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The 5-foot-8, 140-pound senior is better known for playing point guard on the basketball team. His slim frame at first glance appears too fragile to standup to the rigors of the gridiron. Yet he never feels fear on the field. “No, I just play with a lot of heart and passion and I know my teammates got my back, so I’m going to play for them no matter what,” Keith said. “It’s a lot of fun.” It was never more fun for Keith and his teammates than Friday night, when the pint-sized spark plug enjoyed the best game of his football career. Keith caught 12 passes for 177 yards, both career-highs, and scored his first three receiving touchdowns of the season in Glenbard South’s 42-13 Upstate Eight Conference victory over visiting East Aurora. (Sarah Minor)
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He did it despite a shoulder injury that required a postgame ice pack. “It felt good tonight,” Keith said. “I just wanted to come out and have a big game. “My shoulder was a little bit injured, but I wanted to come out and play for my teammates and get a win.” The Raiders (3-1, 3-1) did exactly that – and a cadre of basketball players led the way, including junior quarterback Nick Plaso, who completed 21 of 29 passes for 233 and four touchdowns. The fourth scoring strike, a 14-yarder, went to basketball player Cade Hardtke. Plaso fired touchdown passes of 23, 66 and 14 yards to Keith. The first was a highlight reel catch in which Keith made a leaping grab and got one foot down in the right side of the end zone to make it 14-0. (Sarah Minor)
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The second was a backbreaker, coming one play after Jereye Stevenson had gotten East Aurora (0-4, 0-4) on the board with a 13-yard run. Plaso found Keith over the top of the defense and he was off to the races to give the Raiders a 28-7 cushion with 33 seconds left in the first half. “I saw some gaps in their defense and I saw Tavion running up the seam, so I just tried to put that ball into him as best I could,” Plaso said. “I couldn’t ask for a better receiver to have. He’s a leader on the field, so it’s always great to throw to him.” While it may seem like Keith caught lightning in a bottle against the Tomcats, the reality is he regularly brings an electricity to the team that belies his small stature. (Sarah Minor)
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“He brings leadership, he brings just a sense of energy to our team,” Glenbard South coach Ryan Crissey said. “He really is the heartbeat of the team and when he’s confident, when his game is hot, everyone else just follows suit. “Plus, if he’s hot it’s going to open up other things for our other skill kids.” That’s what happened Friday. Running back Antonio Carter, a 5-7, 140-pound senior who also – you guessed it – plays basketball, rushed 21 times for a career-high 128 yards and two touchdowns. (Sarah Minor)
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That, combined with the stellar play from linemen Brendan Fearon, Damari Harrod, Johnny Golden, Abe Nuno and Tyler Rush, gave Plaso plenty of options. “The offense is really a math problem for our quarterback, so it depends on what advantages we have and we’re just going to exploit those,” Crissey said. “Nick is very intelligent, our skill players are very intelligent, so he has the power to audible and check and he made a lot of correct adjustments.” (Sarah Minor)
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Indeed, Glenbard South’s attack is interesting to watch and hard to defend. It is a spread offense but the Raiders ran 45 times out of the formation for 223 yards against the Tomcats. “We just look at the defense and how they’re aligned and we count numbers,” Plasosaid. “Football is a numbers game to us. “If we have the numbers in the box, we’re going to run it and if the box is stacked, we’re going to throw it. We just make the best decision we can.” (Sarah Minor)