Neuqua Valley loses must-win
Faced with a must-win game against visiting St. Charles North on Friday night, Neuqua Valley had to wait through a 90-minute lightning delay before the Wildcats could finally go after the victory that would secure a playoff berth.
The wait, it turned out, was not worth it, as the North Stars turned away numerous Neuqua scoring chances and used a couple of big plays as the impetus for a 20-0 win on a rain-soaked quagmire in Naperville.
"We were hoping for mud and slop, and it feels good to come out with the win," said North Stars coach Mark Gould. "On a day like today, you just try to move the ball 3 or 4 yards, move it 3 or 4 yards, and then hope for the big play."
St. Charles North's (6-3, 4-2 Upstate Eight Conference) first game-changing play came early in the second quarter of a scoreless game when Eric Battle returned a punt 61 yards to the Neuqua (4-5, 3-4) 18-yard line. Three plays later Jordan Huxtable swept in from the 12 for a 7-0 lead.
That advantage appeared to be in grave jeopardy in the half's final minute as the Wildcats took advantage of a short St. Charles North punt to move to their opponent's 5. But with quarterback Alex Lincoln eyeing the end zone, St. Charles North's Colin O'Carrol outfought a Wildcats receiver for the ball at the goal line for the interception that kept the North Stars' lead intact at the break.
St. Charles North then turned Neuqua away twice in the first five minutes of the second half. A fumble recovery on the second-half kickoff gave the Wildcats the ball at St. Charles North's 23, but three plays later the Wildcats returned the favor. Then, Neuqua's Pat Keeley deflected a punt that set the Wildcats up at St. Charles North's 23 again, but two penalties, one of which negated a Lincoln-to-Mike Camire touchdown pass, eventually resulted in a punt.
The big play popped up for St. Charles North again early in the fourth quarter when Sean McGushin found Battle alone behind the Neuqua secondary for an 80-yard scoring play and 14-0 lead. Jake Juriga's first of 2 fourth-quarter interceptions set up the final score, an 18-yard McGushin-to-Nick Neari hookup that capped the scoring with six minutes to play.
"We just didn't make plays and we've struggled doing that all year," said Neuqua coach Bryan Wells. "We can blame the elements, blame the delay, but they had to live through the same thing. It's tough to win against good teams when you don't take advantage of your opportunities."