Competition reigns at Glenbard West football playoff

As a sign on the fence of the student cheering section at Glenbard West High School said, it was “Road to Glory Phase II” for the Hilltoppers during Saturday afternoon's second-round football playoff victory against Lincoln-Way East High School.

Glenbard West students said their classmates had been looking forward to the game all week, hearing school announcements about supporting the football team and posting on Facebook their intent to attend the game.

“We ran right over,” after basketball practice ended about 12:30 p.m., said Paige Radon, a 15-year-old freshman from Glen Ellyn. “The games are a lot of fun.”

Radon's fellow students in the Castle Crazies cheering section jumped, danced and yelled to the Chicago Blackhawks' celebration theme song “Chelsea Dagger” after the Hilltoppers took an early lead. Decked out in camouflage gear and Hilltopper green sunglasses and hard hats, their cheers seemed intensified by the 1920s-era school, which rises from a hill south of the field.

Ticket takers from Glenbard West Boosters said they weren't keeping track of how many fans entered the stadium.

But booster club member Mike McGee of Glen Ellyn sold the last of about 300 programs before kickoff at 1 p.m. Both the home and visitors stands were packed, and fans without bleacher seats watched from close behind the west end zone and from further away behind a fence.

“You want to sit up here?” Jeff Wallace of Glen Ellyn asked his 6-year-old daughter Olivia as he lifted her legs over the fence separating his family from the football field.

“We have four daughters, they all love to come to watch the games,” Wallace said. “We know kids on the team, so that's why we come.”

Other community members attended to support band members, cheerleaders and dance team members.

Yanni Pappas, a 6th grade football player on the Glen Ellyn Golden Eagles, said he came to watch one of his neighbors play, and to see his football role model, senior running back and wide receiver Nick Burrello, in live action. Pappas said he was excited to see Saturday's playoff game because there was “more to play for.”

Booster club member McGee said stakes were high in Saturday's matchup between two teams with solid defensive units. He added he enjoys the atmosphere of Glenbard West football games, including seeing his son Liam, a percussionist, lead the band down the hill into the stadium playing a special cadence.

“It's a great tradition,” McGee said. “There's lots of tradition here.”

Glenbard West won 42-28 and advanced to the next round of the IHSA playoffs.