The football team has once again made it to playoffs, and excitement fills the student body as this is the second year in a row that the varsity team has had the opportunity. 

Last year, students cheered on the team as they became conference champions with an undefeated season. The excitement continued into the first round of playoffs with a win against Prospect 40-14, about which the Daily Herald stating that the team looked like “veterans” against Prospect. Sadly, this happiness soon came to an end as they received their first loss of the season against East St. Louis with a score of 56-14.

But this year, the students of Glenbard East are back for another round of playoffs, after their fifth win against East Aurora at the homecoming game and both fans and players are excited.

Junior Ben Wightkin stated that the team feels “pumped and energized” as it is “the first time we’re going back to back.” 

The football team is currently first place in conference with only one loss against South Elgin 7-35; nonetheless, Bartlett has beaten South Elgin, putting East in a three-way tie with South Elgin and Bartlett — each having one loss. 

Glenbard South is currently right behind in fourth place with two losses, of which is due to the heart-racing loss against Glenbard East on October 18th’s game, 22-19. 

This game further demonstrated the rivalry between the two schools as both student sections anxiously watched the game. The student section quickly became discouraged when South scored in the first 19 seconds and again later in the first half, but at halftime, East regrouped and came back to fight. They then scored twice, making the score 19-14. With 12.2 seconds left and in the true spirit of the victorious underdog, East made a last minute touchdown and ended the game with a score of 22-19. Wightkin said of the win, “We were hyped. It shouldn’t have been that close, but that’s what the game is and you just gotta push through.”

The nail-biting ending of the game against South has only intensified the excitement surrounding playoffs. Footbal players say they hope to secure a final win against Larkin, taking first place in conference, after which there will only be a few weeks until the start of playoffs. 

Although a sixth win against Streamwood secures the first playoff game to be at home for East, the team will not find out who they will be facing until the 7A Bracket Viewing day where the team will gather in the gym and see the placement of all the Class 7A teams. Until then, the students will stay out in the October winds to cheer on the Rams.