Redhawks edge Neuqua at the wire

Comments

September 4, 2009

By PATRICK MOONEY pmooney@scn1.com

Again, Naperville Central hung on for a last-second victory. And, for the second straight week, Neuqua Valley let a late lead slip away. Projecting either team right now depends on which half you analyze from Friday night's game at North Central College.

With New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton, a Central graduate, on the sidelines filming a Kenny Chesney music video, Neuqua scored on its first three possessions. If that became a distraction, it was ignored in the second half, as the Redhawks erased a 17-point deficit to earn a 21-17 victory at Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium.

Quarterback Nick Linne threw three touchdowns in the second half to Pat Caulfield, Hayden Daniels and Cam Brate, lifting the Redhawks to 2-0.

"I think just our team coming together is what won the game," Linne said. "I thought they played a great game. They played a tremendous first half. They made us look like we were nobody out there. (We) were pretty much nonexistent out there."

Indeed, Neuqua had absolutely taken control of this game, putting together two long touchdown drives within the game's first 10-plus minutes. The opening possession lasted nine plays and 74 yards, ending on a play-action fake and quarterback Joe Ippolito finding wide receiver Dan Meaney across the middle for a 20-yard touchdown.

Ippolito rushed 25 times for 118 yards and went 19 of 30 while throwing for 262 yards. He kept Central off-balance by continuing to mix the run and the pass on Neuqua's second possession, and his six-yard keeper up the middle made it 14-0. Neuqua's Trenton Snyder later kicked a 37-yard field goal to push the lead to 17-0.

"The longer the game went, the more our kids believed that they could win," Central coach Mike Stine said. "When Nick is making plays and making the right decisions, we were able to move the ball pretty effectively."

Central's first drive of the second half � 14 plays, 72 yards � set the tone. The Redhawks established the run with Derek Jancik (13 carries for 40 yards on Friday) and they chewed up 5 minutes, 9 seconds of clock � or 40 seconds less than their entire time of possession during the first half.

"They kept us on the field quite a bit and went to running the ball against us," Neuqua coach Bryan Wells said. "That was kind of our game plan coming in � we were gonna take away the pass and make sure they were gonna run the ball."

Central still relied on the big play. A 50-yard catch-and-run from Linne to Daniels (four catches for 108 yards on the night) set up its second touchdown.

And six days after Waubonsie Valley pushed the Redhawks to the final whistle of a 25-17 game, they watched Ippolito run to about Central's 12-yard line as time expired on the fourth quarter. It was another disappointing ending for Neuqua (0-2), which lost to Naperville North in double overtime in Week 1.

"We're gonna bounce back. There's two ways a team can go at this point in time," Wells said. "We can decide to be crushed or we can decide that (we'll) fight and battle and be even more determined. (That) better be how we respond."