Holliday, Willowbrook catch another victory

Heading into a Week 9 matchup against Proviso East, Willowbrook wide receiver Deandre Holliday and his Warriors teammates only had one goal in mind: Improving their playoff seeding.

While the team managed to do just that by jumping ahead early on and claiming a 44-7 victory over the Pirates (6-3), Holliday came away with a historic evening. He ended the regular season by taking possession of Willowbrook's all-time touchdown receiving record.

Holliday finished the game with 6 catches for 117 yards and a pair of touchdowns that left him with 18 to his name spread over three accomplished varsity seasons.

"I think it's just the opportunity coach gave me," Holliday said. "Allowing me to be on varsity my sophomore and junior year. It only helped me develop the game and see the field differently."

Willowbrook coach Nick Hildreth seemed to suggest that he anticipated this type of ability from Holliday early on, explaining that he watched as Holliday grew up in the program and developed into the player he is today.

"It makes me feel old," Hildreth said. "As a kid, as a little, little kid in youth camps, I've seen him come up and come all the way through."

"I'm not surprised at all," Hildreth added. "He's got great ability and wide receiver is tough. You'll have those (tough) nights, and you've got the big nights, so you just have to do what you do and the rest kinda takes care of itself."

As for their overall performance against Proviso East, the Warriors (8-1) seemed set on simply going about business as usual as they prepared for a potential postseason run.

"I think just getting back to what we were doing," Hildreth said when asked what the key to victory over the Pirates was. "Obviously, seeing Proviso does a good job up front, bringing a bunch of pressure and kind of a different look than we've seen."

The Warriors collectively rolled to a 44-point lead by halftime and put the offense into cruise control in the second half. Various groups of players made their way onto the field and got playing time in their final regular-season home game as a Warrior.

"We've been together for four years now," Holliday said. "Some of the guys on the team I've been playing with since third grade, so I think it's just the chemistry and how we bond as a family. I couldn't be happier to play with different bunch of guys. This is my favorite team of all time to be a part of."