Glenbard South 47, Kaneland 28

Few things can turn a football game around as quickly as a goal-line stand.

Kaneland learned that the hard way Friday night in Maple Park when Glenbard South stopped the Knights on the 1-yard line in the closing seconds of the first half, then running back Mike Oratowski made the rest of the game his own showcase.

The Raiders senior rushed for 5 touchdowns in the second half, 6 for the game, as Glenbard South ran away with a 47-28 Western Sun Conference win.

"I had to make some moves, but it was really the line opening huge holes," Oratowski said.

The Knights led 14-13, and quarterback Jody Henningson had already run for 2 touchdowns in the first half and was bidding for another as the clock wound down on the opening half.

"We needed to suck it up as a team and make a play," Glenbard South defensive back Kyle Slott said.

Glenbard South (4-2, 2-2) turned the Knights away three times from inside the 5-yard line to keep the margin at a single point.

"That was big, but it shouldn't have led to everything else," Kaneland coach Tom Fedderly said.

When the two teams emerged from the locker rooms, Raiders quarterback Kevin Marshall was determined to take control of the game.

"We were on a high, and I knew that first possession would be key," Marshall said.

Marshall led his team from its own 29 to Kaneland's 2-yard line, Oratowski ran it in from there, and the Raiders led for the first time, 20-14 with 8:09 left in the third quarter.

After the Knights were held to their first three-and-out of the game, Glenbard South scored again when Oratowski burst through a huge hole along the left side of the line and followed his blockers on a 56-yard touchdown sprint.

"We saw they were getting a little tired, and we got stronger and started pounding harder," Oratowski said.

Oratowski scored for the third time in less than six minutes on Glenbard South's next possession when he broke a tackle in the backfield, then waltzed in from 10 yards out.

But Kaneland (2-4, 1-3) was not about to go down quietly in front of its homecoming crowd. On the second play of the fourth quarter, Henningson found Korey Maple on an 8-yard touchdown toss.

After Oratowski scored again, this time on a 30-yard run through traffic, Henningson lit it up one more time with the longest play of the game, an 85-yard touchdown run, trimming the Raiders lead to 40-28.

"I was worried all week about that offense they run," Glenbard South coach Dan Starkey said. "We had a good game plan and our kids really started hitting in the second half."