Glenbard South trounces Westinghouse

Glenbard South crushed top-seeded Westinghouse 42-0 in the first round of the Class 5A playoffs at Lane Stadium in Chicago on Saturday.

Sophomore quarterback Jack Crouch threw for 3 touchdowns. Billy Bair, Javonis Hawkins and Jimmy Ebbole scored 2 touchdowns each to pace the Raiders attack.

"We're just playing on all cylinders now," said Raiders senior Jimmy Ebbole. "We're prepared and had a real good week of practice. A lot of our seniors make us go. We've been together since freshman year and are all really close."

The Raiders were 5-for-5 on third-down conversions and scored on all five possessions in the first half to take a 35-0 lead. The defense was so dominant it allowed the Warriors to gain a total of negative-5 yards for the entire game.

"It was a great team victory," said Raiders coach Ryan Crissey. "We overcame some challenges the last two weeks. We really protected the football and played sound football. I'm really happy and pleased with how the coaching staff and the players performed this week."

One of those challenges was losing senior quarterback Kyle Carli early in the season to injury and then again late in the season after he returned. Crouch stepped in at quarterback and led the team to a playoff berth.

"I was with the sophomore team and I knew I was going to be backing up on varsity," Crouch said. "I didn't think I'd be playing at all. It's been a great experience. We're all on the same page and we all know what we need to do."

Running back Sean Cooke was held out with an ankle injury but will be back next week, Crissey said. Hawkins stepped in to gain 156 yards on 21 carries. Bair returned from injury and snatched 2 passes for 70 yards, including a 65-yard strike from Crouch.

"Crouch was spectacular," Crissey said. "He's poised, he's intelligent, and he could do anything we ask him to."

The Raiders scored on Ebbole's 9-yard run in the third quarter to close the scoring. The 16th-seeded Raiders (6-4) will host No. 8 Tinley Park (8-2) in the second round of the Class 5A playoffs next week, probably Saturday.

"The depth is huge right now," Crissey said. "We were able to bring up some sophomores that helped us provide with that depth. Our depth is right where it needs to be."

"I have to give a lot of credit to Glenbard South," said Warriors coach Sinque Turner, whose team finished 8-2. "We accomplished a lot of our goals this season."