Huskies beat West Aurora 52-30

By Staff Writer John Conway

The NNHS varsity football team advanced to playoffs yesterday, Oct. 18, after beating out the West Aurora Blackhawks with a final score of 52-30.

The Huskies came onto the field at the beginning of the game with a seemingly complacent attitude. West Aurora challenged NNHS’ mindset, and found success early on. But the Blackhawks could not hold NNHS for long, and their success was short-lived when the Huskies took charge in the second half.

This is the Huskies’ 18th consecutive year making playoffs, and Head Coach Sean Drendel hopes to utilize this years momentum going into the tournament, possibly for a championship.

“Tonight we came out a little sloppy, but in the second half we raised the intensity. Every team has the same goal, but coming off a four-game win streak heading into Central and then the playoffs, we could definitely make an impact,” Drendel said.

NNHS (5-3, 4-2 Dupage Valley Conference) faced strong opposition from the Blackhawks (1-7, 0-6 DVC) early in the game. After receiving the opening kick, West Aurora got deep into NNHS territory, and quickly looked to score. But when NNHS’ defense stuffed a 4th down attempt, they successfully started on their first drive of the game. Good offense put the team in scoring range, where junior Milan Dosen was able to kick a 32-yard field goal.

The 1st quarter ended unfortunately for NNHS with a fumble on their own 9. West Aurora scored from this turnover early in the second quarter, taking a 7-3 lead against NNHS. Both teams scored another touchdown as the 2nd quarter drew to a close. The Huskies started their last drive of the half with 28 seconds on the clock.

The Huskies looked to score before halftime, hoping to start the 3rd quarter with a lead. With a touchdown pass to senior DeSean Brown, following his jaw-dropping rush play, the Huskies led 17-14 going into the 2nd half. On the tightly knit first half, Brown claimed that it was all about the mental stand-point

“Our mentality wasn’t there in the first half, but we decided that some things need to change if [we] hope to be successful in the playoffs,” Brown said. “When I was on offense, I played as if the defense wouldn’t be able to make the stops and the game relied on us. On defense, I played as if the offense wouldn’t be able to execute and we had to make a stand. Everyone on the team changed their mindset and that’s how we got the win.”

The remainder of the game was controlled by the Huskies, but had great plays by both teams. Senior quarterback Connor Johannes rushed a total amount of 116 yards, averaged 19 yards a carry, and scored a rushing touchdown in the 3rd quarter. Brown gained 206 offensive yards in the game, and averaged 27.3 yards per pass reception. NNHS junior Leon Hardy was the night’s top-scorer, with 2 rushing touchdowns.

NNHS crushed all hopes of an upset with a 50-yard interception touchdown by junior Ryan Carlson. With a score of 52-30 and 4 minutes left in the game, the demoralized Blackhawk offense was unable to move the chains, and the Huskies left victorious.

With the looming threat of play-off qualification diminished, the team now has the opportunity to prepare for what’s really important: the Crosstown Classic. Drendel looks forward to have the opportunity to play Naperville Central in front of a high-capacity crowd.