Glenbard West gets a leg up on WSC Silver
Time will tell if Saturday's showdown ultimately determines the West Suburban Silver Conference football champion.
For now, though, Glenbard West sure looks title-worthy.
The Hilltoppers' trademark punishing ground game combined with some timely passing as they held on for a 28-25 victory over Hinsdale Central in front of a packed house at Duchon Field in Glen Ellyn.
Last year Glenbard West (3-0, 1-0) claimed the outright Silver title with a Week 9 win over the Red Devils (1-2, 0-1). The schedule rotated the game to the beginning of the conference schedule, but Saturday's game still could end up being the difference-maker when it's all said and done.
"We've got to keep it up," said Hilltoppers running back Adam Bruere. "We can't relax now but it feels good to get this one."
Trailing most of the game, Hinsdale Central scored on a David Lutz 8-yard run with 5 minutes, 35 seconds left. John Whitelaw's 2-point pass to Jason Rafferty narrowed the gap to 28-25.
The Hilltoppers took over at their own 18-yard line and did what they do best. They killed the clock.
Glenbard West rolled off eight straight running plays and overcame 3 penalties for 35 yards to eat the final 5:30. The first five plays went to five different runners as seven different ballcarriers accounted for the Hilltoppers' 262 rushing yards.
It couldn't happen without a stellar effort from the offensive line. One of them even got into the scoring act as tackle Jordan Walsh recovered a fumble in the end zone to put the Hilltoppers ahead 28-17 early in the fourth quarter.
"I'm really glad we were able to pound the ball like that, that was huge for our offense," said senior left guard Mike Sandoz. "This was grinding it out, tough blocking. It wins games for us."
Lutz booted a 27-yard field goal on Hinsdale Central's opening possession, but late in the first quarter Glenbard West provided a preview of the action to come. The Hilltoppers drove 92 yards on 18 plays while eating 8:43 of the clock.
Sixteen of the plays came on the ground, capped by Bruere's 9-yard touchdown run. Sparked by Cody Olsen's interception late in the second quarter, the Hilltoppers went ahead 14-3 on Nick Burrello's 31-yard run.
Whitelaw, who completed 15 of 24 passes for 230 yards and rushed for 81 yards, threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Alex Kirk to make it 14-10 at the half.
The teams traded third-quarter touchdowns, starting with Tyler Warden's 29-yard scoring pass to Burrello. Whitelaw again hooked up with Kirk for an 83-yard touchdown pass to pull Hinsdale Central within 21-17.
"We knew they were going to pound the ball and keep it away from our offense," said Hinsdale Central coach Mike DiMatteo. "They did exactly that, but we had our opportunities."