Huskies clean slate by blanking Spartans

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Naperville North's counting down the games to the Class 8A state championship the old-school way - one finger at a time.

North registered the first of five playoff victories necessary to win the title by beating Marian Catholic 21-0 Friday on a rain-soaked Harshbarger-Welzel Field.

And with that - their fourth shutout of the season - each of the Huskies pushed down one of their thumbs. They'll continue taking away one finger at a time with each postseason win, saving their ring finger for last.

"You have to win the first one to get to the second one, you have to win the second game to get to the third game," said North senior wingback Tom Costantino, who scored two of the Huskies' three touchdowns. "You have to play each game, game by game, so this was a big one for us."

Seemingly unaffected by the wet field conditions, Costantino returned the opening kickoff 22 yards. Then he ran four of the Huskies' first five plays from the line of scrimmage, resulting in an 18-yard touchdown run and a 7-0 lead.

The decisive win answered any questions about the effect last week's 42-41 triple-overtime loss to Wheaton Warrenville South (10-0) may have had on the Huskies (9-1).

"It was a tough loss obviously, but in a way it was a great experience to learn that feeling about losing," Costantino said. "We came out firing tonight, and it was a great win for us."

Costantino finished North's second drive of the game for his second touchdown - a 9-yard run. The drive started at the Huskies' 11-yard line and continued with a fake punt by Jordan Tassio on fourth down and two other fourth-down conversions.

Tassio followed blockers for 28 yards on one of those plays and completed a 21-yard pass to Tom Walsh on the other to help complete a 13-play drive.

"When (Tassio) needed a play, he made it," Marian Catholic coach Dave Mattio said. "We couldn't get to him, rushing the passer. And early in the ballgame, the plays they ran toward the bench, we weren't up to sync with the tempo."

Tassio rushed nine times for 56 yards and completed seven of 15 passes for 120 yards and one touchdown pass to Alex Dieckmann (two catches, 39 yards).

Dieckmann scored the game's final touchdown with 3:30 to play in the third quarter. He ran a post route up the middle of the field, and Tassio connected with him for a 28-yard scoring strike.

On the ground, Costantino led the team with 14 carries for 106 yards with a long run of 34.

"I was happy to get the opportunity from coach (Larry McKeon)," Costantino said. "The offensive line did a great job for me. I give all the credit to them."

The Spartans (5-5) flashed an effective running game as well. They rushed three different backs at the Huskies on the first drive of the game before handing off to their 1,000-yard rusher, Malcolm Allen.

Trailing 7-0, Allen converted a fourth-and-3 with a 7-yard run to the Huskies 18. Then on fourth-and-3 from the Huskies 11, Allen got stuffed for no gain by senior middle linebacker David Salutric (team-high 11 tackles).

After going three-and-out on their second possession, the Spartans mounted another long drive. This time they trekked all the way to the Huskies' 15-yard line. Allen got them there on a 23-yard run that North senior Danny Hess finally stopped.

Hess saved a touchdown on that play, and on the very next one, he intercepted Spartans quarterback Evan Watson with a diving catch in the end zone. That too would have otherwise gone for seven, cutting the Huskies second-quarter lead to only 14-7.

"Our coaches put a good game plan together and they had us working those routes all week," said Hess, a free safety. "So I saw it all week."

Hess credited his defensive line for pressuring Watson and the backfield. Allen was limited to a team-high 58 yards rushing, and overall, the run-heavy Spartans averaged only 4.5 yards per carry.

Senior lineman Scott Bergin and junior lineman Colin Ball each recorded sacks of Watson for a combined loss of 6 yards.

Senior linebacker Bryan Bailin and senior defensive end Kyle Lackner each recorded two tackles for loss. Overall, the Huskies recorded five tackles for loss.

"It really feels good because last week, letting up that many points, it kind of hurts our rankings and stuff," Bergin said. "But it feels really good now. We've kind of got over that game, and it really feels great right now."

Contact Brad Engel at bengel@scn1.com or 630-416-5289.