It’s playoff time for IHSA football as 29-seed Naperville Central heads out to its home field for an opening game after a 5-4 regular season. Warren is the first-round opponent, playing the role of the underdog holding the 36 seed in class 8A. This highlight is sponsored by BMO.
The Redhawks lead 3-0 in the second quarter. The Blue Devils go to the run game behind 1,000-yard tailback Johnny Randolph. He turns on the afterburners and gets into the end zone from 39 yards out to put the Devils in front 7-3.
Central quarterback Simon Hayes picks up a first down on the sneak but gets stripped by Noah Vieux, and Shaheem Dunn falls on the pigskin for the turnover.
They go back to Randolph, who runs in for his second touchdown of the game, and it’s 14-3 in favor of the visitors.
Warren’s run game vs Central’s pass game
What can Central do from there? Simon Hayes just gets the pass off and hits an open Drew Schnieder. He gets brought down at the seven, and Noah Evans connects on his second field goal to make it a 14-6 deficit at the half.
After the break, Hayes takes a shot to his go-to receiving target, Mark Williams. The DVC Offensive Player of the Year leaves his defender in the dust and scores from 67 yards out. The Hawks can’t connect on the two-point try, so they still trail 14-12.
Hayes and Williams connect for a two-for-one special
After a defensive stop, Hayes goes back to Williams on the wide receiver screen. A key block from Luke Slusher waves the green flag for Williams to hit the gas. If you ain’t first, you’re last, and Williams wins the 64-yard race with the finish line in the end zone. Have a night, Mark Williams, as it’s 18-14 Central.
The Redhawk defense comes alive in the fourth. Ozi Hernandez fumbles the end around, and Jaxon Pytlak comes up with the ball for the turnover.
Naperville Central football lives to play another day
After getting the ball back, the Devils go to their air assault. Xavier Vinson looks for Mikey Bunch, but Eron Kennedy picks it off to kill the drive and put the game on ice. Naperville Central takes a close 18-14 win over Warren and moves on to the next round. The Redhawks will visit the four seed Oswego, last year’s 8A state runner-up, for a 6:00 pm kickoff on Friday night.
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