Wheaton North downs Naperville North

Getting to the playoffs will still be tough sledding for Wheaton North, but it would have been a lot tougher had the Falcons not eked out a win Friday in Naperville.

Junior quarterback Luke Anthony ran for 1 touchdown and completed 18 of 23 passes for 219 yards including a 20-yard TD pass to Marcus Gustaveson, and Steele Graham added a 3-yard touchdown run as Wheaton North defeated Naperville North, 20-7.

“It's great to walk out of here with a win, don't get me wrong, we were desperate for a win and our kids responded and got it done which is awesome,” Wheaton North coach Joe Wardynski said.

“We still didn't play a clean football game by any means,” he added. “Way too many penalties and we got to take care of the football and not turn it over. We gave up a big play defensively and we let them hang around. Naperville North fought hard, but in the end it feels good to get a win.”

Anthony got Wheaton North (1-2, 1-1 DuPage Valley Conference) on the board first, leading the Falcons on an 11-play, 57-yard drive after the visitors forced a three-and-out on Naperville North's first possession.

Wheaton North's defense recovered a fumble at the Naperville North 18-yard line on the Huskies' ensuing possession, but the Falcons were unable to capitalize. The visitors also came up empty on first-and-goal from the Naperville 9-yard line later in the first quarter.

“We made a lot of mental mistakes when we got down into the red zone, but they're all things we can fix,” Anthony said. “It's good to put smiles on people's faces. We did play a complete game offensively after struggling running and passing the last two games.”

Naperville North (0-3, 0-2) pulled even at 7-7 on a 94-yard run by Cam Hardy after the Huskies' defense stopped Wheaton North on fourth-and-goal at the 2-yard line. But Wheaton North answered 5:08 before the half when Steele Graham capped a 56-yard drive with a 3-yard touchdown.

Anthony put the game out of reach with a 2-yard touchdown run with 1:33 remaining in the third quarter after an apparent 31-yard touchdown pass from Anthony to Adam Terrini was negated by penalty on the Falcons' previous possession.

Naperville North had two long second-half drives bog down on a fumble at the Wheaton North 11-yard line and an incomplete pass on fourth-and-6 from the Falcons' 26.

“There are a lot of positives to build on next week,” Wardynski said. “The kids will be able to watch some tape and see themselves doing some good things.”