IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Glenbrook South’s Ben Hides races into the end zone after hauling in pass on a wheel route in game at Evanston High School. PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOEL LERNER
This was performance art. This was artistry in motion.
The game may have been out of reach at the time, but that didn’t stop Glenbrook South’s Ben Hides and Jeffery Chrones from carrying out a brilliantly executed 37-yard pass play.
Hides did the wheeling.
Chrones did the dealing.
With 9:45 left in regulation, Hides, lined up as an inside receiver, went in motion on a jet sweep option and ended up running a wheel route down the left sideline.
It turned into a wheel of fortune for the Titans, when the Evanston defensive back got sucked in on the play and Hides went up field and turned on the jets.
Credit Chrones. The GBS senior quarterback aired out a perfectly timed pass to Hides, who caught the ball in stride and sprinted into the end zone.
It was … NFL-like.
“Personally, I love the play,” said Hides, following his team’s 45-20 setback to host Evanston High School on Oct. 13. “It looks like a jet sweep all of the way, but then I pull out and use my speed to get to the outside.
“The X [GBS wide receiver Aidan O’Dea] drew their cornerback away, and that opened a path for me,” Hides added. “They were not expecting it.”
The execution — including the line play of center John Travlos, guards Zach Adams and Dimitri Manesiotis and tackles Sam Dale and Sam Dietrich — couldn’t have been any better.
“We got the right match-ups,” said GBS head coach Dave Schoenwetter, who called the play. “It can be a hard play to defend. You’ve got guys going in four different directions.
“He [Chrones] gave Ben time to separate and get open,” the coach added. “And then he threw a great pass.”
The Chrones-to-Hides combination has worked well all season for the 5-3 Titans. Hides made four catches for 80 yards against the 5-3 Wildkits.
On the season, Hides has been targeted a team-high 38 times and made 18 grabs for 306 yards and five touchdowns.
And the speedy 5-foot-10, 175-pound Hides, who also competes on the school’s track and field team (sprints, sprint relays and long and triple jumps), continues to be “jetsetter” in GBS’s running game.
On GBS’s opening drive at Evanston, Hides capped an eight-play, 61-yard drive with a nine-yard TD run — on a jet sweep.
“We’re just trying to get people in position to make big plays,” said Schoenwetter.
Hides finished the game with eight rushes for 34 yards. He’s currently averaging 7.7 yards per carry (39-301 yards) with four scores.
Hides also is a key member of GBS’s special team units. In the Evanston game, he ran back four kicks and averaged 25 yards per return.
“Ben has been a solid performer for us,” said Schoenwetter. “He’s a high-caliber kid, one you can always count on. He works extremely hard. He’s always prepared.”
Meanwhile, Schoenwetter thought his team was prepared for this key Week Eight battle. The second-year head coach was a little miffed by Evanston’s 25-point margin of victory.
“Frustrating night,” he said. “I really thought the game would be closer.”
The last thing that you want to do against the Wildkits is to get in a track meet with them.
The ’Kits raced out to a 28-6 advantage on four big plays: a 14-yard TD run by quarterback Drew Dawkins, a 38-yard run by tailback Quandre Nicholson, a 54-yard pass play from Dawkins to Malik Ross and an 80-yard TD run by Dawkins on a quarterback draw.
After scoring on their opening drive, the Titans had their next five drives stall short of the goal zone. Playing catch-up wasn’t ideal.
“I actually thought our offensive line did a really good job. It was nice to have them all back healthy,” said Schoenwetter. “We got good line play tonight, but we didn’t capitalize on it.”
Still, moving the ball wasn’t an issue. GBS finished the game with 17 first downs and 388 yards.
And it was a balanced attack. Jeff Jerfita carried the ball 17 times for 79 yards. Savontae Garner had 15 attempts for 78 yards, including a two-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.
Chrones, who was not sacked the entire night, threw for 150 yards (7-16-3) and picked up a nifty 26 yards on a naked bootleg in the fourth quarter.
Early in the second half — one play before Garner’s two-yard TD run — Chrones dropped a snap in the shot-gun formation, recovered it, rolled to his right and heaved up a 26-yard completion to Garner.
The GBS quarterback probably didn’t get a good view of Garner’s reception. He was pushed into the GBS sideline and shoved to the ground by an Evanston pass rusher.
Schoenwetter couldn’t believe that the play didn’t draw a “late hit” flag.
However, the GBS coach wasn’t surprised that Chrones and Garner pulled it off.
“It started out as a odd play, when [Chrones] fumbled the snap,” said Schoenwetter. “But he was able to make something out of the nothing.
“Those two guys have played a lot of football together,” the coach added.