South Elgin bests Glenbard East in battle of Upstate Eight unbeatens

LOMBARD – On Glenbard East’s first play from scrimmage, the Rams fumbled. South Elgin recovered.

That pretty much set the tone for the game, as the Storm rode a dominant running game and a stingy defense to a 41-7 win in a battle of Upstate Eight unbeatens.

Three plays after the fumble recovery, Jordan Jones ran it in from 8 yards out, and the Storm led 7-0 less than 2 minutes into the game.

“It feels amazing. All the hard work we put in this week, we had a tough week of practice. We got yelled at a couple of times, but we persevered, and it showed up on the field today.”

—  South Elgin's Jordan Jones

Glenbard East had trouble keeping up with the Joneses, who accounted for four touchdowns. Jordan ran for two scores and threw a touchdown pass to Jalen Jones, who also scored on a reverse.

Mason Montgomery added a pair of scores for the Storm, which took control of the UEC race at 5-0, 4-0.

“It feels amazing,” said Jordan Jones. “All the hard work we put in this week, we had a tough week of practice. We got yelled at a couple of times, but we persevered, and it showed up on the field today.”

Jordan Jones, Montgomery and Anthony Marshall each ran for over 100 yards as the Storm racked up 400 yards on the ground.

The defense was equally impressive in pitching a shutout. Glenbard East’s only touchdown came on a scoop-and-score by Demontay Mack. The defense forced two turnovers and held Glenbard East to six first downs.

“I thought we played awesome on defense,” said Storm coach Dragan Teonic. “We were fast and physical. I think they have some good players all over their team, and they’re really well-coached. I think their guys played their tails off. We just happened to get off on the right foot.

“We established a little bit of a running game, and that helps.”

Montgomery scored on a short run to make it 14-0 after one quarter. It was 27-7 by halftime on a 43-yard, Jones-to-Jones connection with just 14 seconds left in the half.

After intermission, Glenbard East started to gain some momentum, pinning South Elgin at its own 1-yard line following a punt. But the Storm responded with a 99-yard drive.

Montgomery and Michael Tringali broke off big gains, and Montgomery finished it off with a 38-yard sprint up the sideline during which he somehow broke loose from a sure tackle around the 20-yard line.

Jalen Jones’ second touchdown, following another long drive, iced the game in the fourth quarter.

Dimitri Hritz ran for 20 yards, and Tyrese Buffkin had three catches for 35 yards to lead Glenbard East, which fell to 4-1, 4-1.