It may not feel like it with the warm weather, but believe it or not, fall is officially here, and the high school football regular season is over halfway through. Welcome to Week five of Football Friday, where all six of our teams are in action and in need of some tallies in the win column. This highlight is sponsored by BMO.
Neuqua Valley vs. Metea Valley
Neuqua Valley comes into Metea Valley riding a three-game losing skid after dropping a tough game to Naperville Central last Friday. The Mustangs have lost two straight after starting the season 2-0 and are fired up at the chance to defeat the Wildcats for the first time in program history in search of win number three.
Trailing 7-0 in the opening quarter, Mustang quarterback Charlie Larson drops back and finds a wide-open CJ Jordan for the touchdown to tie the game at 7-7 after the deep ball.
Neuqua takes a 17-14 lead into halftime, but coming out of the break, Pierce Stevens takes the handoff from Drake Mennecke and pinballs through the defense before breaking into the open field for a 35-yard touchdown run. The Wildcats go up 24-14.
Neuqua is leading 30-14 in the fourth quarter when Larson finds Steward from 18 yards away. The Mustangs get the two-point conversion and are back within one score.
But the Wildcat rushing attack is too strong. Andy Barkley takes the pitch to the right, shakes off defenders with a spin to the middle, and races to the endzone. That puts the game away as Neuqua Valley holds off Metea by the score of 37-22.
Lockport vs. Naperville North
Naperville North has had a challenging opening schedule and has a 2-2 record to show for it. It does not get any easier for the Huskies as they welcome Lockport to town. The Porters have lost three straight games, but to three very strong opponents.
After a quiet opening half, Naperville North takes a 10-6 lead on a short touchdown run from William Eloe.
The Huskies trail 13-10 midway through the fourth quarter when quarterback Josiah Northacker pump fakes and hits Jack Zitko behind the defense for the go-ahead touchdown. North is back in front with a 17-13 lead.
Less than a minute later, the Porters have an answer. Brendan Mecher unloads a deep ball down the sideline to Colton Benaltis, who hauls in the pass and fights off the defenders for the long touchdown to put Lockport up 20-17.
With just seconds to go in the game, Naperville North sends Leo Taylor out for a 56-yard field goal attempt. The kick is on line, but falls just a yard or two shy of the goal post as the Porters escape with the narrow 20-17 win over the Huskies. Another heartbreaker for the blue and orang,e who drop to 2-3 on the year.
Lincoln-Way West vs. Waubonsie Valley
Waubonsie Valley has been on the road for three straight weeks. The Warriors return home to face a strong Lincoln-Way West team, hoping that their home turf can help the green and gold earn their first win of the season.
Four minutes into the game, Waubonsie has the ball near midfield. Quarterback Alexander Ochoa throws a deep ball to Gavin Ali Hanlon who hauls in the pass and takes it in for six. An early strike puts the Warriors up 7-0.
Later in the first quarter, the Warriors add to that total as Bradyn Hostetler takes the snap out of the wildcat formation and plunges into the endzone. Waubonsie opens up a 14-0 lead.
But Lincoln-Way West goes on a run, eventually evening the score at 17-17 heading to the fourth quarter. Early in the fourth, Jimmy Talley Jr scores his third touchdown of the game as the Warriors from Lincoln-Way outscore Waubonsie 27-3 in the final three quarters, en route to a 27-17 road victory.
Lincoln-Way East vs. Naperville Central
Naperville Central picked up a much-needed victory over Neuqua Valley in Week four. One of the reasons it was so big is that Lincoln-Way East comes to Naperville to face the Redhawks this week. The Griffins remain one of the teams to beat in Illinois, and it will take Central’s best effort to pull off the upset.
The Griffins are already holding a 14-0 lead when running back Brody Gish powers through multiple tackles and spins through the contact into the endzone to make it a 20-0 ball game.
Later in the second quarter, All-State quarterback Jonas Williams drops back to pass, avoids the pressure, and connects with Jack Murphy in the flat before he takes in for another Lincoln-Way touchdown.
The Redhawks do get a highlight worthy play in the third quarter as Jackson Loth finds Mark Williams on the deep ball for a 53-yard touchdown pass. But it is too little, too late as Lincoln-Way East takes down Naperville Central 44-7.
Mt. Carmel vs. Benet Academy
Benet Academy has racked up back-to-back wins over De La Salle and St. Viator, but the test gets more challenging this week with the undefeated Mt. Carmel Caravan making the trip to Benedictine.
The tone is set from the opening kickoff of the game. Quentin Burrell from Mt. Carmel takes the kick and takes the ball around the right sideline. 79 yards later, and Mt. Carmel holds a 7-0 lead less than 15 seconds into the first quarter.
The Caravan looks to add to the lead in the second quarter as Emmett Dowling tosses to receiver Jamari Brown, who scores his second touchdown of the game. Not much drama in this one as Mt. Carmel leads from start to finish and goes on to win 48-0 over the Redwings.
Standings and Schedules
There is not much good news in the standings for any of our teams following Week five. Neuqua Valley gets that much-needed victory to keep postseason dreams alive, but Benet Academy remains the lone local team with a record above .500 at 3-2.
Next week the calendar flips to October, but don’t be afraid, it should be an exciting night of football. Naperville North stays home to welcome Sandburg while Naperville Central visits Lockport. Waubonsie Valley welcomes Normal West for a trip to Aurora as Neuqua Valley heads to Homewood-Flossmoor. Benet Academy has a home matchup against rival St. Patrick, while Metea Valley has the unenviable task of visiting Lincoln-Way East. We’ll see you once again next week for another edition of Football Friday. I’m Justin Cornwell, thanks for watching!
For more prep sports highlights, visit the Naperville Sports Weekly page!
