Redhawks bob, weave past rival Huskies
North's potential tying kick goes wide on final play
There doesn't appear to be a huge talent gap between Naperville Central and Naperville North, but right now these teams are trending in different directions.
(Danielle Gardner/Staff Photographer)
(Danielle Gardner/Staff Photographer)
• Video: Game highlights
• Twitter: Area scoreboard
Beneath a steady rainfall, the Redhawks hung on for a 24-21 victory on Friday night at North Central College. They earned it during the unscripted moments, when everything was spinning and the play looked completely lost.
Throughout the game, Nick Linne was able to improvise and make plays outside the pocket, which is part of the reason why the senior quarterback is so trusted by his coaching staff and teammates. Linne made the correct decisions, finishing 14-of-16 for 247 yards and one touchdown, while also running 14 times for 59 yards and another score.
Central is 5-1, ranked No. 15 by the Chicago Sun-Times – poised to perhaps move up – and a factor in the DuPage Valley Conference race. North (3-3) has lost three of its last four games, two by double-digit margins and all within the conference it swept through last season.
Central's first win over North since 2006 remained in doubt until the last second, when Ryan Corp's strong kick from 32 yards out went wide left as time expired.
"I definitely thought we could have pulled off this game," said North senior running back Idris Hanidu, who exploded for 220 all-purpose yards. "I thought we had that game in the bag."
Central felt the same way because the ball was in Linne's hands. Here's how he rolled: During a third-and-7 sequence midway through the second quarter, Linne ran to his left, crossed all the way back over to the other side of the field, avoided the rush and connected with tight end Cam Brate for a 33-yard gain. Two plays later, Linne dove in for a 3-yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead.
"A lot of that goes out to our quarterbacks coach (J.R. Rexilius)," Linne said. "We work the same drills every day and a lot of times it can get tedious. (But) you can kind of see it (here). We call (it) scramble drill where I'm flushing out of the pocket. (I) like throwing on the run."
At the same time, the Huskies kept bailing out Central. Within the final minute of the first half, they were called for a personal foul, defensive holding and roughing the passer. All of a sudden the Redhawks – who gained possession with only 52.5 seconds left in the second quarter – were about to take a 14-7 lead into the break.
Again, Linne and his receivers made the necessary adjustments. The key play came when Linne scrambled right, stopped and found a wide-open Brate (four catches, 101 yards) back over the middle. The 35-yard pass brought Central to North's 2-yard line. Soon Linne would be rolling right and firing a bullet to wide receiver Hayden Daniels (five receptions, 89 yards) near the back of the end zone.
The Redhawks were just in the right place at the right time. They didn't even need North's coverage to break down. Check out the third-and-17 play where what looked like a Linne interception bounced off defensive back Sean MacDuff into the hands of Daniels, 3 yards from the end zone. That set up a 23-yard field goal from Danny Kidd that pushed Central's lead to 17-7 with 3:52 left in the third quarter.
"It's not just a free-for-all," Central coach Mike Stine said. "There's certain things – depending on what route they had – where they go, what they should do. So it looks chaotic (but) we practice it. Sometimes the scramble drill might be one of the best things (for us) – get Nick in space, let our receivers work."
Still, the Huskies had a chance to win this game. Their defense got a stop late in the fourth quarter and junior quarterback Matt LaCosse drove his team to Central's 15-yard line with 3.5 seconds remaining.
The kick failed, but ultimately North got its ground game back on track. Its offensive line pushed Central around for 265 yards rushing. LaCosse ran it 17 times for 63 yards and two touchdowns, while completing 10 of 17 passes for 103 yards. Remarkably, neither team committed a turnover on a wet night in Naperville.
"We're not gonna hang our head," North coach Larry McKeon said as he walked quickly off the field. "There's things that happened for us (Friday night) that haven't happened in the past (few) weeks. Offensively, I think we're coming out of it a little bit."
