Remember the Maine? GW does
It seems silly to ask Glenbard West coach Chad Hetlet and his players about the first game of last season. It was so long ago, and this is a new season, a new team.
Then the question is asked, and you see the sparks go off in their eyes. The Hilltoppers are more than ready to talk about that 62-34 loss at home to Maine South.
“That is the game everyone has been thinking about,” senior defensive lineman Marky Winters said. “Since we lost last year, beating them has been the goal, honestly. Giving up 60 points was something Glenbard West had never done. Being a part of something like that just does not feel right. If the boys keep grinding and pushing hard until the 24th, it will not be the same result as last year.”
The Hilltoppers travel to Park Ridge to face Maine South on the opening night of the season.
“I’m anxious,” senior linebacker Jayden Rodgers said. “I’ve been thinking about Maine South for months. It’s the biggest game for us until the playoffs. We still have some work to do, some things to clean up. But we will be ready to see them.”
Glenbard West rebounded after that game, finishing the rest of the regular season unbeaten. The Hilltoppers lost to Oswego in the second round of the Class 8A playoffs.
Seven starters are back on defense, a sign that Glenbard West could be primed for a big season. It’s a key reason it starts the year as the No. 9 team in the Sun-Times’ Super 25 rankings.
“That should make a big difference,” Hetlet said. “But you don’t know until you play the first game. Right now, we are working extremely hard, and we are way ahead of where we were last year because of that experience.”
Winters is a three-year starter on the defensive line, and linebackers Rodgers, Otis Nevins and Kyle Dell all return.
The Hilltoppers also have that special, star ingredient that makes a deep playoff run possible: speedster Tyquan Cox.
“He’s really special,” Hetlet said. “I can’t begin to tell you how explosive he looks. When you give him any open space, he’s gone. Just super fast.”
Cox, a senior, has returned three kickoffs for touchdowns in his career and ran for more than 1,000 yards last season.
“I’m faster and quicker, and I have better hands than last year,” Cox said. “Last year, I wasn’t a guy who could catch 10 passes, but this year, I can do it all. I’m explosive, and I can catch the ball well. I’ll follow the offensive line, and they can lead me to the promised land.”
Cox knows that a great deal of the Hilltoppers’ success will hinge on his production.
“My No. 1 goal is for us to win state,” Cox said. “I have to put up extreme numbers for us to do that, but I feel like I can do it.
“We’re going to be more of a hurry-up offensive team and try to wear the defense out. We will see fatigue in their eyes and keep pounding, and that should open it up for deep balls.”
Cox has a scholarship offer from Minnesota State but has his heart set on Western Michigan.
“Western Michigan is my dream college,” Cox said. “I just feel like it is a super sick place. I visited there, and it was awesome. They are still recruiting me, and I’m hoping to go there. That’s what I’m playing for this season.”
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