A win worth the wait for Naperville Central
Three years of waiting for Naperville Central paled in comparison to the final 3.5 seconds of Friday's cross-town football game.
With the Redhawks nursing a 24-21 lead over Naperville North at North Central College, the Huskies lined up for a 32-yard field goal that would have sent the game to overtime. The kick sailed wide, however, preserving Naperville Central's first victory over North since 2006.
"Great high school football game," said Redhawks coach Mike Stine. "They're a good football team and we made some plays, too. 'Ten' was pretty special for us tonight."
"Ten," of course, is Redhawks senior quarterback Nick Linne. He completed 13 of 15 passes for 235 yards and a touchdown. He also ran for the team's first touchdown.
Linne proved most effective on the run. On a few occasions he scrambled out of trouble to complete huge passes to Cam Brate and Hayden Daniels. Two scrambles resulted in 30-yard gains that created first-and-goal opportunities.
"I like throwing on the run," Linne said. "I don't have a problem going out of the pocket and throwing on the run. Then I have a choice of passing or running."
While Linne shined for Naperville Central (5-1, 3-1), Huskies (3-3, 1-3) running back Idris Hanidu did the same for his team. Hanidu carried the ball 15 times for 210 yards and a 20-yard touchdown run that tied the game at 7-7 late in the second quarter.
"I thought we had that game in the bag," Hanidu said. "We could have definitely won that game. I know that for sure."
Just before halftime, Linne's 35-yard pass to Brate set up an 8-yard touchdown strike to Daniels that put the Redhawks ahead 14-7 at the break.
A 22-yard field goal by Danny Kidd, capping an eight-minute drive to start the second half, boosted the margin to 17-7 late in the third quarter. Hanidu's 50-yard run led to LaCosse's 1-yard sneak that narrowed the gap to 17-14.
After Paul Wirtz scored on a 3-yard run to put Naperville Central ahead 24-14, LaCosse again scored on a 1-yard run with seven minutes left in the game to make it 24-21.
A Huskies defensive stop sparked a 14-play, 65-yard drive that ended with the missed field goal in the waning seconds.
"We're improving," said Huskies coach Larry McKeon. "There's things that happened for us tonight that haven't happened in the past weeks. Offensively, I think we're coming out of it a little bit."