In the first of two crosstown matchups this season, Naperville Central quarterback Payton Thorne seemingly couldn’t throw a bad pass en route to a Redhawk victory.

The Naperville North Huskies (0-3, 0-0) were blown out by the Naperville Central Redhawks (1-2, 0-0) by a final score of 35-7.

The Huskies came out strong and tied the game at seven in the first quarter, keeping the game close and, entering halftime down 14-7.

“This is obviously a game we wanted to come out fired up for,” Senior Bo Richter said. “We came out more fired up tonight than our last games… we game planned well for this team.”

The Huskie offense scored their only touchdown in the first quarter through a rare trick play: A double handoff that led to a 60-yard touchdown run by junior Matt Maschmeier.

The Huskies missed a valuable opportunity to tie the game going into the half when they failed to convert on a 4th-and-6 in the red zone.

“If we scored [that touchdown] right before half, maybe the game [would] turn out a little different,” Head Coach Sean Drendel said. “It would have tied it up, but it is what it is. We just didn’t make enough plays.”

Despite a strong first half from the Huskies, they couldn’t keep up with the high-powered Redhawk offense, led by senior QB and Western Michigan commit Payton Thorne. Thorne threw for 4 touchdowns and added in one more on the ground.

The Huskies failed to capitalize on their opportunities on various occasions throughout the game, falling short in the red zone multiple times.

“The difference in the game is making those small plays and coach preaches that to us all the time,” Maschmeier said.

Despite coming out of this game having taken another tough loss, the Huskies are excited for their upcoming conference opener next week. The Huskies will face-off against the Metea Valley Mustangs (0-3, 0-0) for their highly anticipated Homecoming game.

“We’ve faced three great teams so far this year to open up the season, and we’re excited to get the chance to bounce back against Metea on homecoming night,” Richter said.

Note: The Huskies will have another chance against the Redhawks at North Central College on the 28th, due to the shrinking of the DuPage Valley Conference. That matchup will count as the conference matchup between the crosstown rivals.

Gallery • 4 Photos

Photo by Katie deWaard

RB Ameir Wilbourn (25) runs the ball in the first quarter for a gain of four yards. The play helped set up the team for North’s first and only touchdown of the evening.