The Naperville North Huskies secured their first win of the season over the Waubonsie Valley Warriors, scoring the winning touchdown with less than a minute left in play. 

The Naperville North Huskies (1-3, 1-0) defeated the Waubonsie Valley Warriors (2-2, 0-1) by a final score of 31-28. 

In the DuPage Valley Conference opener, the Huskies were down by a score of 22-17 at the end of the third quarter. The winning touchdown, from senior captain, quarterback, Anthony Gabrione to junior wide receiver Stephan Williams, put the Huskies up by three points with 54 seconds left in the game. Waubonsie had a great final drive that ended with a missed field goal attempt with six seconds left, but in the end, the Huskies came out on top.

“Any time you can win in the DVC is a great win, but to come back and win and find a way to get through it, get after it – it’s huge,” Head Coach Sean Drendel said. “I’m super proud of our kids.”

Players and coaches from both Naperville North and Waubonsie Valley tied their shoes with gold laces tonight, showing their support for pediatric cancer research.

The Huskies offense was dominated by senior captain Matt Maschmeier. Maschmeier scored three touchdowns: a kickoff return, an 80-yard touchdown on a screen pass and an interception deep in the Huskies territory returned for six points. Maschmeier was also the receiver of a successful two-point conversion after his last touchdown.

“I definitely owe it to all of the guys,” Maschmeier said. “If they are not blocking for me, those holes are not wide open for me, so I owe it to my offense and special teams and even my defense.”

The defense also played a pivotal role for the Huskies, giving up only 12 points in the second half with impactful plays made by juniors Connor Corrigan, Adam Sturtz and Dane Tsao, and seniors Cole Loebig, Nick Esposito and Nico Cegles. 

“A lot of people made plays, for example, Nick [Esposito] tipping three balls and almost having an interception is insane as a d-lineman,” captain Cole Loebig said. 

The Huskies were focused on starting this week’s game strong, a weakness they had seen through watching film and competing in practice during the week. Offensively, the Huskies were able to do so, scoring two touchdowns in the first quarter. 

“We talked about getting off to a great start, we got some quick points, and that is what we expected for this game,” Maschmeier said. “We just have to continue with that for the rest of the year.”

The Huskies will continue their season on Friday, Sept. 27 against crosstown rival Naperville Central at North Central College. The game is currently scheduled to start at 7:00 PM. 

Olivia Berry contributed to this story.