If we have another tight game like that and are in another pressure situation like that, I think our kids know that they have what it takes to win the game." - Against Wheaton North, the Lake Zurich defense, led by Andy Blechschmidt and Kevin Gratys, was stellar for three quarters and came up with a clutch interception in the end to salt the game away once and for all. Offensively, the Bears had a fairly balanced rushing attack the rotated the ball between Jacob Brinlee, Mike Shield and Devian Ruiz. Brinlee, who has set school records for most rushing yards (1,593), touchdowns (24) and points (132) in a season, rolled up a game-high 133 yards on 20 carries. He also scored 2 touchdowns, including an 80-yarder. "Glenbard West is actually pretty similar to us offensively and even defensively," Stortz said. "The run a jet sweep/rocket sweep with a lot of counters. They are very much a run-oriented offense."-The Hilltoppers are averaging 36.8 points per game and get a bulk of their rushing yards from Pierre Washington Steele, Adam Bruere and J.T. Mesch. Bruere and Mesch scored 2 touchdowns apiece in last week's victory over St. Charles North. One of Mesch's touchdowns was a 53-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Tyler Warden, who completed 7-of-14 passes for 177 yards. "He's got a strong arm," Stortz said of Warden. "He's a nice complement to a good running game." - Like Lake Zurich, Glenbard West has a weapon in its kicking game. Kicker Tim Hollowed booted a 37-yard field goal last week against St. Charles North. Meanwhile, Lake Zurich got a 32-yarder from Max Methling against Wheaton North. Punter Kevin Looff has also been giving the Bears solid field position lately. - The Glenbard West defense is allowing just 9.2 points per game and has pitched three shutouts this season. In three playoff games, the Hilltoppers have given up 26 points, which includes a shutout of Rockford Guilford in the first round. Meanwhile, Lake Zurich is allowing 14.2 points per game. "There should be a big crowd," Stortz said of Saturday's game. "We've brought in extra bleachers (for the end zones). It should be a fun game."
Up Next Winner advances to the Class 7A state championship game at the University of Illinois in Champaign on Nov. 28 and will face today's winner of East St. Louis (10-2) at Wheaton Warrenville South (11-1).