Despite miscues, Glenbard East downs West Chicago to clinch sixth straight playoff berth

When your football team wins a game despite committing 5 turnovers, you count yourself fortunate.

Just ask Glenbard East coach John Walters, who watched his team earn a 41-6 Upstate Eight East victory over host West Chicago (4-3, 2-2) Friday night despite a pair of uncharacteristic interceptions and losing 3 fumbles.

“We were sloppy tonight,” said Walters. “We were careless with the ball. We weren’t clean. But we’re excited to get a win tonight.”

Glenbard East (6-1, 4-0), which secured a state playoff berth for the sixth consecutive season, grabbed a 7-0 lead on Michael Nee’s 17-yard touchdown pass to senior receiver Muhammad Musleh (5 receptions, 111 yards) late in the first quarter.

After a defensive stand inside the 30-yard line, the Rams quickly struck again, as Nee (13 of 24, 265 yards) connected with senior Henry Benka on a 58-yard touchdown pass for a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter.

Senior tailback Kedrick Dennis (15 carries, 93 yards) capped the first half with touchdown runs covering 40 and 3 yards, respectively, as the Rams extended lead to 28-0 at the intermission.

That margin could have been larger if not for a pair of interceptions in the final 46 seconds of the opening half by Wildcats sophomore cornerback Joel Montgomery.

“Mental mistakes — just have to clean those up,” admitted Nee. “You live, you learn, it happens. I’m glad it happened now, so I can clean it up for the next two weeks and the playoffs.”

Dennis tallied his third touchdown of the night on a 7-yard run midway through the third quarter to make it 35-0.

Wildcats senior quarterback Carter Naranjo (27 carries, 100 yards) snapped the shutout bid with his 6-yard touchdown run on the first play of the fourth quarter.

Nee’s third touchdown pass of the game — a 45-yard completion to Musleh with 8:39 remaining — closed out the scoring.

“Offensively, it was not the greatest job,” said Nee. “Our defense came out there and did their thing. They played their butts off tonight. Offensively, we must find a better rhythm, but overall a win is a win.”

Led by Sam Walton, Orlando Hoye, Donnie Beardsley, and Donovan Brooks, the Rams’ defense recovered 4 fumbles while limiting the Wildcats well below their 46-point average.

“We’ve given up 83 points all year — 14 were on special teams,” said Walters. “Our defense has played lights out all year. It has kind of went unnoticed behind the offense.

“We got after it tonight.”

Junior Iann Lemus added 35 yards rushing on 9 carries for the Wildcats, who lost senior outside linebacker Roman Zolota and junior wingback/safety Liam Zbierski to first-half injuries.

West Chicago entered the game without injured senior offensive and defensive lineman Ean Arizmendi.

“It’s tough when you’re losing multiple starters,” said Wildcats coach Adam Chavez. “The way we’re losing starters isn’t the normal way. We’re already thin on numbers, and we’re losing more bodies. It’s tough.”

The Wildcats need another victory to become playoff eligible for a school-record third straight season.

“We’ve got two games left and we’ve got to get both,” said Chavez. “We’re not looking for just one. That’s our mentality.”