Glenbard West back to winning with defense
Now that's more like it.
Glenbard West's football team eased the sting of a Week 1 loss with Saturday's 49-0 victory over Proviso East at Glen Ellyn's Duchon Field.
Granted, the Pirates (0-2) didn't offer the same competitive level as defending Class 8A champion Maine South. But after last week's 62-34 loss to the Hawks, the Hilltoppers (1-1) needed a confidence boost.
They got it on Saturday, especially on defense.
A 14-0 lead after a quarter became 42-0 by halftime. The running clock rule went into effect for the second half as Glenbard West worked in the rest of its roster.
"I don't think they got any yards, so I think the defense really improved," said Hilltoppers defensive lineman Ben Norgaard, who spearheaded a fierce pass rush that accounted for 6 sacks. "We definitely had a chip on our shoulder."
The defensive effort was impressive considering the number of changes made to the lineup from last week. Offensive standouts Ryan Diver and Alec Pierce saw time on defense, and Greyson Metz became the third sophomore member of the unit.
And with Dan Howard and Marky Winters missing the game due to injury, there were a bunch of moving parts on that side of the ball. The defense still held Proviso East to 1 first down and minus-5 total yards of offense.
The Pirates punted eight times.
"We're younger than we have been in most years, so it's a process of growing," said Hilltoppers coach Chad Hetlet. "I was real happy with the way we performed and executed, particularly in the first half with the ones."
Tyquan Cox was the offensive star for the Hilltoppers. The junior running back needed only 6 carries to rush for 174 yards and scored on runs of 36, 44 and 29 yards.
Diver and Nate Scheller also rushed for touchdowns while Pierce returned a punt 74 yards for a score and Alex Hollensbe threw a 35-yard scoring strike to Jackson Roach.
"The offense, we came out and executed," Cox said. "We'll get better, we'll continue to fix things and we'll be back stronger."
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