High school football: Glenbard North defense sparks Panthers in first win of season

CAROL STREAM

Alex Taylor and his Glenbard North football teammates knew a pretty good way to remedy an 0-2 start to the season.

“We knew that we had been playing well, but we haven’t been finishing games well enough so we had to keep playing harder,” Taylor said.

Senior middle linebacker Taylor and his teammates on that side of the ball played great defense and forced six turnovers to set the tone for a 28-6 Du-Page Valley Conference victory Sept. 11 against Wheaton Warrenville South.

“We were bending a little bit [on defense], but it was good to hold up and not give up any touchdowns,” Taylor said.

Senior tailback/defensive back Devion Hodges returned an interception 36 yards for a touchdown and a 21-3 lead in the third quarter.

“I just kind of slow played it, waited for the ball to be in the air, broke on it and pick six,” Hodges said. “It definitely was a must win. We came in treating them like they’re the No. 1 team in the state.”

The Panthers (1-2, 1-2 in DVC) allowed 27 points in their first two games but lost both by a combined eight points.

Glenbard North limited South to two field goals. The first followed a 12-yard touchdown run nullified by a holding penalty.

Sophomore Greg Newsome had two interceptions, and Taylor and Justin Pitts one each. Colin Rosado recovered the fumble caused by Brandon Fierro and Dmyreo Mitchell.

“Going 0-3 is brutal, absolutely. A win was needed for sure,” Glenbard North coach Ryan Wilkens said.

“The defense is just outstanding week in and week out. [Coordinator] Rich Smelko does a great job with our guys and he’s got them understanding what’s going on and they fly around.”

The Tigers (1-2, 1-2), devastated by injuries on offense, including two quarterbacks, won the opening coin toss and deferred the kickoff. The Panthers responded with a 77-yard touchdown drive, 54 of them gained by Hodges. Quarterback Shane Conway scored on a 1-yard sneak.

As Conway scrambled towards the sidelines on third-and-12 from the Tigers’ 36-yard line later in the game, he found Jace James for a touchdown and 14-3 lead.

Hodges followed his interception return with a 48-yard TD run in the final minute.

“On offense when you’re running the ball, there’s people hawking after you,” Hodges said. “When you’re running the ball [on an interception] ... it kind of sucks the life out of them. I was just running free. It feels a lot different.”

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Week 4 matchup

Who: Glenbard East at Glenbard North

When: 7:30 p.m. Sept. 18

Where: 990 Kuhn Road, Carol Stream

Records: Glenbard East 3-0; Glenbard North 1-2

Outlook: After getting their first win out of the way, Glenbard North can now focus on getting back to the .500 mark. Playing their lone nonconference game of the season, the Panthers face a Glenbard East squad that is off to its best start in over 15 years.

Glenbard North continues to be led by its running game. Devion Hodges rushed for 118 yards against Wheaton Warrenville South and now has 287 yards through three games. Vittorio Tricase is averaging 6.2 yards per rush and has 203 yards on 33 attempts.

Jace James does give the Panthers a threat on the perimeter as he has hauled in 11 catches for 203 yards.

Defensively, Greg Newsome already has four interceptions. Justin Pitts also has two picks.