Linne scripts thrilling ending

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A young fan approached Nick Linne with a pen and yellow legal pad and, well, the Naperville Central quarterback is still getting used to this.

"Yeah, don't get that too much," Linne said, laughing. "It's cool."

Two games into his career, the junior graciously signed the autograph after leading the Redhawks to a 28-20 victory over Lake Park on Friday at Memorial Stadium. Linne threw for 234 yards and two touchdowns and ran for two more out of the shotgun.

Linne spread the ball to eight receivers, but none was bigger than 6-foot-4-inch wide receiver Riley O'Toole, who was scheduled to make an unofficial recruiting visit to Iowa on Saturday.

They connected late in the third quarter, when O'Toole spotted an opening in the Lake Park zone, shook a defender and high-stepped into the end zone with the 32-yard, game-winning catch to cap a five-play, 57-yard drive.

By the end, Central (2-0) hung on, surviving an early deficit, two Linne interceptions, an O'Toole fumble and several sudden shifts in momentum. Last week at Waubonsie Valley also included three Central touchdowns called back by penalties, so when defensive lineman Mike Kraft saw that a high snap to the punter O'Toole gave Lake Park (0-2) the ball 24 yards from the end zone with 2:55 left, he had this reaction: "That would happen to us."

But so would this: Matt Soria's sack finally ended the threat, another big play to go along with interceptions by Kalen Petty and Jeremy Pomeroy, and a fumble recovery by Kraft.

"I hate saying this, but we came out a little cocky," Kraft said. "It was obvious (that) we thought we were just going to dominate the game, and that didn't happen, so it's kind of like a reality check.

"(But) as a team, as a defense especially, we just mold well together. If someone's down, we pick them up."

When asked what he's learned about his players after two games, Central coach Mike Stine rattled off a few bullet points: The defense, which started forcing turnovers, is relentless. The offense, which hasn't established a ground game, will need to find ways to sustain drives. But they're fighters who like to keep the game interesting.

"I think this team will grow and we got some kids that will help lead us," Stine said