On Friday, Oct. 18, the Naperville North High School varsity football team beat Homewood-Flossmoor in double overtime, continuing their 4 game winning streak as they head into their regular season finale.
The Huskies (6-2) pulled out a last minute win against the Vikings (4-4) with a score of 63-62.
The Huskies had a rough start to the game. Two early touchdowns by the Vikings coupled with an injury to senior defensive lineman Donavan Howard (52) had set the Huskies down in the beginning.The Huskies blocked both extra point attempts from the touchdowns, which led to a score of 12-0 to end the first quarter. Fortunately, at the beginning of the second quarter, senior quarterback Jacob Bell (2) completed a pass to senior wide receiver Brock Pettaway (11) to secure the first touchdown of the game. The Huskies completed the extra point as well, making the score 12-7 with 11:06 left in the first half. However, the Vikings succeeded in getting a touchdown on their next possession, making the score 19-7 with 9:17 left in the second quarter. The Huskies came back with an impressive touchdown through a long catch by senior wide receiver Nick Manzardo (1), which led the score to be 19-14 with 7:54 left in the quarter. After successful tackles by the Huskie defense, the Huskies regained possession, leading to another touchdown by Pettaway with 0:32 left in the half, finally giving the Huskies the lead with a score of 21-19. Pettaway detailed what it meant to him to score the first touchdown of the game and ultimately put the Huskies in the lead by the end of the first half.
“Overall it’s a great momentum push, that’s all a team like us really needs, we got guys everywhere so whoever gets in the end zone first makes it a great start for the offense,” said Pettaway.
Going into the second half, the Huskie defense began to falter, which allowed the Vikings to score two touchdowns. However, the Huskies blocked one of their extra point attempts, making the score 32-21. Then, senior defensive back/punt returner Zach Mally (20) received the Vikings’ punt and was able to run the ball back deep into Viking territory. Through this massive play, the Huskies scored a touchdown by Bell with 0:16 left in the quarter, making the score 32-27. To start the fourth quarter, the Vikings scored yet another touchdown, securing the two-point conversion along with it, leading to a score of 40-27. Through multiple successful runs, Pettaway scored his third touchdown of the night with 6:14 left in the quarter. However, the Huskies missed the extra point attempt, making the score 40-33. Although the defense continued to fight with big tackles from junior defensive lineman Gabe Hill (99), the Vikings scored again with another touchdown and two-point conversion, making the score 48-33 with 2:22 left in the game. With 1:03 left in the game, Bell managed to score another touchdown with the extra point, leading to a score of 48-40. The Huskies’ chances of winning looked slim, but senior defensive back Edward Mumford (33) picked up the onside kick, allowing the Huskies one last chance to tie the game. On second down at the 31 yard line, senior wide receiver Quinn Morris (85) scored a touchdown from Bell. Combined with a converted two point attempt, the Huskies tied the game with a score of 48-48, sending the game to overtime. In both teams’ first attempts at scoring, they both scored touchdowns and two-point conversions, leading to a tied score of 56-56. Then, in the Vikings’ second attempt, they ran in for the touchdown; the Huskie defense blocked their two-point conversion, creating a chance for the Huskies to push through and win the game. In the second attempt, Morris succeeded in getting the touchdown, which made the score 62-62. Then, senior kicker Tyler Duewel (29) took the field. He had missed his last extra point attempt earlier in the game. Duewel made the extra point, securing the Huskie victory with a final score of 63-62. Hill spoke about what it meant for the team to win this game and what they should take away from it.
“We just need to play hard, the game is never over and you don’t bow until you finish and the whistle stops and that’s what we did and what we need to keep doing,” Hill said.
The Huskies head into their season finale next week against the Sandburg Eagles. Following their game against the Eagles, the Huskies will enter the playoffs. Head Coach Sean Drendel details what the Huskies need to improve on to be ready for the playoffs.
“We got to play a little bit better defense, but you know losing one of our emotional leaders upfront early on did not help us, so we gotta get healthy and keep playing really hard,” Drendel said.
Next week, the Huskies will play their final regular season game against the Sandford Eagles at home. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Correction: An onside kick was mistakenly referred to as an interception. The story has been updated.
