Glenbard West leaves room for improvement

For all the sloppy play, Glenbard West's football team still did what it usually does at home.

The Hilltoppers dominated.

Outgaining Morton by a near four-to-one margin in total yardage, Glenbard West easily rolled to a 42-0 West Suburban Conference crossover victory Saturday at Glen Ellyn's Duchon Field.

"Coach (Chad Hetlet) all week was talking about getting better and taking a step forward," said Hilltoppers running back Sam Brodner. "The first half was sloppy, we didn't take a step forward. Coach came in at halftime, told us we've got to get better and things need to be fixed. So we did our best to fix those."

The Hilltoppers struggled early, fumbling on their second offensive play and roughing the punter to extend a Morton drive. Glenbard West (2-0) recovered to score on its next four possessions, and Ben Marcus blocked a punt for a safety when the ball rolled through the end zone.

The 29-0 halftime lead definitely eased the disappointment of 50 yards in penalties, a number that grew to 100 yards on 11 penalties by the end of the game. The lead, however, also grew to 42-0 by late in the third quarter.

"It's focus," Hetlet said. "It's mental focus, and we didn't have it. I'm disappointed with that. There are things we've got to fix, and if we don't it's going to cost us.

"We'll see how the kids rise to the occasion and how we prepare this week in practice," Hetlet said. "We go away not happy about it, but you beat any high school football team 42-0 ... we did some things right."

A handful of running backs pushed Glenbard West's rushing total to 300 yards, led by Brodner's 114 yards and Donahvon Vaughn's 99 yards. Each scored a pair of touchdowns. Isaiah Skinner added a 2-yard scoring run.

Quarterback Kyle Kramer threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to Aidan Gould. He and Brian Cochrane combined for 8-of-11 passing for 109 yards.

Glenbard West's defense limited Morton (0-2) to 115 total yards, but 49 came on a fourth-quarter run by quarterback Anthony Stanciu. The Hilltoppers sealed the shutout with a late goal-line stand by the second-unit defense.

"It's always our goal to shut a team out," said Hilltoppers defensive lineman Nate Orrison. "We say it everyday. When we actually get to do it, it's nice. You're never where you want to be - you always want to be better than you are - but we'll get better each week."

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