Glenbard West ready to go at Hinsdale Central
Two 80-yard drives and a 77-yard drive ... vintage Glenbard West football.
The Hilltoppers cleared a key hurdle in their quest for the West Suburban Silver title with a 21-7 victory at Hinsdale Central.
Suspended by Friday night's storms early in the third quarter, the showdown picked up at 9 a.m. Saturday with Glenbard West (6-1, 4-0) facing a fourth-and-1 at its own 29-yard line.
The Hilltoppers converted, setting the tone for a quick Saturday morning. After play resumed Glenbard West ran 44 plays compared to 16 for the Red Devils (5-2, 4-1).
Two drives stalled with a punt and a missed field goal, but the message was clear. After ending Friday night with a 14-0 lead, Glenbard West was ready to do what it does best to get the energy going again Saturday morning.
"It was weird because it was all new for us but, honestly, we were ready to go," said Hilltoppers linebacker Jayden Rodgers. "We were all really pumped up. We came out and we just executed."
Glenbard West allowed 136 yards of offense to the Red Devils, including 63 Saturday. The Hilltoppers, meanwhile, piled up 247 rushing yards including 140 by Tyquan Cox and 48 by Nick Seifert.
Quarterback Tommy Bleker sealed the victory with a 1-yard touchdown dive with four minutes left in the game that boosted the lead to 21-0.
"This has never happened to us before," Bleker said. "Even though it's early in the morning we've got to keep the foot on the gas. When we're driving down the field like that, that's what we call Hitter football."
The teams traded punts throughout a scoreless first quarter on Friday. Glenbard West capped a 13-play, 80-yard drive early in the second quarter with a 1-yard touchdown run by Cox.
Another 80-yard second-quarter drive by the Hilltoppers culminated in a 2-yard scoring run by Seifert.
"Those are the killers," said Red Devils coach Dan Hartman. "Having trouble getting off the field on third or fourth down was a killer momentum-wise in the second half."
Hinsdale Central scored its touchdown with 2:19 left when quarterback Matt Rush tossed a 5-yard pass to Nick Franko. Matt Bobak and Mark Skokna combined for 93 rushing yards.
"We were just trying to keep the chains moving today, and I thought the offensive coaches had a great game plan," said Glenbard West coach Chad Hetlet. "It's a strange win. You're never prepared for something like this, but you hope the kids stay in it mentally. And they were."
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