The Neuqua offense seemed to be just too much for the Huskies to handle Friday night as they fell short of a potential playoff berth.

The Naperville North Huskies (3-6, 1-3) were defeated by the Neuqua Valley Wildcats (6-3, 3-1) by a final score of 28-7.

The Neuqua Valley offense started the game fast, scoring on their first drive of the game. The Huskies were able to tie the game with a scoring drive of their own, but quickly allowed another touchdown via a kick return, and the Wildcats led the game 14-7 at halftime.

“When you’re battling and fighting and doing a lot of good things and then that [kick return] happens, it [takes] the wind out of our sails a little bit,” head coach Sean Drendel said.

The Neuqua offense didn’t slow down in the third quarter, adding two more touchdowns and preventing the Huskies from scoring. Despite a shutout fourth quarter from the Huskie defense, the offense couldn’t add any more points and the Wildcats won the game 28-7.

“When you’re the underdog, you need things to go right for you,” Drendel said. “We just weren’t able to punch the ball in the second half.”

As the last game of the season, the team was very emotional after the game, and Drendel was able to reflect back on this season positively.

“Football is all about character. We were behind in a bunch of games and fought back, [and] we did all the little things right. We had zero issues this season about character, which isn’t easy for a high school team. I love these guys to death and I’m so proud of them,” Drendel said.

The Huskies finished the season with a 3-6 record, and were unable to qualify for the IHSA state playoffs.