Now that's a defense as Naperville N. wins quarterfinal
All week long Naperville North heard about Lincoln-Way East's awesome defense.
So the Huskies decided to make their own statement.
Recovering 5 fumbles and batting down 6 passes, Naperville North's staunch defense led the way in a 21-7 victory over the Griffins in Friday's Class 8A quarterfinal football game in Frankfort.
"Their defense was the best we've seen all year," Huskies quarterback Jordan Tassio said of the Griffins, before amending his statement. "Other than practice, they're the best we've seen."
Indeed, the Huskies showed once again why this is proving to be perhaps the best team in program history.
Advancing to the semifinals for the first time since 2000, the second-seeded Huskies (11-1) will play next week at No. 16 Homewood-Flossmoor (8-4) in a rematch of the 1994 6A title game won 13-12 by the Vikings.
Naperville North set the tone early against No. 6 Lincoln-Way East (9-3), recovering forced fumbles on three of the Griffins' first five plays from scrimmage.
The Huskies had trouble converting at first. They had a touchdown pass called back on a holding penalty on the first possession, and a missed field goal ended the second.
Off the third fumble, however, the Huskies finally took advantage. They marched 42 yards on five plays, capped by Tassio's 25-yard touchdown pass to Alex Dieckmann.
After a pair of missed field goals by Lincoln-Way East, the Huskies gladly took the 7-0 lead to halftime.
"That was one of the last things I told them when we left the locker room -- force the turnovers," said Huskies coach Larry McKeon. "Turnovers mean points. We always talk about it, and they understand it. It just seemed like it happened more for us tonight."
Naperville North took a 14-0 lead on Tassio's 31-yard keeper midway through the third quarter. That play turned out to be the Huskies' longest gain of the night, although they still managed to outgain the Griffins 259-252 in total yardage.
Lincoln-Way East wasn't having much luck moving the ball, either, going three-and-out on its first three second-half possessions.
Taking over at the Griffins' 33-yard line late in the third, Tassio directed the Huskies back to the end zone, first with a 17-yard pass to Tom Walsh and then on an 11-yard keeper on third-and-10.
On the first play of the fourth quarter, Nick Mlady ran in for a 3-yard touchdown to put the Huskies safely ahead 21-0.
The Griffins got on the scoreboard midway through the fourth quarter with Spencer Stanek's 50-yard touchdown pass to Blake Hammond.
Lincoln-Way East got the ball back two more times but, fittingly, the first chance ended on a fumbled punt return and the game's final play was a batted down pass.
"I know in the paper it was about Lincoln-Way's vaunted defense," said Huskies defensive lineman Kyle Lackner, who forced a fumble, recovered one and knocked down three passes. "We know we have a great defense also, and we had to come out and show it tonight."