Cooke, Glenbard South overpower Ridgewood

On a very rainy night, Glenbard South powered over Ridgewood 49-20 on Friday in Norridge.

Sean Cooke scored 3 touchdowns and ran for 128 yards on 12 carries.

The start of the game was moved up to a 5:30 p.m due to threatening weather. Unfortunately, lightning delayed it until 6:15 p.m. as the storm moved in. After the first quarter the game was halted again due to lightning. The game was resumed at 8 p.m. and played through in a pouring rain.

Raiders senior Jimmy Ebbole ran back the opening kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown and the game went downhill for the Rebels.

"At that point there was almost 48 minutes left in the game and you have to respond to that," said Rebels coach Chris Zack.

"Glenbard South played really well. They took it to us. We really didn't have an answer for anything they were doing on either side of the ball. You threw in all the stuff that started at the beginning of the game, the delays, an early start, and more delays, it throws everything out of whack."

Cooke scored his first touchdown on a 3-yard run. Then sophomore quarterback Jack Crouch hit Billy Bair for 23 yards for a touchdown and Dillon Valdez picked up a Rebels fumble on the 3-yard line and ran the ball in to give the Raiders a 28-0 lead after one quarter.

Early in the second quarter Cooke scored his second touchdown on a 16-yard run before the weather stopped the game with 11:19 left in the first half. The game resumed more than an hour later and Crouch scored on a 7-yard run to give the Raiders a 42-0 lead. Cooke scored his third touchdown on a 10-yard run in the third quarter to cap the Raiders (2-2) scoring.

"It was great. Our line was really hitting on all cylinders. Jack had a great game and it was a great offensive effort," Cooke said. "The rain created some problems for us up front. I think we handled it well and adjusted our game."

The Rebels (2-2) came back with three touchdown passes by quarterback Chris Jacobsen - two to Jack Karkoska and one to Max Kalyknuk - in the fourth quarter, but the damage was done.

"It was a great victory. Every single athlete got to get in tonight," said Raiders coach Ryan Crissey. "We played fundamentally sound all the way through, and that's all I can ask for. At this point in the season, it's about creating depth and that's what we are trying to do."