In an instant classic that featured 12 touchdowns, it was the right foot of Moises Velazquez that ultimately decided the Upstate Eight East conference championship Friday night in Lombard.

The Glenbard East junior kicker nailed a 48-yard field goal as time expired, giving the Rams a thrilling 45-43 victory over Riverside-Brookfield and their second consecutive league title.

The game-winner was set up by a 39-yard pass from Michael Nee to Muhammad Musleh, followed by a spike of the ball to stop the clock with just over three seconds remaining.

ExpandAutoplay

Image 1 of 20

Glenbard East's Malachi Miller (14) runs the ball during the varsity football game between Riverside Brookfield and Glenbard East on Friday, Oct. 24, 2025 in Lombard, IL. (Tony Gadomski/Tony Gadomski for Shaw Local News Network)

“It feels great,” said Velazquez of his career-long kick (he believed his previous long was 29-yards) with Nee as his holder. “It feels amazing. I feel like I earned that, I’ve put blood, sweat and tears into my craft. The team gave me the best shot and I knew I needed to finish the job and I did. I just went out and did my job and thankfully did it pretty well.

“I had a little doubt for a millisecond; I felt that it was a little low. But I knew that I had driven it with power. It just doesn’t get better than that at all.”

Nee completed 20-of-27 passes for 301 yards, connecting with Musleh earlier in the contest for a 73-yard touchdown, while also running one in from eight-yards out.

“We are always a team that fights until the end,” said Nee, who is committed to South Dakota to continue his basketball career. “We knew when they scored that we had a little under a minute left, just like last year against Willowbrook. And we’ve got a great kicker, kudos to Moises. We fully believed, even with slim hope.

“This is what you live for. This is my senior year and we’ve got a ton of seniors on this team. To go out (in the regular season) like that is something I’ll remember for the rest of my life. This is a special night.”

Kedrick Dennis kept Glenbard East (8-1, 6-0) close throughout, rushing for 182 yards and four touchdowns, three of which came after halftime. His performance helped the Rams overcome 15 penalties.

“He’s a good back who can really run the ball,” said Glenbard East coach John Walters, whose team had yielded a combined 26 points over the past five weeks. “And when you talk about him running the ball, you also have five guys upfront who are doing a lot of work.”

Musleh finished with four receptions for 129 yards and Malachi Miller had seven catches for 58 yards.

The visiting Bulldogs (8-1, 5-1), who were in search of their first undefeated regular season since 2001, took a 43-42 lead on a two-point conversion pass from Braeden Novak to Giancarlo Garcia, which came on the heels of a 14-yard TD from Novak to Xavier Mrozik-DeJesus with 50.4 seconds remaining.

That was the second scoring connection between the junior quarterback and DeJesus, the first going for 61 yards which knotted the score at 35-apiece early in the fourth quarter.

Novak threw for 290 yards, also connecting with Jayden Karas for a 10-yard touchdown, while rushing for 61 yards and a score. Jacob Retana added a pair of touchdowns and 76 yards rushing.

“You have to take your hat off to RB and how they played tonight,” Walters said. “We have a great culture and we have great leaders and guys who believe in themselves and this program. We are going to give everything we’ve got.

“You have to believe in your players. We don’t do all of this to not believe in your guys. I asked Moises if he could make it (from that distance). He said yes and with the conference championship on the line, he went out and hit an absolute bullet.”