Huskies don't doubt H-F

By now everyone knows Homewood-Flossmoor isn't your typical four-loss team.

Count Naperville North among the believers.

The Vikings (8-4), the 16th seed in the lower Class 8A football bracket, welcomes No. 2 Naperville North (11-1) to Flossmoor in a semifinal game that revisits the nonconference series the Huskies swept in 2003 and 2004.

It's also a rematch of the 1994 Class 6A title game won 13-12 by the Vikings. That's the last time either team advanced from the semifinals.

Three straight wins over higher-seeded teams earned Homewood-Flossmoor its spot in the Final Four, but at a certain point upsets stop being upsets. Huskies coach Larry McKeon knows all too well the talent the Vikings will display tonight.

"They really came on at the end of the year," he said. "They've been playing especially well on defense."

Naperville North's defense played awfully well in last week's 21-7 win at Lincoln-Way East. The Huskies recovered five fumbles while Western Michigan recruit Kyle Lackner, the DuPage Valley Conference's defensive lineman of the year, had three of the team's six batted passes.

With linebackers Dave Salutric and Bryan Bailin and defensive backs Ben Kelsey and Dan Hess, the Huskies face a Homewood-Flossmoor offense that's averaged 17 points in the playoffs.

Two Division I college recruits bolster the Vikings. Quarterback Russell Ellington, who switched from receiver, is committed to Iowa. Illinois-bound Supo Sanni is a two-way standout at receiver and safety.

The key for the Huskies, as it has been throughout the playoffs, is to keep their offense on the field and the Vikings' off it. That means quarterback Jordan Tassio and halfbacks Nick Mlady and Tom Costantino need to keep the chains moving with a ground attack averaging 270 rushing yards per game.

"We can't let them do the things that have made them successful," McKeon said.