Glenbard S. rushes past Batavia
After three straight years of losing to Batavia, Glenbard South's Kevin Marshall was more than ready to take matters into his own hands Friday night. And his legs were there to help out as well.
Marshall rushed for 3 first-half touchdowns and finished the night with 230 yards on 35 carries as the Raiders (2-1, 1-0) knocked off the visiting Bulldogs 32-21 in Western Sun Conference play in Glen Ellyn.
Marshall even took a share of snaps at tailback, swapping positions with Trace Wanless, who added a pair of short TDs of his own as Glenbard South knocked off Batavia (1-2, 0-1) for the first time since 2002.
"We lost to them our last three years and we were getting sick of it," said Marshall, a 6-foot-3, 215-pound senior. "We wanted to stop that and the line stepped up and made things happen. They blocked everything. It was awesome."
From the start it was evident that the Raiders would have things go their up front. On the second play from scrimmage, Nick Slezak busted off a 48-yard run for the Raiders.
Tailback Curtis Ford picked up 17 yards on the next play and then Marshall followed with a 19-yard TD run. Just like that the Raiders had gone 81 yards for a quick 7-0 lead.
After the defense forced a Bulldogs punt, the hosts' second drive featured a 49-yard run from Marshall that set the stage for the quarterback's second TD in as many possessions, this score coming on a 26-yard option run for a 13-0 lead.
"That was our game plan," Marshall said of an attack that rushed for 309 yards in the first half while building a 26-7 lead at the intermission. "The line played great and we just kept pounding it."
Batavia finally got on the board late in the first half when quarterback Jordan Coffey took advantage of a botched punt play with a 5-yard TD run that was set up by a nice fumble return by Plotr Koczmara. Koczmara added another big special teams play when he jumped on a loose ball for a touchdown in the third quarter.
Once again it was a high snap and wet conditions that gave the Raiders problems on a punt attempt.
Batavia coach Mike Gaspari, whose team added a second TD run by quarterback Coffey to make the final closer, was impressed with Glenbard South's offense.
"I give Glenbard South a tremendous amount of credit," Gaspari said. "We knew their quarterback was a load running the football and their tailback was a great athlete. We needed to play better early and score with them."
Ford ran for 102 yards to join Marshall and give the Raiders a lethal 1-2 punch. "Batavia is a great program and our kids really executed," Raiders coach Dan Starkey said. "Kevin Marshall was amazing. He's just a beast. But it was an outstanding effort by the whole team."