Amonte Cook sparks Glenbard East past West Chicago to clinch school record seventh straight playoff bid

LOMBARD – It was a night for the record books as Glenbard East clinched a school-high seventh straight playoff appearance with a 49-15 victory over West Chicago on Friday in Lombard.

“The guys are aware, program wide, of where we’re at and what we’re trying to do,” Glenbard East coach John Walters said. “This is the longest streak we’ve had in our school and our kids take a lot of pride in that.”

Rams wide receiver Amonte Cook provided a spark early on special teams, dazzling the home crowd as he twisted his way through the Wildcats (4-3, 2-2) punt team for a 60-yard return to give his team a 14-7 lead in the first quarter.

“I just try to feel out the defense, because I know I can beat them with speed,” Cook said. “As soon as I get them faked out, I know I’ve got them.”

He quickly followed up his special teams score by catching two second quarter touchdown passes from quarterback Michael Nee, first from 8 yards out and again from 41 yards away just before halftime.

Nee recognized single coverage on Cook and made the most of the opportunity to end the half.

“I see pre-snap, the safety walking down,” Nee said. “I knew Amonte would have one-on-one. Just knowing Amonte with his speed, he’d get past him. So I just got it out there to him and let him do his thing.”

The Rams ended up scoring through the air on four occasions; but, they did not come into the game with that as a focus.

“We try to mix it up,” Walters said. “I don’t know if we go into a game saying ‘We’re gonna throw this many times or run this many times.’ We kinda take what they present to us and tonight there seemed to be a few more opportunities in the air than on the ground.”

Glenbard East (6-1, 4-0) did manage to score on the ground with a first quarter Max Salek run; however, an unexpected highlight of the evening came late when Hank Schendel picked off a Wildcat pass and took it the distance to add an exclamation point on this Rams win.

“It was my first play of the night, which is crazy,” said Schendel, a senior. “I’m expecting run, because they run the ball a ton because they’re a Wing-T team.

“I notice he drops back and I read it and I know the dude is running a flat because I can see him in the corner of my eye. I’m like, ‘I know this ball is coming for me’ so I brace myself and get ready. Then I see that ball and my eyes light up. I just grab it and go. It was exhilarating.”

It was the first touchdown of his football career.

“I started playing when I was a freshman, so scoring in front of my home fans and my grandparents here tonight, it was just awesome,” said Schendel.

Walters was proud to see his team score in all three phases of the game, and he was happy to send off his seniors with one last home win.

“You have guys who have been in the program for four years and have sacrificed a lot,” he said. “It’s important to go out and win on Senior Night for those guys.”