Glenbard West wins fourth straight Silver title

Playing one of the West Suburban Silver's top offenses without its leading tackler, Glenbard West still didn't miss a beat.

The Hilltoppers clinched their fourth straight Silver football title with Saturday's 45-0 victory over York in Glen Ellyn, dominating on defense with their second straight shutout and third of the season.

Inside linebacker Andrew Larkin, Glenbard West's leading tackler, didn't play because of a knee injury suffered in practice but plenty of teammates stepped up including his replacement, Contrall Silmon.

Fellow linebacker Alex Emanuel returned one of his 2 interceptions for a touchdown to lead the parade of 6 takeaways by the Hilltoppers (8-0, 5-0). So many turnovers allowed the lead to grow to 24-0 by halftime and 45-0 in the third quarter.

"That's just how good our defense is," Emanuel said. "If you make mistakes, they're going to punish you for it. As long as our defense and offense keep playing the way we are, it looks good."

Glenbard West started with a three-and-out, but Hilltoppers defensive back Mike Marston grabbed an interception on York's first play from scrimmage. That set up Kendall Johnson's 29-yard touchdown run.

Glenbard West added a pair of second-quarter touchdowns, the first sparked by a Nathan Marcus sack that forced a fumble. Ruben Dunbar's recovery led to a 2-yard touchdown run by Joey Zito. Emanuel's 28-yard interception return on York's next possession put the lead at 21-0, and then Dan Cavazos kicked a 47-yard field goal to boost the halftime lead to 24-0.

York (5-3, 3-2) also forced Glenbard West into first-half mistakes including a fumble and an interception by Jake Rzeszutko and made the Hilltoppers punt three times. It still wasn't enough to stay close.

"We came out right away and got the three-and-out, which is what we worked on, and then we gave it right back to them with the interception and they go score," said York coach Bill Lech. "You throw four picks, you lose a fumble. You do that to a great team like that over there, and you don't give yourself a chance."

Ryan Kavanaugh, Zito and Johnson added third-quarter touchdown runs for the Hilltoppers, who rushed for 234 yards while playing for the second straight week without starting quarterback Justice Odom because of a knee injury.

York managed 117 total yards, including 50 yards by running back Ken Boesenberg on his first carry of the game. Dukes starting quarterback Joe Lucca and backup Andrew Iwaszkiewicz were hurt during the game, but Lucca returned in the fourth quarter. Nick Skuteris, York's top defensive player, also went down in the second quarter and didn't return.

"To shut out a team like that, our kids played very well," said Hilltoppers Chad Hetlet. "That was impressive."