As the rain poured down, the Wildcats stood soaked in sweat and water, but nothing could dampen their spirit of the Wildcats. They raised their helmets with pride after a dominant win against Ridgewood. 

After losing last week’s game, West Chicago bounced back against Ridgewood on Sept. 19. Despite the rain, the team fought through all four quarters at Memorial Field. Their hard work and dedication paid off with a 66-20 win, moving them to 3-1 on the season.

Before that moment, though, the night had begun with anticipation and pregame rituals. After entering the field and finishing their warm-ups, the team lined up as the national anthem rang through the stadium. Coach Adam Chavez wished each player good luck before the kickoff.

Once the game began, the Wildcats quickly set the tone. After a tackle, senior Trevor Sweeney recovered a fumble to give West Chicago possession.

“I would say that the only thing in my mind was to get the ball back for our offense to come back out and score and I have to get the ball,” Sweeney said.

Sophomore Joel Montgomery makes a tackle as teammates close in to help stop Ridgewood’s drive.

Senior quarterback Carter Naranjo looks for a way past the defensive linemen as his team tries to block the Rebels from reaching Naranjo.

After Naranjo went 10 yards off the field to catch the ball, the referees called it a foul. The players looked to the sideline while Chavez raised his arms at the referee.

Senior Emanuel Lopez gets into position moments before they resume the game at the 10-yard line.

“At that moment, I was thinking that I needed to get to the ball and shut down their offense,” Lopez said.

Marching band leader and senior Hailey Teran led her section, mace in hand, moments before performing in the halftime show.

As the marching band performs, the motion of the bright colorful flags wove patterns by the color guards as they coordinated with the music.

After halftime, the Wildcats returned to the field determined to finish strong. Players piled up on top of players as everyone is on the same mission — yet, the Wildcats still managed to keep possession of the ball.

Senior David Weber looked to junior Geoffrey Fleming as the referee raised his hands towards the Wildcats. After a fourth-down stop, the ball was given back to the offense.

As rain fell down in the second half, the offensive line prepared to go face to face with the opponents, hoping to score a touchdown.

Senior Diego Hernandez and junior Josue Romero both tried to shed blockers to get to Ridgewood’s sophomore quarterback, Kyle Szewczyk.

As the clock reached 0 in the fourth quarter, the entire West Chicago team lined up along the 50-yard line to shake the opposing team’s hands one by one. Once the handshake line cleared, the Wildcats gathered at midfield to revel in their victory.

With smiles and hugs, the team celebrated their win, huddling up to listen as Chavez said some words of encouragement. As the players huddled together, the coaching staff reflected on how the team had responded after last week’s loss.

“I thought the D-line, last week, came off not as physical as we wanted to. And this week, they came out ready to play. Our outside backers came out ready to play. Really, the whole team was challenged. Then they all came out to play,” coach Kevin Jarosz said.

This story was originally published on Wildcat Chronicle on September 20, 2025.