The West Chicago Wildcats faced off against the Glenbard South Raiders on Sept. 12 in a hard-fought game, but the Raiders came out on top with a 34-27 victory. The loss marked the Wildcats’ eighth straight against Glenbard South and came just a week after their 64–33 takedown of Joliet Central.

“I feel like we played pretty hard. I’m proud of the guys. I’m proud of the way our guys responded at halftime. But you know a couple of little mistakes cost us the game,” Coach Malko Odishoo said.

Although they started on a good note and played with a lot of heart, the Wildcats were unable to score in the second half.

“Honestly I think a problem for us all year has been penalties. Just dumb penalties like not being smart and ball security. I had a costly fumble that they called a touchback. But other than that we played hard,” quarterback Carter Naranjo said.

Naranjo had four touchdowns against the Raiders and rushed for 242 yards, including a 59-yard run, but could not come away with the win. The Raiders’ defense had a couple of huge stops in the third and fourth quarters that shut down the Wildcats’ offense.

“I’m super proud of the guys. They played their tails off. Turnovers hurt us on offense and some missed assignments hurt us on defense. We have a well-rounded team that can fix mistakes and bounce back quick,” senior Matthew Zuffante said.

The Wildcats are now 2-1 on the season, while Glenbard South also improved to 2-1 with its second straight victory. West Chicago will look to bounce back at home Friday against Ridgewood.