Protect quarterback Braeden Novak? Check.
Provide ample running room for Novak, running back/wide receiver Nico Caputo and the other skill players on Riverside-Brookfield’s roster? Also, check.
Play an integral role in your school’s winning its first conference championship in football since 2009? That’s a check as well.
By defeating host Glenbard South 25-7 on Oct. 16, the Bulldogs (8-1, 6-0 Upstate Eight East) earned the league title and achieved one of their primary goals this season.
Left tackle Joaquin Jara, left guard Daniel Amparan, center Felix Sanchez, right guard Charlie Jicha and right tackle Lucas Olson along with fellow tackle Ryan Kubitz helped to end the 17-year drought.
Jara, Amparan, Sanchez and Jicha are all returning starters.
“They have truly been the backbone of our team,” R-B coach Sam Styler said. “There’s the camaraderie that they have. Lucas’ first game back of the season was actually (Friday) night and he had a knee injury right before the season started.
“… We’ve had Ryan Kubitz actually filling in his place for most of the year and he’s done a phenomenal job. This group has been together and they’ve really been developing as a unit for two years now. The fruits of their labor are really starting to pay off this year with what they’ve been able to do. The run game and the pass game have been truly phenomenal. …
“It’s just the way they finish every single play whether it’s a run or pass,” Styler added. “They look to attack and not play so passively. … I’ve got all the faith in the world that they’ll continue to do a great job for us all year.”
Against Glenbard South, Caputo scored twice for the Bulldogs on runs of 1 and 2 yards. Nick Baca pulled in a 7-yard TD toss from Novak and Anthony Lembcke contributed a 1-yard TD run.
“We’re just ecstatic,” Styler said. “This was something that we set out for all year long and to see how we were able to do it with kind of a full team win. The defense was really stepping up and only allowing that one score in the first quarter and then really being able to shut them down after that.
“… These guys worked their butts off to make it happen and we did just that. I’m so very proud of them and they know that we’ve achieved one goal but that there’s still a lot more that this group wants to accomplish. Our school has been set to some new heights and we’re looking forward to the playoffs now.”
R-B is the third seed in the north half of the Class 6A bracket. The Bulldogs get an opening-round bye and will host either Thornwood (5-4) or Plainfield East (5-4) in the first round.