Zach Hersh’s two long TD catches help Stevenson past Glenbard East, into 8A quarterfinals

LOMBARD – Stevenson has improved so much since last season, this almost has the look of one of those college teams that went crazy in the transfer portal.

But no, it’s the same guys, and the Patriots advanced to the Class 8A quarterfinals for the first time since winning the 2014 state title with a 35-7 victory over Glenbard East on Friday.

Stevenson (10-1) will play at Lincoln-Way East (11-0) next weekend.

The host Rams built some serious momentum early in the game and were 4 yards from taking a 14-0 lead.

But Stevenson stayed on course and eventually piled up the big plays.

Senior receiver Zach Hersh scored on touchdown passes of 54 and 40 yards, returned a kickoff for a TD that was called back by a holding penalty and added a 44-yard run late in the contest.

“It feels amazing,” Hersh said. “I’ve had four touchdowns this year. I think they’ve all been over 50 yards. I’ve had four or five called back now. Getting in the end zone feels amazing, especially in this atmosphere.”

Hersh was a B-team quarterback as a freshman, then missed his sophomore year with an injury. Last season he competed for the starting quarterback job but lost out to Aidan Crawley.

“I’m proud of all these kids, but if I could talk about Zach Hersh for just a second,” Stevenson coach Brent Becker said. “He came back this year and decided to be a receiver, returner, corner, long snapper. That kid is the heart and soul of our team right now, and I’m just so proud of him.”

Glenbard East (9-2) reached the quarterfinals last year, but in 7A. The Rams averaged 45.8 points in their wins, but played just two 8A teams during the regular season.

“We never back down from anyone,” Glenbard East senior Chris Renford said. “We’ve always been the smaller team with just a big heart. We did what we could. The chips didn’t fall where we wanted to, but we’re still proud of all the guys.”

The Rams did get off to an incredible start. On the first play, wide receiver Amonte Cook took a handoff and threw a pass to Renford for 31 yards. Eventually, Glenbard East completed the 72-yard drive by converting a fourth-and-14. Junior QB Michael Nee hit Lucas Freese on a crossing pattern for a 24-yard touchdown. Renford finished with seven receptions for 107 yards.

After Hersh’s kickoff return TD was called back, Renford recovered a fumble two plays later and the Rams moved to a first-and-goal at the 4, threatening to go ahead by two scores.

A penalty, 2-yard loss and a sack by Stevenson’s Luke Nelson pushed the Rams back to the 15 and the drive ended with a missed field goal.

“The energy felt good in the building,” Renford said. “That playoff atmosphere just brings the best out of everybody. So we were feeling it. The thing about playoff games is it’s all momentum. We got our momentum early and then it kind of burned out.”

The Patriots got on the scoreboard early in the second quarter when a 40-yard pass from Crawley to Thomas Simmons set up a 4-yard run by Fatman Thorndyke.

David Akinbosoye intercepted a deep pass for a quick Stevenson takeaway and on the next play, Hersh took a bubble screen 54 yards for a touchdown, outrunning everyone on defense. Just before halftime, Crawley hit Hersh behind the defense for a 40-yard TD that made it 21-7.

Crawley and Aiden Elliott added touchdown runs in the second half. Crawley was 8-for-12 passing for 176 yards. Hersh had four catches for 111 yards, while Thorndyke rushed for 112 on 15 carries.

“No transfer portal. Really, really hard work, especially this senior class,” Hersh said. “We went 3-5 freshman year, 5-4 in JV and now we’re in the quarterfinals. We’ve been waiting for this and this is a team win, it’s awesome.”

https://www.dailyherald.com/20241108/prep-football/pride-of-the-patriots-stevensons-surprising-season-continues-with-win-over-glenbard-east/