Jack Swick had a pretty great first-ever game of football.

With 2.9 seconds left and the game tied, Glenbard West put the fate of the game in the hands of the senior kicker, who has spent the past three falls on the school’s soccer team.

But if there’s one thing the senior knows he’s good at, it’s kicking while under pressure.

“A lot of things happened there, but I used to be the guy to kick penalties in soccer games, so I’m used to the pressure,” Swick said. “Just needed to make sure I kept calm and banged it through the uprights.”

And when it mattered, he did just that.

Swick banged home a 24-yard field goal as time expired to help the Hilltoppers secure a 31-28 victory over Batavia on Friday.

“We just didn’t let down this entire game,” Glenbard West coach Chad Hetlet said. “Batavia’s one of the best teams in the state, and you’re playing them at their place. And I think our senior leadership led our guys down the stretch. They made some great plays, and it was just a good victory for the entire team and program.”

Swick’s game-winning kick for the Hilltoppers (1-0) was set up by a big defensive play. With 45 seconds left and the Bulldogs on their own 20, the Hilltoppers swarmed quarterback Michael Vander Luitgaren for a sack.

A few seconds later, linebacker Max Hetlet, the son of coach Chad Hetlet, emerged from the pile with the ball, and the referees signaled the ball going the other way.

“It was just instincts,” Max Hetlet said. “I just made a play on the ball after I saw the ball go out. After the last drive where they broke off a big run, it was just huge to get that ball.”

The sack was the Hilltoppers’ ninth of the game, with seven different players making stops in the backfield. Max Hetlet and senior Jayden Daniel led the way with two sacks apiece.

“We’ve just got a really fast and athletic defensive line, so we felt pretty good going into the game that we were going to beat them around the edge and get pressure on them,” Max Hetlet said. “They forced the quarterback out, and we got to the ball a couple of times.”

All of the Hilltoppers’ touchdowns stemmed from long-yardage plays, with two of them coming from running back JaMarcus Kelly, who took two screen passes for 136 yards and two touchdowns. He also had a 4-yard rushing touchdown a play after a 58-yard pass to Bryce Ellens.

“I just want to really thank my O-linemen,” Kelly said. “They set up the plays for me and my fullback had some good blocks, and I just went with them and found the open space that was there.”

Jaylen McMiller also got in on the scoring after opening up the second half with a 93-yard kickoff return touchdown to make it 21-7.

“It’s a good and bad thing at the same time,” Chad Hetlet said. “It’s awesome, but at the same time we need to establish drives, and Batavia did a great job keeping us from doing that.”

Besides those big plays, the Bulldogs (0-1) managed to put a damper on the Hilltoppers’ offense, allowing just 37 rushing yards aside from those five plays.

“That was pretty much everything for them,” Bulldogs coach Dennis Piron said. “We made some plays on defense and kind of figured things out near the end. And on offense we did some creative things out there.”

Batavia tied the game at 28-28 with 2:52 left in the contest after senior running back Preston Brummel (14 carries, 97 yards) broke off a 50-yard touchdown.

Vander Luitgaren finished the game with 179 passing yards and two touchdowns, with 129 of those yards and a touchdown going to wide receiver Brett Berggren, and the other 50 and a score going to wideout Brennon Zeng. Linebacker Tony Minnec also got in on the scoring with a 41-yard pick-6.

“I’m really proud of the way we fought in this game,” Piron said. “A couple things didn’t go our way. It was heck of a game from our kids. I know they’re disappointed with the loss, but we’ve got a long way to go.”

As for the Hilltoppers, it gives the team a much-needed spark to making it back to the playoffs after missing it for the first time since 2006 last season.

“This is a monster win for so many things,” Chad Hetlet said. “You’ve got to work hard in the offseason and we did that. And it shows on the football field. And now we can say we beat a Top 5 team in the state of Illinois.”

https://www.shawlocal.com/friday-night-drive/2025/08/30/glenbard-west-uses-timely-defense-big-offensive-plays-to-get-walk-off-victory-over-batavia/