As high school football enters the final week of the regular season, Naperville North just locked up its fifth straight playoff appearance, improving to 5-3. Multiple nail-biting games were in the mix, a comeback victory over Neuqua in the final minutes of Week Seven, and clinching two overtime wins, most recently over the Sandburg Eagles in Week Six. Coach Sean Drendel says this kind of comeback grit is what the team needs to keep the playoff streak alive. This story is sponsored by Fair Oaks Ford and Fair Oaks Lincoln.
“It just makes you more playoff-ready because of tight games, and knowing how to finish games when you need to score, when you need to, stop by your defense. We’re starting to get those things rolling, like the last two weeks, where we got both of those late in the game. It was a great environment, a great high school experience for our kids,” said Naperville North head coach Sean Drendel.
Both side of the ball paying contributions
Team confidence on both sides of the ball is another factor that helps the Huskies outlast opponents when their backs are against the wall.
“We have a lot of heart and a lot of belief in our guys. We call it the brotherhood, and with our team, we keep everything together, and we just keep fighting every single game because it’s really important for us,” said Naperville North running back Will Eloe.
“I’ve had a lot of confidence, now, and our offensive line, our defense, too. And like all these close games, I feel like William Eloe has a lot of confidence. I mean, he punched in that last ball against Sandburg, and that was huge,” said Naperville North quarterback Josiah Nothacker.
Passing and run game playing crucial parts
Besides Eloe controlling the ground game, senior quarterback Josiah Nothacker continues to build on his first year under center. Northacker has led game-winning drives in victories over Libertyville, Sandburg, and Neuqua Valley. The signal caller credits all the preparation in practice, so he’s ready for these late-game scenarios.
“During practice, we do a lot of two-minute drills, and it’s not just straight up only two minutes. The coaches set up scenarios so some days we’ll have 30 seconds, one timeout, some days we’ll have no timeouts with a minute, and that really, I feel like that prepares us a lot,” said Nothacker.
Huskies are ready for an exciting homestretch
This final week could potentially see another close finish as the Huskies take on crosstown rival Naperville Central at North Central College. The Huskies are looking to secure win number six after a big-time win over state powerhouse Lincoln-Way East. Even though the Redhawks have won the last two matchups against the blue and orange, this year’s Huskies are battle-tested and ready for the intense environment the Crosstown Classic always brings.
“We’d like to say we’re prepared for the playoffs. We’re built for the playoffs, probably a little bit more than other teams we’ve had.” said Drendel.
“Every team in our league is really good this year. Every single team is going to battle, and that’s kind of how it was last year. This year is no different, so every single game we know it’s going to be close. We just got to battle it out and try to find ways to win,” said Eloe.
