Only three games of the high school football regular season remain, with Football Friday entering Week Seven. Three of our local teams need at least two more wins to have a chance at reaching that postseason goal. Football Friday is sponsored by BMO.
Naperville North vs. Neuqua Valley
Without question, the biggest game of the night features 3-3 Naperville North visiting 3-3 Neuqua Valley. The Huskies enter the matchup fresh off a thrilling 36-35 victory over Sandburg a week ago. The Wildcats have turned their season around thanks to back-to-back wins over Metea Valley and Homewood-Flossmoor. The winner will be one win away from earning a spot in the 8A playoffs.
After a quick three-and-out for Neuqua, the Huskies take advantage. William Eloe, who scored the game-winner in overtime last week, picks up where he left off by turning on the afterburners for a 68-yard touchdown run. North jumps out to a 7-0 lead.
Neuqua Valley eventually comes back and takes the lead thanks to the legs of Andy Barkley. The Wildcat scores three touchdowns on the night to put the blue and gold in front 23-14 in the second half.
As they have all season, the Huskies battle back in the fourth. Trailing 23-21, Josiah Nothacker drops back to pass and is hit on the throw, but the ball has just enough strength to flutter into the arms of Jack Zitko, who hauls it in for the touchdown. Naperville North takes a 29-23 lead.
Neuqua drives into Husky territory with under three minutes to play. Drake Mennecke pitches the ball to Barkley and heads downfield. Barkley draws the defense before tossing a pass to a wide-open Mennecke, who makes the catch outside the ten. Mennecke reaches for the goal line, but the ball pops free just before it crosses the goal line. Naperville North recovers in the end zone for a touchback. A wide sequence ends with the heart attack Huskies coming out on top of yet another thriller, 29-23 over Neuqua Valley. North improves to 4-3 while the heartbroken Wildcats drop to 3-4.
Naperville Central vs. Metea Valley
The stakes may not be quite as high with 1-5 Naperville Central visiting 2-4 Metea Valley, but both teams are eager to end the year on a high note. The Redhawks hope to erase last week’s heartbreaking overtime defeat at the hands of Lockport, while the Mustangs look to defeat Central for the first time ever and put an end to a four-game losing streak.
Metea starts things off in explosive fashion with an end-around handoff to Zoelen Terry, who takes the ball around the right side and all the way for a 57-yard touchdown. The Mustangs strike first with a 7-0 lead.
Later in the half, the Metea gets another big play. Charlie Larson drops back to pass and finds a wide-open CJ Jordan. The Mustangs stampede out to a 14-0 lead.
The Redhawks slowly reel the Mustangs back in, and late in the fourth quarter, Jackson Loth connects with Vince Bern for the touchdown to tie the game 21. The game heads to overtime, the second OT contest in a row for Naperville Central.
The Redhawks get the ball first and strike quickly. Loth hits Dylan Martin in the flat, and the receiver does the rest, shaking a defender and reaching for the goal line for the score. As the fog rolls in, Naperville Central goes up 28-21.
Metea Valley needs to score to stay alive. Larson rolls right and throws into the end zone, but Eron Kennedy makes the interception to seal the game for the Redhawks. Naperville Central takes the 28-21 win, improving to 2-5 in thrilling fashion.
Stagg vs. Waubonsie Valley
Waubonsie Valley has to have the most near-victories of any winless football team in Illinois. The Warriors are back on their home turf, hoping to finally break into the win column against Stagg.
The Warriors get off to a hot start with a pair of QB sneaks from Colin Ford and Nolan Alberson. In the second quarter, Alberson and Ford connect through the air as Ford hauls in the catch from 42 yards away. Waubonsie takes a 21-0 lead. Ford scored three touchdowns in the game.
In the third quarter, Waubonsie, with some trickery as Gavin Ali Hanlon takes the ball on the reverse. He gets some nice blocking downfield, and 51 yards later, it’s another touchdown for the Warriors, who have a 37-0 lead.
Capping things off with another long touchdown run is John Hung, who bursts through the Bronco defense for the score. Waubonsie Valley breaks through in a big way with a 51-0 win over Stagg.
Benet Academy vs. Fenwick
Benet Academy let a halftime lead slip away last week against St. Patrick. The 3-3 Redwings need to bounce back on the road at Fenwick on the campus of Triton College.
Trailing 7-0 in the early going, the Redwings have a response. Ben Clevenger drops a short pass to Ben Albert, who looks downfield and finds a wide-open John Ericson. An 80-yard touchdown evens the score at 7-7 after the beautifully designed play.
But the Friars took over the game from there. Jake Thies ran for a pair of scores following a missed Benet field goal to build the lead for Fenwick.
Jake’s brother Tommy Thies added a pair of scores of his own as the Friars end the game on a 41-0 run, putting the game on ice late. Fenwick improves to 6-1 while Benet falls to 3-4 after the 48-7 defeat.
Standings and Schedules
Looking at the standings, Naperville North is the team with the best chance at the postseason, needing just one win in the final two weeks to earn qualification. Neuqua Valley and Benet Academy both need to win out to have a chance. Waubonsie Valley, Metea, and Central are all playing for pride.
Next week, Naperville North looks to earn that fifth win, but boy, does a tough challenge await as the Huskies welcome Lincoln-Way East, who has laid waste to just about all of our local teams. Neuqua Valley will travel to face a strong Sandburg team. Benet Academy will need to bring its “A” game against Nazareth, but the Redwings will be back at Benedictine. Naperville Central welcomes Homewood-Flossmoor, looking for two wins in a row. Waubonsie Valley heads east to face Lincoln-Way Central, while Metea Valley visits Lockport.
The high school football season is dwindling, but there is still plenty of fun to be had as we return for Week Eight! We’ll see you then. For Football Friday, I’m Justin Cornwell, thanks for watching!
For more prep sports highlights, visit the Naperville Sports Weekly page!
