Flag Football dominates in popularity amongst local schools as Larkin Royals takes on the Naperville North Huskies in the regional quarterfinals at Oswego East High School. The Royals enter today as the 23rd seed, while the Huskies enter today as the 10th seed in the South Elgin sectional. This highlight is sponsored by BMO.
Huang and Riordan score first for the Huskies
On the first drive for the Husky offense, quarterback Ava Wilkey connects with Sam Kelly. Avoiding multiple Royal defenders, Kelly sets up the orange and blue offense near midfield.
Later in the drive, after a Wilkey scramble, the QB finds Kelly on the slant route for a big gain. Kelly cuts back to the left for the touchdown! North jumps out to a 7-0 lead. After forcing a Royal punt. Max Huang takes a turn at quarterback and hands to Dina Condos to get inside the red zone.
Moments later, Huang drops back to pass and throws it up to Meredith Riordan for the touchdown! North extends the lead 13-0 after a missed extra point. The Husky defense gets another stop as Condos catches the punt inside the forty. The Husky has the angle down the right sideline, breaking multiple tackles before getting stopped inside the five.
On the first play after the great return, Ava Wilkey dodges the Royal blitz and calls up her own number as she dashes into the endzone for the touchdown! North is out in front with a 19-0 lead. The Royals look to respond in the second quarter as their quarterback escapes the Husky defenders for a nice gain to move the chains.
Continuing to build momentum, the Royals quarterback finds receiver Nevaeh Durham for another quick gain. At the end of the first quarter, the Huskies lead 19-0. After exchanging punts to start the second quarter, the Husky defense forces a bad throw as North’s Kendall Louthain gets the interception and makes a good return into Royals territory.
Naperville North Flag football dominates Larkin for a win
Set up with great field position, Wilkey splits the Royals defenders and has a lot of room to run. The North QB cuts to the sideline and breaks a tackle before finding the end zone! It’s all North as they lead 26-0 with just over six minutes in the half. The Husky defense continues their domination into the second half as Dina Condos gets the interception on Larkin quarterback Janiyah Nicholson.
Shortly after the interception, Jasmine Blaise gets the handoff and gets to the outside. After breaking the first Larkin tackle, the Husky blazes down the sideline for the 25-yard touchdown run! North leads 38-0 with 8:16 left in the third. Late in the third quarter, the Husky offense faces a fourth down. Maddie Bauer hauls in the pass from Kendall Louthain and races to the end zone for another touchdown! North leads 44-0 going into the final quarter
The exclamation point comes from the defense once again. Lynn Neubert steps in front of the pass for the interception and outraces the quarterback for the touchdown!
In the first postseason contest in program history, Naperville North gets the regional quarterfinal win over Larkin, 50-0. The Huskies will play the number eight seed, Oswego East, in the Regional Semifinals.
For more prep sports highlights, visit the Naperville Sports Weekly page!
