LaCosse nearly led Huskies to win

Minutes after seeing his high school football career end in heartbreaking fashion, Naperville North quarterback Matt LaCosse talked about his battered left knee.

What would it have taken to keep him out of Friday's game against Homewood-Flossmoor?

“You would have had to shoot me to get me out of this game,” the 6-foot-7 senior said.

Bolstered by LaCosse's hobbled second-half performance, Naperville North (8-4) nearly came away with a victory over the visiting Vikings (10-2) in their Class 8A quarterfinal matchup.

The Huskies, however, came up just short. A yard short, specifically, as LaCosse was stuffed on his fourth-down dive at the goal line. Homewood-Flossmoor held on for a 35-28 victory.

For LaCosse and the many seniors who played their last game for Naperville North, it was a bitter ending to what they hoped would be a magical run to Champaign.

“This senior class is the best one I've been around, and I've been around here for three years,” said LaCosse, who began his varsity career as a sophomore.

For all the games he played, none demonstrated LaCosse's toughness more than Friday's effort.

Midway through the second quarter, Naperville North saw its season flash before its collective eyes as LaCosse rolled on the ground clutching his left knee after a run play that resulted in a fumble.

“I was table-topped,” he said. “My knee bent one way and my body went the other way.”

Limping badly, LaCosse missed the next series. Not by choice.

“That killed me,” LaCosse said. “I wanted to go back out there.”

After the Huskies' medical staff quickly determined the knee was stable, LaCosse returned on the next offensive series but was limited to handing off or passing. Up until the injury he had carried the ball on nine of the team's 18 run plays.

LaCosse didn't carry the ball on Naperville North's first second-half offensive series, although Antonio Owens and Alex Kinne carried the load downfield for a touchdown drive.

Six plays into the Huskies' next series just before the end of the third quarter, LaCosse still limping took off on a 21-yard run. He didn't carry the load like he had in the past this season, but he still managed 41 rushing yards the rest of the way.

“I didn't have my normal speed,” he said. “The pain was bad, but it was more about the knee not being as stable.”

Despite his 1,218 rushing yards and 919 passing yards this season, what will unfairly linger in LaCosse's mind is the one yard he didn't get in the waning seconds on Friday.

“I feel sad for these guys that it came down to that play and I didn't provide,” LaCosse said.

His teammates, of course, know how much their quarterback provided to the team.

He provided yardage, obviously, and accounted for 19 touchdowns.

He provided victories, and helped the Huskies to their first quarterfinal berth since the state title run in 2007.

Last and certainly not least, Friday night LaCosse provided one of the most courageous performances the program's ever seen.

“He's a fighter and a gambler,” said Huskies coach Sean Drendel. “He played his heart out. They all did.”

kschmit@dailyherald.com