Four DuPage County football teams make fast starts

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By Bobby Narang

After two week we know:

• Glenbard South High School is riding a young football team brimming with potential to a potential playoff berth.

• Glenbard West is loaded with talented running backs, a stout defense, and a strong special-teams unit.

• Glenbard East is showing the ability to handle close games.

• Montini Catholic is just taking care of business.

All four teams in DuPage County are undefeated after two games this season.

Glenbard West leads the group with a pair of impressive showings by defeating venerable Maine South, 45-28, and crushing Leyden, 55-8, to enter into week three against winless Proviso West with plenty of momentum.

The Hilltoppers have been relying on their talented running back trio of Jalen Moore, Joey Richmond, and Samson Zander. All three played small roles last season, but have emerged into a triple threat that wears down defenses.

“We’re lucky to have some very talented running backs that are explosive, can block and are versatile,” Glenbard West head coach Chad Hetlet said.

Meanwhile, Glenbard South is led by quarterback Nick Plaso and wide receiver Trevor Burnett. The Raiders, who finished 5-5 last season, managed to limit Streamwood and Elgin to a combined 18 points in the first two games. Burnett is a player to watch after catching six passes for 84 yards and two touchdowns against Elgin in an Upstate Eight Conference game.

Burnett has been a main focus of opposing defenses in the first two weeks.

“I was very surprised because it was the first game and Streamwood had a linebacker, safety, and cornerback, on me the whole time,” Burnett said. “I kept fighting to get open and get yards. I didn’t think they would key on me. My coaches told me to take a deep breath and not worry about who was guarding me.”

Glenbard South head coach Ryan Crissey said Plaso and Burnett have formed a nice combination early this season.

“Nick was able to take advantage of a couple of matches, to get the ball to Trevor,” Crissey said. “It’s hard for an outside linebacker to cover Trevor Burnett. Nick does a wonderful job exploiting defenses and taking calculated risks.”

Senior wide receiver Deon Cook’s solid play is a big factor in Glenbard East’s strong start. Cook had five receptions for 63 yards in a victory over Elgin in week one. He caught 10 passes for 125 yards and one touchdown in a 24-21 victory over Bartlett.

A few miles away, Montini has allowed just seven points in two games, highlighted by a 55-0 victory over Chicago Collins in week two. The Broncos will have a tougher test this week when they play at Mt. Carmel in Chicago at Gately Stadium in a Chicago Catholic League/East Suburban Catholic Conference (CCL/ESCC) non-conference game.

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