Huskies give up 39 points to Naperville Central, ending their winning streak

By Sports Editor Jay Ahuja

https://vimeo.com/77981732

On Friday, Oct. 25, NNHS and Naperville Central came to North Central College for the annual football Crosstown match up.

Central started the game on fire and used that momentum all the way through as North was defeated, 39-17. NCHS senior Jake Kolbe wanted revenge from last year’s defeat.

“The team spent a lot of time talking about how we lost last year, and that’s what kept us out of the playoffs,” Kolbe, Illinois State University commit, said. “The blame primarily falls on me, and I really wanted the win today to get revenge. That anger is what fueled me throughout the game.”

In this same stadium last season, the Huskies came into the Crosstown with four wins, as did Central. To reach the play-offs, both needed one more win, making it a hard-fought game. North came away with the 26-23 win and qualified for the playoffs.

This season, North (5-4, 4-3 Dupage Valley Conference) and Central (6-3, 4-3 DVC) had already clinched playoff spots and were two of the top fifty teams in Illinois. An anticipated match all season, the stands were filled and school spirit was everywhere.

Many fans were disappointed, as this was one of the most lopsided games between the two teams in years.

“We had the winning streak, our fans were all here, and without a doubt emotion was on our side,” NNHS senior team member Connor Johannes said. “We couldn’t get the victory though, and it is truly sad since we have all the capabilities.”

The biggest surprises throughout the game were the lack of defense played and the disappearance of NNHS senior captain DeSean Brown. The NNHS defense, which usually allows 15 points a game, gave up 39 points and let Central run them over on the ground, forfeiting 248 yards.

Brown was unable to help his team get going with the rushing attack, getting 15 yards on six attempts.

The game began with NNHS driving the ball down field and setting up a 22-yard field goal attempt for NNHS junior Milan Dosen, which was good.

That’s when the Huskies stopped scoring. Central went on a touchdown spree, gaining 39 unanswered points until North finally got their first touchdown with 4:14 left in the game. For a few minutes, the Huskies did not look like a play-off bound team. For the seniors on the team, this was the last regular season game played in front of NNHS fans.

“It was a disaster, and tomorrow and Sunday we’re going to spend a lot of time watching film and trying to figure out what went wrong. The sideline was completely depressing,” NNHS junior quarterback Chris Gajcak said.

Kolbe was the player of the game, and tightly held the Crosstown Classic trophy to his chest in the post-game interviews.

“We came in ready to go and got the job done. I couldn’t be more proud of this team, and we deserve the trophy,” Kolbe said.