Oak Park stifles Glenbard West offense, wins in final seconds
Oak Park-River Forest's defense did its job for 48 minutes.
The offense didn't even need two.
Huskies senior Henry Darrow kicked a 41-yard field goal with three seconds left to lift OPRF to Saturday's 10-7 West Suburban Silver victory over Glenbard West in Glen Ellyn.
The Hilltoppers (6-2, 4-1) had just tied the game at 7-7 with 1:21 left on a 5-yard touchdown pass from running back Tyquan Cox to quarterback Tommy Bleker on fourth-and-goal. A long kick return by Nazareth Bryant set up the Huskies (6-2, 4-1) at Glenbard West's 49-yard line, and Darrow blasted his field goal six plays and 25 yards later.
It was a stunning result for Oak Park, which hadn't beaten the Hilltoppers since 2007. If the Huskies beat Lyons Twp. and Glenbard West beats Proviso West in Week 9, it'll create a three-way tie for the Silver championship between those two teams and Hinsdale Central (6-2, 5-1).
"I knew it was going to be a tough game," said Huskies sophomore quarterback Jaden McGill. "Glenbard, they're a very good team. They've always been a good team. This boosts our confidence. We're really feeling good right now."
Glenbard West started the second half with a 13-play drive that took the Hilltoppers to the Huskies' 17, but the drive stalled on downs. Two plays later Huskies running back Keith Robinson broke loose for a 72-yard touchdown run and a 7-0 lead.
The two scoring drives for OPRF lasted a total of 1 minute and 43 seconds.
"All week we had it in our mind that we had to come out strong," Robinson said. "We fought hard together and we got the result we wanted."
It looked like Robinson's touchdown might hold up as Glenbard West couldn't move the ball on its next two possessions. But the Hilltoppers finally marched downfield after getting the ball with 5:19 left in the game.
Glenbard West ultimately broke out the trick play with Cox, who rushed for 141 yards on 28 carries, tossing a touchdown pass to Bleker.
"We understand that every team wants it as bad as we do, so we just have to bring it harder than every team," Cox said. "We're just going to watch film and try to correct as many mistakes as possible."
Glenbard West outgained the Huskies 310-221 in total yardage and had 16 first downs compared to 9 for Oak Park. The loss broke a six-game winning streak for the Hilltoppers.
"They're a great football team, and I don't know why nobody's talking about them," Glenbard West coach Chad Hetlet said of Oak Park. "They're really, really good defensively. Extremely good."
Follow Kevin on Twitter