West Aurora celebrates Senior Night with 23-12 victory over Glenbard South

Final score: West Aurora 23, Glenbard South 12.

Records: West Aurora 4-3, 4-1; Glenbard South 5-2, 4-1.

Player of the game: West Aurora running back Bryce Riley sparked the Blackhawks early with a 46-yard touchdown catch in the first quarter and finished with 78 rushing yards on nine carries to power the offense.

Other statistical leaders: West Aurora quarterback Tyler Fecht threw for 131 yards and a touchdown on 14-of-24 passing. Defensive back Darius Stewart returned an interception 10 yards for a touchdown. Kicker Darek Szczeblewski contributed a 22-yard field goal and went 2-for-3 on extra points. The Blackhawks posted 272 total yards (141 rushing, 131 passing). Raiders quarterback Tommy Bauman threw for 147 yards on 12 completions and rushed for a 13-yard touchdown. Running back Joe Longo led the ground attack as the Raiders finished with 139 rushing yards and 286 total offensive yards.

Turning point: Leading 7-0 late in the first quarter, West Aurora’s Darius Stewart intercepted a pass and returned it 10 yards for a touchdown, building a two-score lead.

First-half highlights: West Aurora seized control right out of the gate when quarterback Tyler Fecht connected with Bryce Riley for a 46-yard touchdown pass. The Blackhawks' defense struck later in the first quarter when Darius Stewart intercepted a pass and returned it 10 yards for a touchdown, extending the lead to 13-0. In the second quarter, West Aurora capitalized on a methodical drive capped by Fecht’s 4-yard touchdown pass to Richard Bell Jr. Szczeblewski added the kick and later drilled a 22-yard field goal with 2:59 remaining in the half to send the Blackhawks into the locker room ahead 23-0. Glenbard South struggled to sustain drives against pressure from tacklers like Stewart, Bell and Braden Fraus, turning the ball over on downs late in the half.

Second-half highlights: Glenbard South responded in the third quarter when Bauman capped an 80-yard drive with a 13-yard touchdown run to make it 23-6. Later in the second half, the Raiders mounted another scoring drive resulting in a 2-yard touchdown pass from Bauman to Richard Bell Jr. with 6:08 left in the fourth quarter to trim the deficit to 23-12. West Aurora’s defense held firm on consecutive fourth-down attempts down the stretch to seal the victory.

X-factor: West Aurora’s defense in key situations, highlighted by Darius Stewart's pick-six and stopping Glenbard South on all four of its fourth-down conversion attempts.

Quote: “Winning on Senior Night is special. These kids have worked really hard and it's an important game for them. I thought they battled really well and hung in the game. We did some good things and we did some bad things, but we came away with a win, and that's what we needed to do tonight. I'm proud of our guys for win No. 5. After last week's loss, which was a tough one, I was glad with the way they bounced back. Our offense and special teams have to get things going, but I thought our defense played really well,” said West Aurora coach Nate Eimer.