Glenbard East’s football team moved to 3-2 overall and 3-0 in the Upstate Eight Conference East Division following its 20-12 victory over Glenbard South in Lombard on Friday, Sept. 18.
The Rams led the visiting Raiders 20-6 with seven minutes left in the game, which took place in pleasant weather conditions. Glenbard South, which dropped to 3-2 overall and 2-1 in the division with its loss, scored a touchdown with a little more than three minutes to play to cut Glenbard East’s lead to 20-12. The Raiders regained possession with more than one minute to play, but turned the ball over on downs.
Glenbard East maintained its hold on the Rivalry Trophy that’s held by the winner of its annual gridiron contest against the Raiders. The Rams have now won five straight games against Glenbard South. The Raiders last defeated Glenbard East in 2021, when they claimed a 40-20 win in Lombard.
In addition to holding on to the Rivalry Trophy, the Rams picked up another trophy after their win over the Raiders. The Great American Rivalry Series, presented by the U.S. Army, selected the contest as one of its games. Representatives from the U.S. Army attended the matchup and presented a trophy to the winning Rams.
Founded in 2004, the Great American Rivalry Series shines a spotlight on top high school football crosstown and regional rivalries across the United States. In addition to highlighting the game between Glenbard East and Glenbard South, the Great American Rivalry Series selected four other Week 5 games (two in Wisconsin, one in Ohio and one in Minnesota).
The Great American Rivalry series also presented a Most Valuable Player award after the game. That honor went to Glenbard East senior Montii Perry, who rushed for 190 yards and two touchdowns on 28 carries. Perry also delivered strong defensive play as a linebacker.
“Everybody contributed to the team,” said Perry after accepting the MVP award. “I’m the MVP, but I feel like the team helped me, too. I’m thankful for them. We won the game. We came out on top and we did our job.”
Perry broke a 65-yard run during the Rams’ first offensive drive of the night to advance the ball to the Raiders’ 10-yard line. The drive ended with a 22-yard field goal by senior Moises Velazquez that gave Glenbard East a 3-0 lead with 9:01 left in the first quarter. The snap on the kick wasn’t executed cleanly, and Velazquez stopped as he approached the ball. He stopped just short of the ball and ended up making the kick from a near standstill position.
Glenbard South completed a 49-yard scoring drive on a 10-yard touchdown pass with 1:32 left in the first quarter. The receiver who caught the pass earned a penalty after his excessive celebration. The penalty added 15 yards to the Raiders’ extra-point attempt, which was off the mark, leaving Glenbard South with a 6-3 lead.
Perry’s 1-yard touchdown run completed a 63-yard scoring drive in the second quarter. Velazquez added the extra-point kick after the touchdown to push the Rams’ lead to 10-6 with 3:13 remaining in the first half.
Perry added another 1-yard touchdown run with 5:08 left in the third quarter. The extra-point kick extended the Rams’ lead to 17-6.
Velazquez booted a 32-yard field goal to boost Glenbard East’s lead to 20-6 with seven minutes to play in the fourth quarter. Velazquez made the kick shortly after junior Jackson Turko intercepted a Glenbard South pass.
The Raiders delivered a 6-yard touchdown pass with 3:14 to play to reduce the Rams’ lead to 20-12. Glenbard South had its own trouble in cleanly executing the snap and hold for the extra-point kick, and it couldn’t even get a kick off, leaving Glenbard East’s lead at eight points.
The Rams recovered an ensuing onside kick at their own 49-yard line. Moments later, Perry broke a 30-yard run to the Raiders’ 21-yard line. With a little more than one minute to play, Velazquez took the field to attempt a 46-yard field goal that would have just about locked up a victory. But the Rams weren’t able to produce a clean snap and hold, and junior holder Connor LaCount was tackled at the Raiders’ 43-yard line with 1:18 on the clock.
Glenbard South had a chance to drive for a touchdown and two-point conversion that could have tied the game, but the Raiders’ hopes for a comeback ended when their drive fizzled with four straight incomplete passes. The Rams then took possession and ran out the clock.
Glenbard East opened its 2026 season with losses to Willowbrook and Plainfield North. Since that 0-2 start, the Rams have earned division wins over Fenton, Elmwood Park, and Glenbard South.
“My hat’s off to our kids,” said Glenbard East coach John Walters after the victory over the Raiders. “Our guys really found a way to get three in a row.”
Walters noted the strong play of the Rams’ defensive unit in the win.
“I think we have a lot of senior leadership on our defense,” added Walters. “Those guys play with a chip on their shoulder every Friday night. We are tough and physical on defense. We played good defense and we ran the ball, and we won a football game.”
Glenbard East’s season continues with this Friday’s (Sept. 25) division contest at Ridgewood (1-4 overall, 0-2 in the division). The Rebels have suffered two lop-sided division losses, falling 61-13 to Glenbard South on Sept. 4 and losing 63-21 to Riverside Brookfield on Sept. 11). Ridgewood fell to 1-4 after its 29-28 loss to Streamwood in a non-division game on Sept. 18.
