Lyons Twp. stuns Glenbard West
As Glenbard West's football players walked off Duchon Field stunned and disappointed Saturday afternoon, one question remained firmly planted in their minds.
What next?
"We told the kids, you can go two paths here," said Hilltoppers coach Chad Hetlet. "We can get better or we can get worse. And if we get worse our season will be over next week."
Lyons Twp. shocked Glenbard West with a 31-13 victory in Glen Ellyn, ruining the Hilltoppers' hopes of claiming the outright West Suburban Silver title.
The Lions (8-1, 5-1) will share the title with Glenbard West (8-1, 5-1), its third straight, and York (8-1, 5-1). The Hilltoppers also saw their 27-game regular-season winning streak snapped.
"Everyone was fired up for this game," said Lions running back Jaime Jones, who rushed for 162 yards and 3 touchdowns. "Everyone wanted this game, almost since the first day of the season. They were definitely the best team we've faced so far, but we just had to pull it out."
Glenbard West trailed for good after Jones scored on a 65-yard run to put the Lions ahead 14-7 late in the first quarter. His second touchdown made it 21-7 at the half.
Glenbard West's Nick Burrello rushed for 143 yards, 80 coming on a first-quarter touchdown run. The Hilltoppers, however, were hampered by mistakes all game long including a fumble, 2 interceptions and 8 penalties for 75 yards.
Other than Burrello's long run that tied the game at 7-7 an answer to a 1-yard scoring run by Lions quarterback Brian Kelley that was set up by a bad punt snap deep in Glenbard West territory the Hilltoppers' powerful ground game managed only 121 yards on 38 carries.
"It's something we're very proud of, to beat a team as great as Glenbard West on their field in Week 9," said Lions coach Kurt Weinberg. "We had our best week of preparation."
Beau Warden narrowed the gap to 21-13 early in the fourth quarter with a 1-yard scoring run, but the missed extra point kept the margin at 8 points. Glenbard West got the ball back four times but couldn't score again.
Zack Marshall blocked a punt to set up the Hilltoppers at their own 44-yard line, but an interception ended the drive. An unsuccessful fake punt on Glenbard West's next possession led to a 21-yard field goal by the Lions' Mike Pett with only 1:39 left.
Lyons Twp. added a final touchdown with 33 seconds left on a 6-yard run by Jones.
"They came out and played harder than us on every level, and it cost us," Marshall said. "Nothing we can do about it. All we can do is get better from this point on."