Hersey ends drought with convincing win over Barrington to stay unbeaten
Heading into Week 4, Hersey had last defeated Barrington in a football game on September 23, 1994.
On that night, Dan Becker ran for 129 yards as Bruce Glover’s squad beat the Broncos.
Friends made its television debut the night before and Huskies head coach Tom Nelson was 7 years old. Current star quarterback Jake Nawrot wouldn't be born for another 14 years.
Together, Nelson and Nawrot etched their names into Hersey lore on Thursday night, as they ended that 32-year drought by beating the Broncos 38-7 at Roland R. Goins Field in Arlington Heights.
“It means a lot,” said Nawrot. “It means a lot to what we got on our chest, the Huskie logo.”
Nawrot, ranked as a top five QB recruit in the nation, continued a nearly flawless senior campaign. He will head to the SEC with Kentucky next fall.
The 6-foot-4 blue-chip entered the evening with 751 passing yards, 11 touchdowns, and a 136.7 rating. He added 3 more scores while pushing Barrington to the limit.
Nawrot led the Huskies on a 93-yard-drive to open the night, finding Jaxon Saint Paul from 13 yards out to make it 7-0 early.
“The game plan is to be explosive, move the ball, score points like we always do,” said Nelson.
Nawrot found Josh Riggs from 35 yards out in the third before connecting with Saint Paul again to end the night.
The Huskies signal caller had not yet been intercepted or sacked entering the night. His sackless streak ended as Owen Nichols brought him down in the second quarter.
More importantly, the 15-game Broncos run against the Huskies also ended. Nelson helped make sure of it.
This was Nelson’s third opportunity to end the Barrington streak. The first came as a player back in 2003. Nelson was a junior, primarily watching from the sidelines.
He later led the Huskies to the playoffs as a quarterback in 2004, before starring at Illinois State.
By 2009, he was featured on HBO’s Hard Knocks as an undrafted safety while earning a roster spot with the Cincinnati Bengals.
Upon retiring, he brought his NFL pedigree back home.
He helped send former Hersey QB Colton Gumino to UCLA, and he operates a training program that has molded Nawrot and New Trier QB Jackie Ryder into prized recruits.
“He’s gonna want things out of you that you never think are possible, and then, sure enough, they happen,” said Nawrot.
Through four seasons on the Hersey job, Nelson has now built a 39-9 record with four playoff wins.
His Huskies suffered a 7A quarterfinal loss to state runner-up St. Rita last November in a 56-42 thriller.
With a generational quarterback leading the way, he hopes to have nine playoff wins later this year.
“This team has a chance to be as good as any of them,” said Nelson.
For now? The names Nelson and Nawrot will live alongside the likes of Glover and Becker in the Hersey hallways as Huskies who claimed victory over the Broncos.