Hilltoppers Trounce Proviso West, Odom Injures Knee

A knee injury to starting quarterback Saturday afternoon put a damper on an otherwise happy homecoming game for the Hilltoppers, who crushed Proviso West, 51-13.

Odom injured his left knee on Glenbard West’s first play of the second half. The senior got caught near the bottom of a pileup after carrying the ball for a 1-yard gain.

Odom had to be helped off the field, and was seated on a bench behind the team with his knee wrapped in ice. The extent of his injury won’t be known until he gets an MRI, presumably sometime next week.

“It’s tough to say anything on it,” said Glenbard West head coach Chad Hetlet. “The doctors don’t know; nobody knows. He has to get an MRI.”

The Hilltoppers’ backup quarterback is junior Henry Haeffner, who completed 2 of 3 attempts—both to Nathan Marcus for 28 total yards. Haeffner did start the Hilltoppers’ 49-0 Week 2 win over winless , and threw an 83-yard touchdown during that game.

“We trust him,” said senior offensive tackle Johnny Caspers. “He’s done everything with us. He knows the offense. Hopefully, Justice will be able to help him out [with the offense], and perfect it. And, we’ve got to step up—running backs, offensive line and just carry him.

“We’ll stay positive and be optimistic [for Odom], but you almost have to prepare for the worst.”

“We’ve got people to step up for the position,” added junior running back Kendall Johnson. “It’ll be hard to play without him, but we’re just going to go out and do it for him.”

Johnson combined with Joe Zito and Avery Balogh (50 yards) for 164 yards on the ground. Johnson scored two first-quarter touchdowns—one a 10-yard run and the other a 21-yard pass from Odom—that put the Hilltoppers ahead, 13-0.

Then it was the Marston brothers’ turn to shine. Mike Marston’s pass interception just six seconds into the second quarter led to Dan Cavazos’ 23-yard field goal.

Zito’s 5-yard touchdown—the first of three he’d score on the day—with 1:14 left in the half gave the Hilltoppers a 23-0 advantage. Zito finished with a team-leading 70 yards.

Not to be outdone, Matt Marston—Mike's twin brother—picked off a pass, as well. Matt grabbed a deflected ball on Proviso West’s ensuing possession and raced 23 yards for a touchdown, which made it 30-0.

Mike Marston then nabbed his second interception of the quarter with 11.1 seconds on the clock.

Mike says that he and his brother keep track of who has the most picks in the family, and he’s up, 5-2. But the interceptions, he said, wouldn’t be possible if not for the pressure delivered by the Hilltoppers up front.

Tommy Schutt was his usual disruptive, playmaking self on Saturday. Linebackers Andrew Larkin and Joe Marconi also were in Proviso West quarterback Quincy Cole’s face most of the first half.

“It’s amazing,” Mike said. “They’re the reason why we get the picks. They get to the quarterback, and the quarterback just kind of chucks it up. All we have to do is catch it.”

“The game plan was to bring pressure if they were going to air it out,” Hetlet said. “I think we got to them and forced some bad throws, and our secondary made the most of it when the ball was up in the air. I’m really happy with the way they played.”

After an admitted slow start, Glenbard West’s stellar offensive line opened holes for Zito—who had two touchdowns (1 and 4 yards) and a 35-yard gain during the third quarter—and Johnson, who broke off long rushes of 20 and 21 yards.

Caspers’ linemates include senior JP MacRitchie, and juniors Nick Garland, Alex Gorski and Jake Brodner.

“We came out real flat today,” Caspers said. “It’s homecoming, and we’ve got to bring out more energy than that. That’s something we’re going to have to work on, and we’ll get after it next week.”

Charlie Sweeney intercepted a pass, Kyle Bos blocked a punt and Craig Olsen had a fumble recovery for the Hilltoppers, who take their undefeated record (6-0, 3-0) up against another unbeaten team, Addison Trail, next Friday night. The Blazers (6-0) beat Proviso East, 35-0, on Saturday.

“They’re an undefeated team and we’ve got to prepare,” Hetlet said. “It’ll be our toughest game to date and it’s a big game for us.”

Tune in tomorrow for a photo gallery of today's homecoming game.