Go-to guy Linne delivers for Naperville Central

Nick Linne is only two starts in as a varsity quarterback - but he already knows what number to call in a pinch.

"He's a playmaker," said the Naperville Central junior, pointing at senior wide receiver Riley O'Toole. "You got to give him the ball."

Linne's 32-yard touchdown pass to O'Toole on fourth down in the third quarter of Friday's game against Lake Park gave Naperville Central its first lead, and the Redhawks went on to a 28-20 win at Memorial Stadium in Naperville.

Naperville Central (2-0) trailed 20-14, and faced a fourth and 11 with seconds left in the third quarter. Linne found O'Toole on a curl route down the left hashmark, and the 6-foot-4 receiver eluded a lunging Lake Park defender and skipped into the end zone for a 21-20 lead.

"It was fourth down, and I knew I had to make a play," said O'Toole, uncommitted and visiting the University of Iowa today. "Nick put it right on the money."

"Riley just found a seam," Linne said. "It's always good to see No. 5 open."

Naperville Central forced Lake Park into a three-and-out on its next possession, and Linne's 4-yard touchdown pass to Cameron Brate padded the lead. Lake Park (0-2) twice got the ball inside the Redhawks' 30 in the game's final minutes after a botched Naperville Central lateral and a high snap on a punt, but both times the Lancers were turned away.

Matt Soria's sack of Lake Park quarterback Larry Nawrot on fourth down with a minute left clinched a hard-fought win.

"It was a physical game," Naperville Central coach Mike Stine said. "We battled and battled. You have to give the kids credit for coming back when we were down."

Lake Park led 14-7 at the half on Nawrot's 23-yard touchdown pass to Julian Figueroa with 1:09 left in the second quarter. Naperville Central tied it on Linne's second touchdown run, a 7-yarder a minute into the third quarter. Lake Park went ahead again with 6:37 left in the third, Nawrot connecting with Chris Buonavalonto for a 3-yard score. But the Lancers missed the extra point.

Nawrot completed 17 of 31 passes for 137 yards (108 in the first half) with 2 touchdown passes and 2 interceptions and Artie Monaco had two long kickoff returns to set up scores for hard-luck Lake Park, which lost to Conant 15-13 in Week 1.

"I told them it's going to get better," Stine said. "We started 0-3 two years ago and made the playoffs. They have a good team."

Linne completed 19 of 29 passes for 235 yards with 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions and also ran for 31 yards. Redhawks starting halfback Nick Kukuc missed the game with a shoulder injury.

"Hopefully, we can keep getting better," Linne said. "You're always looking to improve, no matter what the score."