Glenbard East remains unbeaten with win at West Chicago
An opportunistic defensive performance and fast-paced second half offense led Glenbard East to victory over the West Chicago by a final score of 42-15 in an Upstate Eight Conference matchup on Friday night.
But despite what the final score might lead you to believe, it did not come easy for the Rams (3-0, 3-0).
Glenbard East came into Week 3 riding the momentum of a pair of competitive early season victories; however, that momentum was nowhere to be seen early on. The Rams fumbled away a red-zone possession on their opening drive.
"Honestly, we turned the ball over three times in the first half, two of them inside the 10-yard line," said Glenbard East coach John Walters. "Turnovers will kill you, it doesn't matter how good, or bad, or however your team is … you turn the ball over, you're gonna put yourself at risk of not winning the football game."
Neither team reached the end zone until nearly the end of the first quarter, when the Rams were able to punch in a 4-yard run from senior running back Christopher Whitehead.
The Rams built upon that lead midway through the second when they went on a drive that took advantage of multiple Wildcats penalties before running back Benny Miller scampered 34 yards to paydirt.
However, a West Chicago team that has seen its fair share of lopsided deficits this season looked poised to change the storyline as they battled back and finished out the half trailing by only one score as a result of an aerial attack that found senior receiver Mark Pinkevich on the receiving end of a Luke Krogh touchdown pass.
It was at this point forward that the game became one sided, as the Wildcats (0-3, 0-3) lost possession a third-down swing pass when they threw it backward, allowing Ram cornerback Daniel Schager to pick it up and take it the distance to open the second half.
That score was followed promptly by a Wildcats fumble on the ensuing kickoff that gave the Rams the ball back inside the West Chicago 10-yard line.
"We talked at halftime about ball security," Walters said. "We came out, we got the defensive touchdown, the fumble recovery on the kickoff, and we had some breathing room right there to start the third quarter."
Glenbard East quarterback Connor Cerkas lofted a first-down touchdown pass to receiver LaDonus Rogers that quickly made it a three-score ballgame, before following that up with another touchdown pass a few minutes later, which put the Rams up 35-8 midway through the third and effectively ended any hope of a Wildcats comeback.
The teams exchanged scores in an uneventful fourth quarter as both sides finished up the first third of the season and their focus shifted toward the stretch run of the season.