Preview: Normal Community Ironmen vs. Glenbard East Rams
Normal Community has enjoyed the comforts of home their last two games, but now they'll head out on the road. They will face off against the Glenbard East Rams at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday. Normal Community knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with flashy point totals in its past 11 games -- so hopefully Glenbard East likes a good challenge.
With a playoff game on the line, Normal Community rose to the challenge on Saturday. They slipped by Bradley-Bourbonnais 31-30.
Normal Community's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Mar?quan Gary, who picked up 107 receiving yards and a touchdown. Another player making a difference was Kyle Beaty, who rushed for 34 yards and a touchdown.
Meanwhile, Glenbard East had already won eight in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 36 points), and they went ahead and made it nine on Friday. They strolled past Addison Trail with points to spare, taking the game 28-13. Given Glenbard East's advantage in MaxPreps' Illinois football rankings (they are ranked 99th, while Addison Trail is ranked 232nd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Matthew Larson went supernova for Glenbard East, rushing for 288 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 11.1 yards per carry. Larson was no stranger to the big play, turning on the jets for a run that went for 67 yards.
Normal Community's victory was their seventh straight at home, which pushed their record up to 11-0. Those victories were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 48.7 points per game. As for Glenbard East, their win bumped their record up to 10-1.
