Turnovers, extra-point kicks and a clock-eating drive help Glenbard East prevail over Willowbrook; Joliet Catholic beats Montini 21-7
Glenbard East and Willowbrook scored three touchdowns apiece in Friday night’s 2010 season-opening football game in Lombard. The Rams made their extra-point conversions—and enough big plays—to earn a win.
Glenbard East, which scored the game’s first two touchdowns but fell behind in the second half, scored what turned out to be the winning touchdown in the third quarter in a 21-18 win over the visiting Warriors.
The Rams will continue the season with another non-conference home game this Friday. They will face Lake Park, which lost its opener to Conant. Willowbrook will play its first home game of the season this Friday against Downers Grove North, which lost its opening game to Lockport.
Glenbard East received the game’s opening kickoff and punted after three plays from scrimmage. The Warriors’ first offensive play was a pass intercepted by Glenbard East senior defensive back Andrew Toaddy. Moments later, senior quarterback Steve Kinney ran 31 yards for a touchdown to give the Rams a 6-0 lead with about nine minutes left in the first quarter. Junior Frank Loconti booted the extra point for a 7-0 lead.
The Warriors drove deep into Glenbard East territory on their ensuing drive. A long run by senior James Bolden pushed the ball down to the Rams’ 7-yard line. Willowbrook’s drive stalled after that play, and the Warriors wound up attempting a 30-yard field goal kick on fourth down. Senior Jon Morris blocked the kick, and the Rams took over at their own 22-yard line.
Willowbrook’s rushing tandem of Bolden and senior Jabril Jones provided a significant amount of Willowbrook’s offense throughout the game. Bolden, a punishing runner who broke numerous tackles, ran for 129 yards on 18 carries. Jones, a fast and elusive rusher, gained 87 yards on 21 carries.
Kinney and senior receiver Kevin Priebe provided the Rams with their own explosive offensive duo. The two co-captains accounted for the team’s next two touchdowns. One play after finding Priebe for a long gain late in the first quarter, Kinney lobbed another pass toward Priebe, who caught the ball while falling into the end zone. The 13-yard touchdown pass gave the Rams a 13-0 lead with 45 seconds to play in the first quarter. Loconti added the extra-point kick for a 14-0 lead.
Willowbrook scored its first touchdown with 7:13 left in the second quarter, when senior quarterback Dan Fahlgren threw a 21-yard touchdown to senior receiver Tyler Adams. The Warriors couldn’t manage a clean snap and hold on the ensuing extra-point attempt.
The Rams’ 14-6 halftime lead didn’t last long into the third quarter. Glenbard East opened the second half by sending the kickoff out of bounds. Willowbrook began its drive with excellent field position and marched into the end zone for a touchdown. Bolden completed the Warriors’ drive with a 1-yard scoring run. Willowbrook tried and failed a two-point conversion pass that could have tied the game. The missed conversion left Glenbard East with a 14-12 lead with 6:22 to play in the third quarter.
Sophomore linebacker Dom Battaglia gave the Warriors an 18-14 lead less than one minute later when he stripped the football from a Glenbard East player at midfield and raced 50 yards for a touchdown. Willowbrook tried and failed another conversion pass after Battaglia’s touchdown, which came with 5:46 left in the third quarter.
Glenbard East regained the lead less than two minutes later, when Kinney scrambled to his right, then to his left, and heaved a long pass to Priebe, who caught the ball and ran across the goal line for a 65-yard touchdown pass that gave the Rams a 20-14 lead. Loconti’s third extra-point kick of the night pushed Glenbard East’s lead to 21-18 with 3:53 to play in the third quarter.
“It was a five-yard hitch,” said Priebe in describing the long touchdown pass. “He [Kinney] said, ‘Give it a fake, you’re going long.’”
Priebe, who also played free safety on defense, was one of several players who appeared to suffer the effects of cramping during the game, which took place in warm and clear conditions. Priebe missed one series on defense early in the third quarter before returning to the field.
“This was definitely a game we had to have,” added Priebe, whose team will begin play in the challenging DuPage Valley Conference on Sept. 10 at defending IHSA Class 7A state champion Wheaton Warrenville South. “Our two non-conference games are must-win…period.”
One year ago, the Rams won their two non-conference games against Willowbrook and Lake Park to start the season with a 2-0 record. Glenbard East entered its regular-season finale at Wheaton North with an overall record of 4-4. A win would have propelled the team into the IHSA Class 8A playoffs and the school’s first post-season berth since 1999. The Rams, who had a 10-point lead early in the fourth quarter, suffered a heartbreaking overtime loss to the Falcons.
The Warriors had the football at midfield after receiving a Glenbard East punt with about 10 minutes left in the game. That drive ended when senior Dreylon Jones of the Rams made an interception with about 7:30 to play. The Rams were able to hold onto the ball for the rest of the game. Kinney ran for a first down on a third-and-two play with about five minutes to go. A completion to senior tight end David Walsh kept the Rams’ drive going, and forced Willowbrook to take its last two timeouts. The Rams faced a fourth-and-two play from Willowbrook’s 8-yard line with about two minutes to play. Kinney ran to his left and picked up four yards to virtually lock up the victory. Kinney took a snap and knelt down on the next couple of plays to run out the clock.
“I’m not happy with a loss, but I’m proud of how our kids played,” said Willowbrook coach Mark Olson. “We played hard and we reacted well. We just didn’t finish. Getting those [key] plays our way…that’s what was lacking. We’ll keep working, and hopefully continue to get better.”
Montini The Montini Broncos began the 2010 football season against their opponent in last year’s IHSA Class 5A state championship game—Joliet Catholic Academy. Several of the players from the exciting 2009 title game—which Montini won 29-28 on Nov. 28 in Champaign—finished their high school football careers with that game. Other members of the Broncos and Hilltoppers were back in action on Friday night in Joliet.
Joliet Catholic won the 2010 season opener 21-7 in front of a large crowd at Memorial Stadium. The Hilltoppers scored 14 second-quarter points to take a 21-7 lead by halftime.
“It was a tough loss against a good team,” said Montini coach Chris Andriano. “We found out a few things about some of our guys. We’re going to have to work on some technique, but I think we’ve got a good football team overall. There’s certainly no shame in losing to a good team like Joliet Catholic. We’ll bounce back.” The Broncos will play their home opener this Saturday night, when they will take on Loyola Academy (1-0) in the first contest played under the new lights at Montini’s stadium. Saturday afternoon football is history at Montini—where the remainder of the regular-season home games will take place on Friday nights.
The Broncos’ 2010 season opener took place in front of several thousand onlookers on the newly-installed synthetic turf field at Memorial Stadium. The Hilltoppers scored in the first period to take a 7-0 lead. Montini responded with a touchdown of its own on the ensuing drive. Senior quarterback Matt Westerkamp threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to his cousin—junior receiver Jordan Westerkamp. Senior Matt Kersten added the extra-point kick to tie the game at 7-7 in the first quarter.
Matt Westerkamp suffered a shoulder injury in the first half and eventually left the game in the third quarter after completing eight passes for 121 yards. Andriano said his status for this Saturday’s game is questionable. Junior Kurt Gitchell took over at quarterback for the Broncos in Joliet and completed eight passes for 82 yards. Jordan Westerkamp was Montini’s leading receiver with six receptions for 96 yards. Sophomore Joey Borsellino had five receptions for 57 yards. The Broncos managed 75 rushing yards on 18 attempts. Junior Anthony Taylor gained a team-leading 35 yards on two carries, one of which covered 32 yards.
Trailing 14-7 in the second quarter, the Broncos put together a strong offensive drive, but the drive ended without any points.
“We got the ball down there and self-destructed with a penalty and a sack,” said Andriano, whose team features six returning defensive starters and four returning offensive starters. “We didn’t make the big plays when we needed to.”
Senior linebacker Alex Walters made a team-high 11 tackles and recovered a fumble for Montini. Senior defensive back Frank Baer had 10 tackles, and senior defensive back Tom Desmond provided nine tackles and an interception.
“We’ll see how we can rebound this week…this will be a big week for us,” said Andriano, who noted that all five of the Broncos’ rival teams in the Suburban Christian Blue Conference won their season openers. Montini will open its conference season with a Sept. 10 home game against Walther Lutheran.
Rams start with a win; Warriors lose to Marmion
Glenbard East’s boys soccer team began its 2010 season with a 2-0 win over Glenbard West on Aug. 24 in Lombard.
Senior Sam Dennis scored the Rams’ first goal on a penalty-kick shot with about 15 minutes remaining in the first half. Junior Tyler Ford provided the second goal with about 18 minutes left in the second half. Dennis assisted Ford’s goal. Senior goalkeeper Brad Suszek made six saves for the Rams during their shutout of the Hilltoppers.
The Rams’ next contest began a string of five straight matches in Lake Park High School’s tournament. Glenbard East opened the event with Thursday’s 2-1 loss to Buffalo Grove. Dennis scored Glenbard East’s goal on a first-half assist from senior Oscar Barraza. Buffalo Grove scored both of its goals in the first half.
The Rams’ fortunes went down, up and back down in a short span in their next match—a 2-1 loss to Niles West on Saturday afternoon. Glenbard East trailed the Wolves 1-0 at halftime, and for the first 39 minutes of the second half. The Rams tied the score with less than one minute to play in the match. Niles West then scored the winning goal on a free kick with only 11 seconds to play.
Dennis scored the Rams’ goal on a throw-in assist from Barraza with 53.9 seconds left. Glenbard East barely had time to celebrate its tying goal before Niles West scored the winning goal with just 11.2 seconds remaining.
“We really had a good 39 minutes of soccer in the second half,” said Glenbard East coach Josh Adler after Saturday’s match. “We gave up a bad foul, and we weren’t real organized in the free-kick situation, which led to the goal. It’s unfortunate. You battle so hard. You want to be able to finish with a tie. I would be surprised if we have another situation like that happen this season. They’ll learn from it.” The Rams will finish up play at Lake Park’s tournament with this week’s matches against Lake Park, Downers Grove North and Conant.
Willowbrook The Willowbrook boys soccer team opened its season with a 4-3 loss at Marmion on Aug. 24. The Warriors held a 3-2 lead at halftime, but Marmion tied the match with a second-half penalty kick and added another goal with less than three minutes to play.
Seniors Austen Doherty, Hector Herrera and Omar Mendoza scored Willowbrook’s goals. Herrera, Mendoza and senior Ibrahim Ramulic each tallied one assist. The Warriors’ next contest was Thursday’s 4-0 loss at Morton. Willowbrook will play three straight home matches this week at its own invitational in Villa Park.
