Glenbard West keeps chip on its shoulder, defeats Lyons Twp.

For homecoming weekend, senior Chase Cavan and his Glenbard West football teammates appropriately continued their theme for the season Saturday.

“Our slogan is Restore the Honor, which is to beat every team we lost to last year,” Cavan said. “It’s kind of motivating to have that chip on our shoulder to bring back where we belong in this conference.”

The defense held in the first half and Cavan and senior running back Jamarcus Kelly provided respective 65- and 57-yard TD plays that carried the Hilltoppers to a 24-17 victory over Lyons in Glen Ellyn.

The Hilltoppers are 5-0 for the first time since 2022 and 3-0 in the West Suburban Conference Silver Division with fellow contenders York (4-1, 2-0) and Hinsdale Central (4-1, 1-1) still remaining on the schedule.

In 2024 the Hilltoppers were 0-4 after a 24-7 loss at the Lions’ homecoming game and finished 4-5 – missing the playoffs for the first time since 2006.

“I’m just going to remember we finished a game strong and we’re one step closer to conference champs,” Glenbard West senior defensive lineman Jayden Daniel said.

“We know this is a big win for us, knowing we lost to this team last year. We had to beat them in order to be contenders in the conference championship.”

Glenbard West pulled ahead 17-3 late in the third quarter on Jack Swik’s 36-yard field goal and 24-10 on Kelly’s 57-yard TD run with 7:26 left.

The Lions (3-2, 0-2) closed to 24-17 on quarterback Jack Slightom’s 4-yard TD pass to Owen Matela with 2:57 to play. Cavan handled the onside kick and the Hilltoppers ran out the clock.

“It’s huge (for us),” Glenbard West coach Chad Hetlet said. “We’ve played a lot of really good teams. It takes a toll and now we’ve got to rise up and play LT. They’re one of the best teams in 8A. (Winning) just says a lot.”

Kelly rushed for 147 yards on 14 carries and also had a 12-yard TD run late in the first quarter. Quarterback AJ Rayford was 9-for-16 passing for 132 yards and Amari Harris rushed for 58 yards.

Slightom was 26-for-38 for 194 yards with his first TD pass to Grant Smith, a 6-foot-6 sophomore who had 10 catches for 101 yards.

Just 37.6 seconds before halftime, Rayford’s TD pass to the wide-open Cavan was perhaps the biggest play, putting Glenbard West ahead 14-3 with the ball to start the second half.

“It was huge. The safety on the other side flew down to (tight end Brady Johnson’s) side,” Cavan said. “AJ just put the ball where I could make a play and we got a (bigger) lead before half feeling good.”

Cavan ran the final 40 yards to score looking like older brother Rory, a 2019 graduate who was a cross country and track all-stater. Older brother Brady was left guard for the Hilltoppers’ 2022 state semifinalists.

“That touchdown pass (to Cavan) and that third down (TD by Kelly), we’ve got to get off the field there,” Lyons coach Jon Beutjer said.

The Hilltoppers’ defense first set the tone. After a high punt snap, the Lions got the ball at the 20, but the Hilltoppers forced a three-and-out and Ryland Avants’ 30-yard field goal went wide right in the crosswind.

Glenbard West responded with an 80-yard drive and Kelly’s 12-yard TD run. Right after a leaping interception by the Hilltoppers’ Max Bakken, the Lions turned Anthony Pearson’s interception near midfield into an Avants’ 40-yard field goal. Dylan Wolf recovered his onside kick at midfield, but the Lions came up empty.

“(Our defense was) put in some bad situations in the first half and only came away giving up three points. That’s a big deal,” Hetlet said.

Right after Lyons’ first TD, Kelly’s second TD was another momentum swing. After a timeout on third-and-8, Kelly converted the first down and continued for the score.

“(The play) was a discussion. We needed to get this one in order to seal the game,” Kelly said. “It was a big play. My whole line held the blocks and I just did what they had to do to get the first down.”

The Lions were coming off a 29-26 homecoming loss to Hinsdale Central that included a lead-changing 90-yard TD run in the fourth quarter.

This time, the Lions battled back.

“It was a two-possession game (twice) and our kids fought,” Beutjer said. “We have a lot of young kids, but I was proud of the way they fought. We found out about a lot of our players today.”