Naperville North 41, Neuqua Valley 14

First the weather delayed this highly anticipated season opener between a pair of strong programs, then Naperville North dominated so much from the opening kick that it didn't take long for the suspense and excitement to dissipate, at least for home team Neuqua Valley.

Naperville North took advantage of a fumble on the Wildcats' first possession for a quick 7-0 lead on the first of Nick Mlady's 3 touchdown runs. The Huskies' lead grew to 21 points after one quarter and 27 at the half as the visiting Huskies opened the season Saturday afternoon with a 41-14 nonconference victory on Neuqua's muddy field.

The Huskies (1-0), who edged Neuqua Valley last year on a late field goal from Jordan Tassio, dominated both sides of the ball with Tassio throwing a pair of touchdowns and adding a 10-yard TD run of his own. Mlady ran for 102 yards on 14 carries, including scoring runs of 15, 4 and 13 yards.

"We just got it going early and it gave us confidence," said Tassio, who guided the Huskies to 290 yards of offense in the first half and 423 all told. "This is much better, much more relaxing (than last year's nail-biter)."

The Wildcats took the opening kickoff and promptly picked up a first down on an 11-yard run by Anton Wilkins, who finished the day with 149 yards rushing on 22 carries.

But on the third play from scrimmage Neuqua fumbled and defensive end Tyrone Saunders came away with the first of his 2 fumble recoveries.

The turnover set the stage for Mlady's 15-yard TD for a quick 7-0 Huskies lead. When Tassio scored on a 10-yard keeper and later hooked up with Danny Hess for a 41-yard scoring pass, it was 21-0 after one quarter and Naperville North was in command.

"The defense was great," said Saunders, a 6-foot-2, 260-pound senior. "I think we can be the best defense in the state. That first fumble felt great, and the team got pumped up after that."

Huskies coach Larry McKeon is hopeful his team improves on its run defense, but all in all had few complaints after the impressive opener.

"Neuqua's gonna have its day. They're a good football team," he said. "We had some great individual performances. Jordan Tassio played real well and Tom (Constantino) and Nick (Mlady) ran well and all three of the returning starters on the (offensive) line played real well."

Neuqua Valley coach Bryan Wells was discouraged by the Huskies' numerous long drives.

"Their offense might still be out there. You might want to go check," Wells joked after the game. "Fundamentally, we didn't play well today and that's got to change. We have to figure out how to stop people, and hopefully Tassio doesn't play for anyone else."

Wildcats quarterback Alex Lincoln started slowly against a tough Huskies defense, but the junior did score on a 12-yard run in the second quarter and added a late 64-yard TD pass to Steve Kozola to close out the game's scoring.