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Justin Jackson rushed for three touchdowns and Glenbard North withstood a second half comeback from host West Aurora to defeat the Blackhawks, 28-14, during Friday’s DuPage Valley Conference game in Aurora.

Glenbard North (4-1, 3-0) wasted no time in getting its offense in gear scoring on its opening drive with 7:41 left in the first quarter on Jackson’s 21-yard run.

West Aurora (1-4, 0-3) actually had more penalty yards than offensive yards in the first half, but it was able to at least hold the Panthers in check on some off their possessions.

Jackson ran in for a 10-yard touchdown with 8:03 left in the second quarter, and quarterback Brian Murphy added a 29-yard touchdown run with just 1:19 left before halftime to extend Glenbard North’s lead to 21-0.

“You have to build a lead on the road because it’s always hard in the DVC,” Jackson said. “We did a great job in first half, but in the second half we need to see where we made our mistakes.”

The Blackhawks started their rally late in the third quarter, finally putting points on the board on a 1-yard run from Booker Ross just five seconds into the fourth quarter.

The Panthers fumbled the ball away on their next possession and the Blackhawks took advantage of the opportunity as Ross was able to blast through the Glenbard North defense for a 17-yard touchdown run to make it 21-14 with still 10:28 left to play.

“It’s not our effort, I think unfortunately a lot of these kids haven’t been in these situations and just have to keep battling through,” West Aurora coach Nate Eimer said. “This is the third tight one we’ve lost and we have to figure out a way to come out on top in these next couple weeks.”

Jackson seemingly put the game out of reach on the Panthers next possession as he erupted for a 51-yard touchdown run.