Another Ellison kicks his way into Naperville Central lore with game-winning field goal
In search of a little redemption as well as some inspiration, all Naperville Central kicker Gavin Ellison had to do was think about his brothers as well as his neighborhood crew.
The Redhawks kicker, who had nailed the upright on a PAT and also missed a field goal wide, turned himself into a hero and another memorable cross-town performer after his 25-yard field with 1:25 left to play gave his team a thrilling 24-21 won over Naperville North at North Central College on Friday night.
Two of Ellison’s brothers also kicked for the Redhawks, and Logan Ellison kicked the game-winner over the Huskies two years ago on this very same field at North Central College.
“As the clock wound down I knew I had a chance to walk in the same footsteps as my brothers,” he said. “I missed my first extra point and I had missed my first field goal so it was somewhat nerve-wracking. But it was amazing. I felt like I was on top of the world.”
This was yet another in a long line of back-and-forth thrillers between Naperville North and Naperville Central, and each team entered play after solid Week 1 victories. The Huskies led 14-13 at the half and then 21-13 after three quarters. The Redhawks rallied, drawing even on a 9-yard touchdown run by Aiden Clark early in the fourth quarter and then converting the 2-point attempt when quarterback Sebastian Hayes hit Dylan Martin in the end zone.
Naperville Central’s defense then stood tall, as a Garrett Nichols interception set the stage for the winning field goal, and Jake Stanish and Jason Figg recorded timely sacks.
Brothers Aaron Nussbaum and Daniel Nussbaum, who handled the snapping and the holding for Logan Ellison’s winning kick two years ago, did the same Friday night, as Daniel Nussbaum snapped the ball to Aaron Nussbaum who lined it up perfectly for Gavin Ellison.
“I wasn’t in the zone on my first field-goal [attempt],” Ellison said. “On that last one, we got it down to perfection. I can’t take all the credit. It was Daniel and Aaron. We all live on Elmwood Street, so it was the Elmwood crew.”
There were plenty of big performances on both sides in the game. Clark twice got banged up and left the game, only to return and finish with 134 yards on 21 carries. Gavin Wade who filled in for Clark at times, had a 45-yard catch and run that set up the winning kick, while St. Francis transfer DeShaun Williams made a splash in his first Naperville cross-town battle with two touchdown catches.
“It was a great game and I’m very proud of our team,” Williams said. “It felt great to get this win. I had 100% confidence in Gavin. I’ve seen him make that kick a thousand times in practice.”
For the Huskies, quarterback Jacob Bell passed for 345 yards and 3 touchdowns. But the offense just couldn’t get much going after grabbing a 21-13 lead on Chico Thomas’ 10-yard touchdown catch in the third quarter. Quinn Morris, who made a pair of sparkling touchdown catches in the first half, went over the 100-yard receiving mark in the game along with teammate Thomas.
Huskies coach Sean Drendel, who has been involved in plenty of these cross-town battles as both a player and a coach, knows his team needed to do more on the ground in order to pull this one out.
“I thought our kids played hard and gave great effort, we just weren’t able to do enough,” he said. “We needed to establish the running game more with this offense. It’s a terrible loss.”