Glenbard South turns to Burnett to secure first-round victory
Trevor Burnett was determined to get a football playoff victory before graduating from Glenbard South.
Burnett carried the Raiders' offensive load early and buried his burden, leading No. 1 seed Glenbard South to a 41-14 Class 5A first-round victory against visiting Bulls Prep (5-5), the No. 16 seed, on Friday.
"I've been on this team for four years and never got past the first round," the senior running back said. "To do it with these guys, to grind it with them, it just feels good. Team win. Love it."
Facing a strong wind out of the north and a persistent rain, Glenbard South (9-1) turned to its senior running back, handing him the ball play after play after play well into the second quarter. Burnett ran for 188 yards and 2 touchdowns on 26 carries, adding 3 catches for 45 yards and 2 more TDs.
"Obviously, we had a game plan to stay as balanced as we can, but we had to adjust," Raiders coach Ryan Crissey said, noting the weather. "And we just felt why not? Just give the ball to Trevor and do what he does and do what we do and obviously we were very successful with that tonight."
The Raiders led 14-0 after one quarter. They made it 27-6 when Burnett caught a 26-yard TD pass on the final play off the first half.
"The weather wasn't a problem, the load wasn't a problem," Burnett added. "It was all O-line. Nothing from me. They did this game, they won this game. It was all of them."
Once the Raiders established the running game and a lead, they turned to the ball. Despite the weather they found success there too. Sophomore quarterback Michael Champagne was 7-of-8 passing for 90 yards and 4 touchdowns. Sophomore receiver Cam Williams and junior tight end Owen Gibson each had a TD catch to go with Burnett's 2.
"We always talk about clean living, take the easy money. And he did. He wasn't forcing balls and he was great. He saw what he needed to see and he made some nice easy completions," Crissey said.
"Michael did his thing," Burnett added. "I told him before the game, just be you. Play your game. Be calm. It's OK to be nervous but don't allow your nervousness to get in your head and that's what he did. He came out here, he didn't play like a sophomore."
Next week the Raiders will either host No. 8 Evergreen Park (6-3) or play at No. 9 Sycamore (6-3) in the second round, depending on which of those teams wins their first-round game that kicks off at 5 p.m. Saturday. Whomever they play, the Raiders got rid of any playoff jitters and secured their playoff victory.
"I'm very proud of how they played," Crissey said. "More proud of how they prepared. And they were just super focused, fixed some things from last week and the beautiful part is we get to do this again for another week."