Huskie football defeats crosstown rival Naperville Central
The Naperville North High School varsity football team defeated Naperville Central High School on Thursday, Oct. 20.
The Huskies (7-2) defeated the Redhawks (6-3) with a final score of 31-3.
Both teams scored on their first run, with the Huskies scoring a touchdown and the Redhawks with a field goal. The Huskie defense helped the team power through the rest of the half. Later into the half, senior defensive end Jackson Bauer recovered a fumble that set up the Huskies for their next touchdown. Bauer speaks about how the turnover helped the team get fired up.
“We’re able to get the first turnover of the game and a huge momentum change for us,” Bauer said.
Both the offense and defense continued their strong momentum throughout the game. The defense prevented Central from scoring anything in the second half while the offense put up 17 points. Junior wide receiver Luke Williams discusses how everyone was ready to play under the lights.
“We played good collectively as a team, offense did their job, defense [really] did their job, held them to only three points in the first quarter,” Williams said.
Although the Redhawks defeated the Huskies with a score of 10-7 in the overtime of an earlier matchup this season, the team came in ready for a rematch. Bauer explains the team’s mindset coming into the game.
“Biggest conference rival, we just drilled in our heads run through red all week. And I think that’s something we did great tonight,” Bauer said.
Now that the Huskies have finished the regular season, they will move on to playoffs for the IHSA State Series. The format of the playoffs is a single elimination tournament, meaning if the Huskies lose once, they’re out of the running for the state title. NNHS Defensive Coordinator Chris Arthurs discusses that as a coach, he is preparing for an unknown opponent.
“You wait till Saturday at eight o’ clock when that show comes on and then you get ready to go,” Arthurs said.
The Huskies will now move to the state playoffs. They will play Marist High School at Naperville North.
Will is a senior and starting his second year on The North Star staff. He is excited to start his role as the Sports and Heads up Huskies Editor this year....
Avery Evans is a senior at Naperville North and is thrilled to start her second year with The North Star as a NOW producer. She looks forward to working...
