Glenbard North has winning formula

Glenbard North's Evin Natick looks for running room against Sandburg.
(Rebecca Wharrie/For the SouthtownStar)

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Glenbard North seems to have found the perfect combination for not only dealing with playoff opponents but also the blustery conditions that autumn has brought upon the Chicago area.

The Panthers combined an effective running game with a smothering defense to advance to the quarterfinals of the 8A playoffs with a 27-0 victory over host Sandburg.

"It was hard to throw going (into the south end zone)," Panthers linebacker John Pullia said. "Our goal every week is to be physical and outhit our opponents."

The Panthers (10-1) were so dominant and physical defensively that 16 of the Eagles’ 47 plays went for negative yardage. All told, Glenbard held Sandburg (7-4) to 87 yards of total offense. Chris Gavigan recorded two of the Panthers' four sacks and Pullia led the swarming defense with eight tackles.

It was the sixth shutout of the year for Glenbard and the second in the playoffs. Besides Pullia and Gavigan, defensive stalwarts included Pat Maxwell, Chris Wahrman, Nick Abbate, Aaron Lasek and Alex Wynn.

"(Defensive coordinator) Rich Smelko does an outstanding job getting these kids ready to play," Glenbard coach Ryan Wilkens said. "We ran the ball effectively and Evin (Natick) does a good job of making people miss."

For two quarters, neither team’s defense was too concerned with the pass as each offense had to go into a very strong wind coming out of the South. Natick scored the first of his three touchdowns and the only one the Panthers would need midway through the second quarter on a 15-yard run that he bounced out to the right side for a 7-0 lead.

That score like all of Glenbard’s scores was setup by the defense giving the offense good field position. Three of the four touchdowns came on short drives starting in Sandburg’s territory.

The Panthers put the game away in the third quarter when Natick scored on a 17-yard run and quarterback Tom Traficanti connected with Jason Spencer on a 27-yard score that Spencer laid out for in the end zone.