West Aurora beats Glenbard East in renewal of old rivalry

LOMBARD – Once upon a time, West Aurora and Glenbard East were DuPage Valley Conference rivals. While that conference has fallen by the wayside for football, these two teams approached Friday’s game in Lombard, their first meeting in six years, with equal intensity.

The game featured two high-octane offenses with something to prove. The Blackhawks never trailed though and emerged as 45-20 winners.

“We just gotta keep doing what we’re doing,” West Aurora coach Nate Eimer said. “There’s not a magic pill to it. You just gotta keep showing up and keep working harder every day no matter the results.”

The teams wasted little time taking advantage of opportunities. Azuriah Sylvester set the Blackhawks (2-0) up in the red zone by intercepting a Michael Nee pass to get the Rams (1-1), who were pinned deep on the opening kick, off the field early.

Mason Atkins soon hit Kewon Marshall for a 15-yard touchdown pass.

Not to be outdone, Amonte Cook showed off his ability as a return specialist by returning the subsequent kickoff 91 yards to tie the game at 7.

However, the Blackhawks needed only 2½ minutes to drive down field until Sylvester reached the end zone on a first-and-goal at the 1-yard line.

Marshall’s second touchdown reception from 39 yards out was the only score of the second quarter.

The second half also began with some quick scores. Bryce Riley returned the kick 47 yards to set up a short field and ultimately score from 8 yards out.

The Rams responded when Cook caught a short Nee pass and found enough holes to complete a 41-yard touchdown reception.

Riley promptly gave Glenbard East further life when he fumbled on the first play of the next possession, resulting in a recovery by Orlando Hoye and a short field.

Soon faced with fourth-and-12 from the West Aurora 29-yard line, Nee found Chris Renford in the end zone for a 29-yard touchdown.

Suddenly faced with a one-score game, the Blackhawks needed only three minutes, 56 seconds to respond on a drive that featured a fourth-down conversion in Rams territory and an Atkins 33-yard touchdown pass to Reece Powers.

Casey Roney’s 28-yard field goal in the fourth quarter padded the lead for West Aurora.

The Rams made one final push into Blackhawks territory, but Kellen Younie picked Nee off, and Sylvester soon provided the exclamation point with a 47-yard touchdown run.

“We made a couple of explosive plays, which is nice,” Glenbard East coach John Walters said. “They just never really allowed us to get into a rhythm at all offensively, and that’s part of the reason we had three big plays and not much in between.”

West Aurora beats old conference rival Glenbard East in renewal of rivalry (dailyherald.com)