Glenbard East, Glenbard North put on hold
With more than 25 years of football history in play for both teams, the Glenbard East-Glenbard North outcome will have to wait one more day.
Friday's nonconference game in Carol Stream was postponed after repeated lightning delays with 1:42 left in the first half and the Rams (3-0) leading 14-7.
The game is tentatively scheduled to resume at 3 p.m. Saturday, depending on the availability of officials. It is expected to be completed straight through without a halftime break.
Glenbard North (1-2) was driving with second-and-7 at the Rams' 28.
"We'll probably bring them in early, go through a walkthrough and stuff like that," Glenbard North coach Ryan Wilkens said. "It depends on when the game is."
The Rams are attempting to start 4-0 for the first time since 1999 - the only year they have reached the IHSA state playoffs in program history.
The Panthers are trying to return to the playoffs and avoid missing in consecutive seasons for the first time since the late 1990s.
With storms forecast the teams convened Thursday night and changed Friday's starting time from 7:30 to 5:30 p.m. The 5:30 sophomore game then was moved to Glenbard East.
"I think our (athletic directors) were very proactive in trying to find a good window to play football," Glenbard East coach John Walters said.
The Rams took a 14-7 lead 4:13 before halftime after senior Mitch Luttrell caught a short slant over the middle from quarterback Phil Abruzino and burst free for a 78-yard touchdown.
The Rams had just held at their 22 after the Panthers reached the 7 but then had an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.
The Panthers scored on their opening drive after Chris Chino-Noeun recovered a fumble at the Rams' 31. Quarterback Shane Conway threw a 29-yard TD pass to Devion Hodges on fourth-and-19.
The Rams answered on their ensuing possession with a 57-yard TD pass from Abruzino to Karon Keyes.
Wilkens and his staff recalled returning on Saturday after a 2011 Friday night home game against Naperville North was thwarted by a power outage in Carol Stream.
For Glenbard East, this is the third straight season in which a game has been moved to the next day because of lightning. The rescheduled 2014 and 2013 games with Willowbrook, however, never started on those Fridays.
"We know what we're doing," Walters said with a smile. "It's a lot different (this instance) but it's the same. We have to come back and play."