Glenbard West rejects Proviso West's statement
Proviso West's football team planned for this to be a statement game.
Glenbard West had its own message in mind.
The Hilltoppers seized control from the opening kick of the game, rolling to a 41-0 West Suburban Silver victory over Proviso West in Saturday's showdown between unbeatens in Glen Ellyn.
The Panthers (4-1, 1-1) entered Duchon Field with high hopes and their first 4-0 start in program history. After fumbling away the opening kick, however, the blitz was on.
Defending Silver champion Glenbard West (5-0, 3-0) rattled off 3 first-quarter touchdowns on a 2-yard run by Adam Bruere, a 52-yard run by Steve Jones and Trace Sorey's 9-yard run.
Six Glenbard West players scored before Nick Burrello notched his second touchdown on a 94-yard kick return to start the second half. Boosting the lead to 41-0 at that point, the running clock rule went into effect.
"We always expect to be 1-0 at the end of the week," said Burrello, who also caught a 64-yard touchdown pass from Tyler Warden. "We had to step up, and I thought we stepped up big. We had a really great game overall."
While the offense piled up 359 yards, including 229 on the ground, the Hilltoppers' defense held firm. Facing 6-foot-5 senior Kyle Prater, regarded as one of the nation's top high-school receivers, the unit pitched a shutout.
Glenbard West turned away the Panthers twice on fourth down, including Tim Hollowed's first-quarter run stuff on a fourth-and-goal at the 2-yard line. The Hilltoppers again stopped the Panthers in the second quarter on fourth down at Glenbard West's 20.
Considerable defensive attention turned to Prater, who caught 4 passes for 66 yards while being covered much of the game by defensive back Jack Marston, who snared a third-quarter interception.
"We just took it as another game, just like we do every week," Marston said. "It doesn't matter who we play. We're going to come out and run our offense and work hard on defense."
Bruere led 10 different Glenbard West runners with 6 carries for 81 yards. Proviso West managed only 30 rushing yards while quarterback Malik Thurman completed 15 of 26 passes for 142 yards.
The Hilltoppers didn't turn the ball over and didn't punt. Proviso West fumbled away the ball three times, including once on a second-quarter onside kick, in addition to Thurman's interception.
"I think we played extremely well in all phases of the game," said Hilltoppers coach Chad Hetlet. "It's just one game and we've got to come back next week, but I thought we dominated in all phases."