The Naperville North varsity football team lost a tough battle against Neuqua Valley in their first conference game on Friday.

The Huskies (1-2) were defeated by the Wildcats with a final score of 7-21 after a storm delayed the game for 40 minutes.

The initial wet weather created challenges for North’s defensive line as they fought to find their footing on the slippery turf, missing key tackles throughout the game. The entire team seemed to struggle to concentrate as rain pelted them throughout the first half. Quarterback Aidan Gray believes the distractions kept the team from performing at their peak level. Gray scored the Huskies’ only touchdown of the night, running the ball for six yards into the endzone.

“[It was a] tough game to keep our focus throughout. Coach did a good job of keeping us in the right mindset, knowing that the battle was not over and that we still had a chance to score,” Gray said.

With that mindset, the defense continued to fight and regained some rhythm in the second half, only allowing one touchdown from the opposing team. Though the Wildcats kept up a relentless offense, the Huskies began to make a comeback late in the second quarter when junior David Jones made a crucial interception at the ten yard line. 

“I just knew I was doing it for my brothers and all we wanted to do was win… We want to cut out the silly mistakes and just be a better defense as a whole,” Jones said.

Though losing their first conference match was not the outcome they had hoped for, the Huskie football team fought with a tenacity missing from some previous games this season. Head Coach Sean Drendel was proud of his team for persevering and fighting throughout the entire game. 

“Last week we didn’t really play that hard. I think today we flew around and played the game how it was supposed to be. We weren’t always disciplined, we didn’t do everything right, but we did play hard and we played with passion,” Drendel said.

The Huskies will travel to Dekalb Friday, Sep. 24 to continue their season against the Dekalb High School Barbs.

Julia Putman and Caroline Kady contributed to this story.