Glenbard South delivers on the ground in Class 5A rout

It was a great night to run the football.

So Glenbard South did, keeping the ball on the ground Friday in a steady rain for a 54-0 rout of UIC College Prep in the first round of the Class 5A playoffs in Glen Ellyn.

Glenbard South (9-1) will play its second-round matchup against the winner of Saturday's game between defending state champion Nazareth, which eliminated the Raiders last year, and Prairie Ridge.

"Next week's practice has gotta be probably the best week we've had," Raiders coach Ryan Crissey said. "Because we're either playing the defending state champs or one of the top teams in 5A. So we really have to work our game plan and focus on being great at the fundamentals and making the best out of the situation we have next week."

Carter London, who ran for 160 yards on 9 carries, set the tone with a 51-yard touchdown run on the first play from scrimmage. It was the first of four rushing scores for the Raiders in the opening quarter, most of which were set up on big punt returns from Shaun Aderholt and Cam Williams.

"My mindset was just saying in my head, 'Just keep scoring,'" London said. "'First play of the drive, we're gonna bust out an open run. We're gonna score a touchdown first play of the game.' That was just my mindset all night tonight."

London got another score from 2 yards out, as did quarterback Michael Champagne. The last first-quarter touchdown went to senior offensive lineman Jack Anderson from the goal line.

Williams ran for 57 yards on 4 touches and opened the second-quarter scoring with a 5-yard touchdown run. Before halftime London collected his third touchdown on a 63-yard run, and Tawain Davis, who ran for 81 yards, had a 12-yard score immediately after a 43-yard gain to guarantee a running clock for the second half.

"The goal is to try and play perfect, right?" said Crissey, who played everyone on his sideline. "It's not gonna be attainable, but that's the goal, and be able to focus on the little things: Finishing blocks, making the correct reads, playing as fast as possible."

One of the few highlights for UIC College Prep (7-3) came when Jaylin Washington intercepted Champagne's only pass attempt in the second quarter and returned it 36 yards. Although the pick gave the Firecats their best field position, the drive was halted after Thomas Burke recovered a botched backward pass.

For most of the first half, Jeremiah Lopez paced the Firecats' offense. He completed 2 of 11 passes for 32 yards with both receptions to LaDarius Sanders. He also picked up 7 yards on the ground and was sacked twice before exiting with an injury in the second quarter.