Glenbard West rolls over Plainfield North

One play in, it looked like it might be a long day for Glenbard West's football team.

By the end of the game, though, the long day belonged to Plainfield North.

The Hilltoppers rolled to a 51-12 victory over Plainfield North and Colorado State-bound running back Kapri Bibbs in Saturday's opening-round Class 7A game in Glen Ellyn.

Bibbs, who came into the game with 2,600 rushing yards, electrified the crowd at Duchon Field by breaking through the line for an 80-yard touchdown run on the first play from scrimmage. Glenbard West's defense dominated from that point forward, holding Bibbs to a final tally of 129 yards on 23 carries.

“After that first play we knew how good (Bibbs) was and we ended up cracking down on him,” said Hilltoppers linebacker Beau Warden. “Our whole defense was keying on him the whole time. We came back on full throttle on offense and defense.”

The Hilltoppers (9-1), bouncing back from last week's disappointing loss to Lyons Twp., kept churning up yardage with their own electric running back: Nick Burrello, who finished with 194 rushing yards and 3 touchdowns on 20 carries. Glenbard West never looked back after Burrello answered Bibbs' opening touchdown with a 70-yard scoring run just 50 seconds later.

Thirty-two unanswered points in the first half put the No. 2 Hilltoppers comfortably ahead of the No. 7 Tigers (7-3). Glenbard West will play host to No. 3 Lincoln-Way East (9-1), a 17-7 winner over Thornton, next Saturday in Glen Ellyn.

“Everything was clicking,” said Burrello, who added 4 catches for 89 yards including a 37-yard touchdown from Daver Glawe. “Obviously, no one wants to lose but (last week's loss) was a little bit of a wake-up call for us.”

Glawe, playing for injured starting quarterback Mike Matthew, completed 12 of 17 passes for 190 yards. Mark Hiben snared 8 catches for 101 yards including a 25-yard touchdown.

Kendall Johnson scored on a 51-yard third-quarter run for the Hilltoppers. The final touchdown came in the fourth quarter when Zack Marshall blocked a punt and Justin Mesch returned the ball 37 yards for a score.

“We just got back to grass roots stuff and remembered why we love the game,” said Glenbard West coach Chad Hetlet.