Glenbard South beats St. Edward for 5th straight win
Things looked bleak for Glenbard South when the Raiders started the football season with two losses.
The Raiders look a whole lot better now after five consecutive victories.
Glenbard South became eligible for the playoffs with a 16-13 rain-soaked triumph against Metro Suburban Conference Blue Division foe St. Edward on Friday night in Glen Ellyn.
"We persevere," senior cornerback Rod Rivera said. "We finish strong. We never really give up. That helps us a lot."
The winning streak is no surprise to Raiders coach Ryan Crissey, though.
"The purpose of how we set up the schedule is to be challenged," Crissey said. "I want to know what we have as early as possible in the season so we know what adjustments that are necessary. It's an extremely resilient team. It's a team that never quits. They have each other's back."
The Green Wave (4-3, 1-2) got off to a great start. On the game's first possession it drove 80 yards in five plays, scoring on an 11-yard Angel Garcia touchdown run.
"They made some adjustments to stop the run," Green Wave coach Mike Rolando said.
Glenbard South (5-2, 3-0) answered with a 1-yard TD run by senior quarterback Jack Crouch in the first quarter and took a 14-7 lead in the second when Crouch found senior receiver Bryan Maroney for a 6-yard touchdown pass.
St. Edward scored again just less than a minute before halftime, junior Nick Wright carrying the ball into the end zone from 3 yards out. But the extra-point kick missed in the rain, and the Raiders led 14-13.
That's the way the score stood through most of the rest of the game. The only second-half score came with 2:16 left in the fourth quarter. A Crouch 50-yard punt trapped St. Edward at its own 4-yard line, and quarterback Dylan Mlinarich was sacked in the end zone by a horde of Raiders for a safety following trouble with the snap.
"That blocked extra point hurt, put us in a hole, but at the end of the day they made more plays than we did," Rolando said. "We had opportunities, obvious opportunities where we could have made some more plays than we did. Just one of those nights."
"We're lucky it rained," Rivera added. "I think the ball was a little slippery. But we locked them down pretty good."
Crissey credited Rivera for his coverage on talented St. Edward receiver Tyler Holte.
"Rod Rivera is just so dynamic," Crissey said. "A 6-3 corner that can run the way he can. We said, 'Hey, you're on Holte. Lock him down.' And he did a fantastic job."
Rolando didn't want to use the weather as an excuse.
"I don't think the weather had much to do with it," Rolando said. "It was raining for a little bit, but we were putting new footballs in every series. Some balls were sailing on him a little bit over guys' heads that are normally complete."