IHSA Team Preview: Glenbard West Hilltoppers

<em><b>Season overview: </b></em> The Glenbard West Hilltoppers have always been a team that contends for state every year under long-time head coach Chad Hetlet. They’re a team that’s known for not only winning but their extremely fast 3-5-3 defense that they run. This spring, Glenbard West was hit hard by COVID-19. Although they finished with a 3-1 spring season record, they could not play all of their games due to the cases. To that point, the Hilltoppers are reloaded with talented players on both sides of the ball such as Christopher Terek, Korey Tai, and [player_tooltip player_id="155314" first="Phillip" last="Dozier"] just to name a few. With a team who has won over 70% of their games in the last 10 years, and players coming back to play varsity football who got some live action this spring, the Hilltoppers are a team who will be contenders to be playing in Huskie Stadium this fall. <strong><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;">2021 Spring Season</span> </em>(3-1)</strong> <b>3/19 @ </b>Addison Trail<b> (56-0)</b> <b>3/26 @ </b>York HS<b> (21-0)</b> <b>4/1 vs </b>Downers Grove HS<b> (59-10)</b> <b>4/16 @ </b>Hinsdale Central HS<b> (7-28)</b> <hr /> <strong><em>Game Breakers:</em></strong> <b>Joey Pope (S- 2023- 6’0” 165 lb)</b> <b>I love Joey’s game. He’s a player who’s a jack of all trades for the Hilltoppers. Great ball skills, great on-the-field speed, and a strong nose for the football. He had his first varsity snaps as a sophomore this spring and played the majority of his snaps at safety. He also lined up and made plays at running back, KOR, and in the box as a walk down rover. Joey Pope is a player to watch on all three phases of the game. </b> <b>Pat Shadid (LB- 2022- 6’0” 195 lb)</b> <b>The 3-3 stack backer Pat Shadid is a star in a great defense. He’s an instinctual linebacker that can be regarded as one of the better tacklers in Illinois. How quickly he breaks downplays and reads his keys are special. His junior season in the spring was multiple times where he made solo tackles in the box, in coverage, or scraping through a blocker on a fast flow sideline play. Playing at a high level as a stack backer means that there’s a lot of discipline present in the player. Offenses should have an “X” on the 3x state-qualifying wrestler when drawing up plays towards his side. </b> <b>Christopher Terek (RT- 2023- 6’6” 295 lb)</b> <b>Christopher had a dominant sophomore season on varsity this spring. At a towering 6’6” 295, he was manhandling defenders off the line of scrimmage, and the second level. This summer, Christopher illustrated that he has worked hard and can pass protect as well as he run blocks. Coming from a single back under center offense, it takes the quarterback more time to carry out play action. With great Offensive line play, particularly a mauler like Christopher, he’s a spotlight player on the Hilltoppers this fall. </b> <b>[player_tooltip player_id="158653" first="Justin" last="Thomas"] (RB/OLB- 2022- 6’1” 195 lb)</b> <b>[player_tooltip player_id="158653" first="Justin" last="Thomas"] is a player that will be monitored to see how he develops. He has great athletic traits across the board and can play most positions on the field. For his size at 6’1” and a solid 195 pounds, it will be worth watching how Coach Hetlet uses the versatile playmaker. </b> <b>[player_tooltip player_id="155073" first="Jason" last="Thomas"] (RB- 2022- 5’9”  195 lb)</b> <b>Jason’s a one-cut running back who plays downhill with a great center of gravity. He played well this spring not getting arm tackled, lowering his shoulder, and being physical when blocking. He does a great job blocking defenders no matter how big they may be. Jason’s a player who could very well put together a lot of strong performances this fall. </b> <strong><em>Other Players to watch:</em></strong> <b>Brady Cavan- FB- 2022</b> <b>[player_tooltip player_id="161329" first="Julius" last="Ellens"]- WR- 2024</b> <b>[player_tooltip player_id="136758" first="Graham" last="Pierce"]- LB/TE- 2022</b> <b>Enzo Diomede- K- 2023</b> <b>Danny Coffey- DE- 2024</b> <b>[player_tooltip player_id="155314" first="Phillip" last="Dozier"]- DE- 2022</b> <b>Jack Oberhofer- LB- 2023</b> <b>Luke Gadomski- OT- 2023</b> <hr /> <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><em>2021 Fall Schedule </em></strong></span> <b>8/28 </b>vs Grandville HS <b>9/4 </b>vs Downers Grove South HS <b>9/10 </b>@ Oak Park-River Forest <b>9/18 </b>vs Proviso West <b>9/24 </b>@ Addison Trail <b>10/2 </b>vs York HS <b>10/8 </b>@ Downers Grove North HS <b>10/15 </b>@ Lyons HS <b>10/23 </b>vs Hinsdale Central HS <em><strong>Games to Watch:</strong></em> The main game I have to watch for Glenbard West this year will be their last game this season. This will be against conference rival Hinsdale Central HS. It will be a physical, fast, and defensive game that will exhibit both teams’ hunger for the playoffs the following week. It could be a game where both teams show up undefeated! This spring season, Hinsdale Central had the Hilltoppers number. In 2019 the Hilltoppers won in OT. I and everyone else should be excited to see how this game resolves in late October. <hr /> <b><i>For more IHSA team previews, you can follow @prepredzone or prepredzoneIL! To have your team featured for a season preview, recruiting advice, or having players featured in future articles, please DM and follow @_D3BO</i></b>