Glenbard South's Curtis announces his return
After three weeks of being inactive due to injury, Glenbard South's Jack Curtis wasted little time showing just how active he can be on a football field.
The Raiders senior returned a punt 50 yards for a first-quarter touchdown the first time he touched the ball Friday night at Fenton. He then added a 59-yard touchdown run on the first play of the second half that sparked the Raiders to a 41-0 defeat of the previously unbeaten Bison.
"It felt great," Curtis said of the punt return. "It was good blocking by the punt return team. I just found a seam and I hit it. It was a conference game and they were undefeated, so it was a big game for us."
The score remained 7-0 until late in the first half when Raiders quarterback Kyle Carli hit Jimmy Ebbole in stride for a 46-yard touchdown that put the visitors on top 14-0. When Curtis added his long scoring run to open the third quarter, Glenbard South (3-2, 3-0 Metro Suburban Conference West Division) was off and running.
"It was a great team win," said Raiders coach Jeremy Cordell, who told his players he'd reward them Saturday morning with lots of donuts. "It was honestly the first time this year where I felt we were running on all cylinders. It was nice to have Jack back, but it was not just him. We played a complete ballgame.
"I think our kids played very fast and physical."
Curtis looked healthy and fast, but so did Ebbole and several other Raiders on both sides of the ball. Ebbole had an interception to go along with his TD catch and 100-plus yards of total offense.
The Raiders defense had 2 interceptions of Bison quarterback Willie Wassmann and had a third one - returned for a TD - called back by a roughing-the-passer penalty.
"We just came out flying around, we were fast, physical and free," Ebbole said. "We got the job done on both sides of the ball and even special teams with Curtis running that one back."
Fenton managed just 127 yards of total offense as the visitors did a great job of slowing running backs Matt Lucas and Eric Lonergan.
But Bisons coach Mark Kos felt his team played tougher than the final score indicates.
"Four and one is not a bad place to be right now, it just stings the way it kind of came crashing down tonight," he said. "The first 21 points all came on big plays. But there's a reason they're the defending conference champs."
Kos said he knew the Raiders were tough despite their .500 mark coming in.
"You look at their record and they're 2-2, but you're not fooling yourself. They lost to two very good football teams in Addison Trail and Antioch. We've got all the respect in the world for them. They're on top of the mountain, and that's where we want to get."