The Comeback
Photo by Jacob de Waard
Naperville North Huskies opened their season with a comeback for the history books, winning after a 42-point deficit in the first half against the Edwardsville High School Tigers.
The Huskies (1-0, 0-0) dug themselves a crater against the Tigers (0-1, 0-0), trailing 42-0 midway through the second quarter. From that point forward, the Huskies scored 53 of the next 60 points, including the final 39 en route to completing one of the greatest comebacks in the history of NNHS football. The game was as lopsided as they come, a 42-point contest with 5:25 remaining in the first half.
A 43-yard TD scamper by Tigers QB Kendall Abdur-Rahman was followed by a 34-yard TD run by Dionte Rodgers to open up a 14-point lead. After an Edwardsville scoring outburst to extend the lead to 42 points, the tables turned when Huskies LB Bo Richter scooped up a fumble and returned it 55 yards to the Edwardsville 25-yard line. This fumble was crucial because if the Tigers had scored another TD, a running clock would have been implemented in the second half, rendering a comeback of this size impossible. DE Nick Vogel commented on the mindset of the defense throughout the game.
“It’s not over until that clock hits zero,” Vogel said. “We believed, we trusted our coaches, we trusted each other and we came out with the W.”
Another key moment in the game occurred when Abdur-Rahman exited late in the second quarter with full body cramps, causing their offense to suffer. After the fumble recovery, QB Drake Davis ran it in from three yards out to put the Huskies on the board. The next offensive drive culminated in a 35-yard TD strike from Davis to WR Nick Calcagno to decrease the deficit to 28 entering halftime.
“We had our ups and downs. I was thinking to just take it play by play, drive by drive,” Davis said.
The Tigers appeared to be in great position out of the locker room, marching down the field and scoring on a 1-yard run. The momentum shift began when Huskies sophomore Matt Maschmeier returned the ensuing kickoff 70 yards for a TD. On the next possession, Davis unloaded 34 yards downfield to Calcagno who hauled it in to trim the deficit to 49-34. The Huskies were not done yet. Later, with under a minute left in the quarter, Davis heaved a 17 yard pass to Calcagno who snagged it with a defender draped all over him to cut the lead to single digits for the first time since the opening minutes of the game.
“There was a little bit of yelling. We just had to turn it around,” Calcagno said. “The offense had to put points on the board, so that was exactly what we did.”
On the ensuing drive for the Tigers, the staunch Huskies defense forced an Edwardsville punt which was returned by Calcagno 83 yards to the end zone for his fourth TD of the game, slicing the deficit to two points with 8:27 to play. Needing one more TD to take the lead, the Huskies milked the clock on their final drive which resulted in a 1-yard rush TD by Drake Davis with 21.5 seconds left. As the clock hit zero, the dramatic comeback was complete.
In a game featuring 92 total points, the efforts of the defense can easily be forgotten. After giving up 42 points in the first half, the Huskies defense stepped up big time by allowing only 7 points in the second half and zero in the fourth quarter. Head coach Sean Drendel praised the performance of the Huskies defense.
“We [the coaching staff] asked [during halftime] if we could tackle like we’re taught and we finally started playing some Huskie football and tackled some people,” Drendel said.
Davis, a transfer from Bureau Valley, dazzled in his Huskies debut. He threw for 389 yards and four TD’s, adding 39 yards and two TD’s on the ground. Calcagno totaled 274 yards and 3 TD’s through the air in addition to the punt return TD. Laurenzo totaled 55 yards and a TD through the air while Jack Hinkle added 16 yards on two catches. The defense was able to perform at a high level in the absence of senior captain LB Ryan Marrano who did not play due to injury.
The opening game of the 2017 season will go down as an absolute classic, a 42-point comeback on the road at a venue more than 250 miles away. The Huskies will look to win consecutive games to begin the season at Metea on Friday. With the resilience and persistence that was on display against Edwardsville, there is no telling how much this team can achieve this season. Drendel echoed the perseverance and will to win that gave his team the unbelievable come-from-behind victory.
“Don’t count us out, I can tell you that.”
Brant Bednarz is a senior at Naperville North High School and this is his second year on The North Star. He is an aspiring sports journalist/broadcaster...
Jacob de Waard is a senior at Naperville North High School and is the Multimedia Producer for The North Star and The NOW. Jacob was born in New Jersey...
