Goebel, Naperville Central defense step up in second half to slow down Warren in opening round win

Naperville Central junior linebacker Landen Goebel likes to be in the middle of the action.

After playing outside linebacker last season, Goebel was moved to inside linebacker in the Redhawks’ 3-4 defense. He’s feasted there playing next to senior Justin Skryd.

“What I really love at middle linebacker is my availability to make tackles,” Goebel said. “I just have to play free because our D-linemen take up all the gaps.”

Goebel has found himself free to do what he does best much more often since the position switch, and he couldn’t be happier.

“I like to be free,” Goebel said. “I like to be violent. That’s what I love about football.”

Naperville Central coach Mike Ulreich loves what he has seen from Goebel, who finished the regular season with a team-high 96 tackles, including 59 solos.

“Landon Goebel has been incredible,” Ulreich said. “He’s worked hard and he settled in.

“He’s reading his keys and tackling people. He’s keeping his shoulders square and doing his job over and over and over again. He’s a stud.”

Goebel was at his best again when his team needed him most Friday night. His gritty play in the second half helped host Naperville Central rally to beat Warren 18-14 in a Class 8A opening-round game at Memorial Stadium.

The 29th-seeded Redhawks (6-4) will travel to fourth-seeded Oswego (8-1) for a first-round game next Friday.

No. 36 seed Warren (4-6) gave the Redhawks all they could handle. The Blue Devils gashed the Redhawks’ defense for 237 rushing yards, led by elusive running back Jonathan Randolph, who carried 23 times for 167 yards and two touchdowns that gave the visitors a 14-3 lead in the second quarter.

“Coming out of the half, we really had a talk because it would be the seniors’ last game and they would be done,” Goebel said. “We knew that we had to start filling the holes better, because none of us were.

“They were gashing us. They were slanting more of those gaps, but we knew we had to lock in. We had to do it for our brothers.”

Led by Goebel, the Redhawks did just that, holding the Blue Devils scoreless on their final seven possessions.

It was far from easy, as two of those drives began at midfield and another at the Naperville Central 32-yard line. But the Redhawks stopped three drives inside their own 30.

Naperville Central senior quarterback Simon Hayes tossed two more long touchdown passes to star junior receiver Mark Williams in the third quarter. The first was a 67-yard fade pass down the right sideline and the second a short swing pass that Williams turned into a 74-yard score to give the Redhawks their only lead of the game.

Warren’s ensuing possession ended at the Redhawks’ 7 when junior cornerback Eron Kennedy broke up a fourth-down pass in the end zone.

The visitors’ next drive began at the Redhawks’ 32 but ended two plays later when senior defensive lineman Jaxon Pytlak recovered a fumble at his 29. Kennedy then ended Warren’s last two chances with a diving interception and another pass breakup.

On all of those drives, Goebel was constantly wreaking havoc.

“We all just got lower and I think we just played a better game after half and gave it to them,” Naperville Central junior defensive lineman Johnny Clermont said. “Both of our linebackers, Landon and Justin, they just take away all the running backs we go up against.

“They just lay them out and it’s just awesome. Landon fills every hole when they open up, and he’s just great at getting low and making tackles.”

Ulreich said Goebel reminds him of Bobby McMillen, who starred on Naperville Central’s 2013 state championship team as a junior and was the Naperville Sun Player of the Year as a senior in 2014 before playing at Iowa State.

To what does Goebel attribute his success?

“Really my offseason work,” Goebel said. “I work with my teammates a lot.

“In the summer we do a lot of off-season training and our practices are very intense, so it’s just like a game. We try to make our practices more intense so this is more like a breeze.”

The Redhawks have won three consecutive games and five of their last six, with the defense leading the way.

“We’re on a streak,” Goebel said. “Hopefully we keep that going.”