SOUTH ELGIN – Bret Bushka has Glenbard East in rarefied air.

The Rams, surrounded in DuPage County by several traditional football powers, have long been a dormant, overlooked program. The last winning season was 1999, Glenbard East's only playoff season.

That was then. This is now.

Bushka and the Rams are back, and could just be getting started.

Glenbard East, coming off an eye-opening win against West Aurora, made another loud statement Saturday afternoon.

Bushka threw for two touchdowns and ran for a third, and the Rams dominated South Elgin 35-7 in a matchup of unbeatens in the Upstate Eight Conference.

Glenbard East (5-0, 5-0), now playoff eligible, is 5-0 for the first time since 1971.

"We just stick to what we are doing, and we really executed," said Bushka, Glenbard East's senior quarterback. "Everyone did their job today."

Bushka, at 5-foot-10 and 190 pounds, does not strike a dominant pose when he trots on the field. His play does the talking.

A three-year starter and owner of all of the program's passing records, Bushka has his fingerprints on everything the Rams do. He's shifty enough to dodge defenders on runs up the middle. He is adept at getting the ball out on bubble screens running the Rams' spread, and has the arm strength to get it down the field.

He's drawn recruiting interest from Butler and Drake, and is in discussions with MAC schools.

South Elgin (4-1, 4-1), one of just three Illinois teams who hadn't allowed a point through four weeks, had no answer for him.

Bushka completed 20-of-29 passes for 249 yards, and ran for 51. His favorite target was 6-foot-1 senior Jeremy Johnson, who had eight catches for 99 yards and two TDs.

"Every week Bret is just a special player. You see it every week, he just takes over," Glenbard East coach John Walters said. "He can run the ball, he can throw the ball, he can get guys on the read option, he's a great football player. The kid is just special. I say it every week."

The Rams wasted little time taking charge of things.

Dominic Tenca kicked a 23-yard field goal, and Josh Tandolina's interception on South Elgin's ensuing possession set up a short field, leading to the first of Jake Netchin's two TD runs, this from 4 yards out.

In the second quarter, Netchin, who ended up with 157 yards, broke free on a 36-yard TD run up the gut, giving the Rams a commanding 16-0 lead.

"We kept the defense on their toes," Bushka said. "They didn't know what play we were going to run."

South Elgin finally got on the board with Azxavier Salinas' 22-yard TD pass to Patrick Noworol, but Bushka needed just four plays to answer. He threaded the needle with a perfect 24-yard TD pass to a sliding Johnson in the right front corner of the end zone for a 22-7 halftime lead.

Johnson was hardly surprised at the success the Rams' offense had against a touted defense.

"We made sure that we did our jobs," Johnson put simply. "If we did our jobs on the plays we have been running all season, we thought we could put up as many points as we did."

It helps to have a special quarterback/receiver connection.

Bushka and Johnson do.

They did it again in the third quarter. Bushka put the ball in the perfect spot where only Johnson could get it, and he cradled another sliding catch near the goal line to make it 29-7.

"Being best friends, playing together for so many years, that helps," Johnson said. "It just comes down to trust. I know he's going to put the ball where it's open and he knows I'm going to be there. Some of those throws he makes, they're on the money. I'm just there."

So is the Rams' defense.

Glenbard East forced three turnovers, and swarmed both of South Elgin's two quarterbacks. Anthony Shockey, Glenbard East's big middle linebacker, had one of the Rams' sacks. The three-year starter has keyed the effort all year.

"They're a pretty special group, and it starts and ends with Shockey," Walters said. "He's a monster. He had another big game today."

With games the next two weeks against East Aurora and Streamwood, teams with a combined one win, the Rams figure to be unbeaten going into a Week 8 matchup at district rival Glenbard South.

Could 9-0 happen?

Glenbard East's only unbeaten season was in 1965, a 7-0-1 team that won the program's last conference title.

"That [9-0] is our end goal," Bushka said, "but when you dial it down we still have another game to win. East Aurora is all we're focused on."