Naperville Central 28, Wheaton North 14

After the Naperville Central defense did its job in the first three quarters, it was time for the offense to do its thing in the fourth.

The Redhawks broke loose for 3 unanswered touchdowns in the final quarter en route to a 28-14 DuPage Valley Conference football victory against Wheaton North Friday night in Naperville.

"We weren't getting it done and then in the fourth quarter we finally decided that we need to win, so we turned it up a little bit," said Naperville Central quarterback Harrison Daniels, who saw 5 of his passes dropped in the first half before finishing 13 of 23 for 164 yards, including 2 touchdowns in the fourth quarter.

"It just shows that we're not going to give up," Redhawks running back Nick Kukuc said of his team's offensive rally after carrying the ball 21 times for 112 yards and 2 TDs. "We're here together and we're going to help each other. We're going to stand up for each other.

"The defense stood up for us plenty of times in the first half, and we stood up for them."

The Redhawks (3-1, 2-0) took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter after a Wheaton North fourth-and-3 failed to gave them the ball on the Falcons' 48. Twelve plays, 3 dropped passes and a holding penalty later, the home team took the lead on a 4-yard run by Kukuc.

Wheaton North (2-2, 0-2) tied the game just before the half with a 7-play, 71-yard drive capped by a 2-yard burst into the end zone by running back Mike Trumpy, who wound up with 197 yards and 2 TDs on 26 carries.

The Falcons were looking to take the lead with a long drive in the third quarter. But after marching 77 yards, the drive stalled at the 13 and a botched 30-yard field attempt left the score tied late in the third quarter.

"That's a huge momentum shift," Wheaton North coach Matt Foster said. "We had a chance to get it in right there and we didn't."

Naperville Central answered by scoring touchdowns on its next 3 possessions in the fourth quarter to move ahead 28-7.

"I thought the linemen did a great job," said Kukuc, who provided the go-ahead touchdown on a 3-yard burst up the gut. "They were pushing hard."

The Falcons actually outgained Naperville Central 338 yards to 310.

"The kids played their (butts) off," Foster said. "I thought they played a great game. It just got away from us at the end."