Football Friday is back for week three of the high school season as the conference season kicks off. The DuPage Valley Conference team members greet their new foes from the Southwest Suburban Conference for the first time this year. Football Friday is sponsored by BMO.
Naperville North vs. Lincoln-Way Central
Naperville North travels east to visit Lincoln-Way Central in a battle between two talented teams with equal 1-1 records. The Huskies and quarterback Jacob Bell are eager to erase the sting of last week’s defeat at the hands of Naperville Central.
After a scoreless first half, Lincoln-Way takes a lead midway through the fourth quarter on a bootleg pass to Jack Dycas. The Knights go up 14-7.
Jacob Bell has the response for the North offense. He unleashes a deep ball to Quinn Morris in the corner to tie the game up at 14-14 as this one heads to overtime.
After the Knights score first in OT on a run from Tyler Tulk, the extra point attempt is blocked by Edward Mumford! The Huskies trail just 20-14 as they take their turn in the extra session.
Facing 4th and goal from the 16-yard line, Bell drops back and once again looks for Morris, who hauls in catch with a defender draped all over him. The Huskies tie the game at 20 with the extra point to follow.
Tyler Duewel sends the Huskie fans home happy as he calmly drills the game-winning extra point. Naperville North wins an overtime thriller over Lincoln-Way Central 21-20.
Waubonsie Valley vs. Bradley Bourbonnais
The Waubonsie Valley Warriors made the trek out to Bradley-Bourbonnais, the former training camp home of the Chicago Bears. The Warriors look to keep the hot start to the season rolling against the Boilermakers in a battle between a pair of undefeated teams.
Warriors trailing 7-0 in the first quarter but with the ball after a blocked punt. Chrisjan Simmons takes it in from five yards out to tie the game.
In the second quarter the Boilermakers line up for a field goal, but the Waubonsie special teams step up again as the kick is blocked by Stefan Popov. Josh Tinney picks it up and runs it all the way back for the touchdown. The Warriors take a 14-7 lead into the second half.
But Bradley-Bourbonnais is able to score a pair of second half touchdowns with running back Isaac Allison scoring a pair as the Boilermakers pull away in the fourth quarter to win 20-17.
Lincoln Way West vs. Metea Valley
Metea Valley is riding high after a dominant victory over Plainfield Central a week ago. The improved Mustangs will face a tough challenge as the Warriors enter the matchup 2-0.
Following a Lincoln-Way safety on a snap through the end zone, Metea Valley kicks the ball away and the Warriors take advantage. Austin Rowswell takes the kick and breaks a tackle as in the blink of an eye, Lincoln-Way West leads 9-0.
The Warriors get the offense going as well with quarterback Chase Hetfleish rolling right before finding DeAndre Coates for the touchdown. The Warriors eventually take a 37-0 lead.
In the second half, the Mustang offense gets on the board as Jake MacLeod finds a leaping Swaroop Bhaskar in the end zone. But it is too little, too late as Lincoln-Way West rolls 40-7 over Metea Valley.
Benet Academy vs. De La Salle
Benet Academy hopes to keep flying high after a 2-0 start as the Redwings head into the south side of Chicago to face De La Salle. The Meteors enter the game 1-1 as they look to protect their home turf.
In the opening quarter, the Redwings already have their foot on the gas, specifically in the form of Martin Radgowski. He scores his third touchdown of the quarter as Benet jumps out to a 21-0 lead.
In the second quarter, Ryan Kubacki throws a quick receiver screen to Ben Albert who has some nice blocking before breaking several tackles on the way to the end zone. The Redwings romping through the Meteors for a 35-0 lead at halftime.
On the opening kick of the second half, Luke Doyle takes the bouncing kick and powers through a Meteor shower trying to bring him down. The second return touchdown of the game for Benet as the Redwings soar to a 42-0 victory over De La Salle.
Lockport vs. Neuqua Valley
After a heartbreaking last second loss in week two, Neuqua Valley is happy to return home for the first time this fall. The Wildcats will have their hands full with a tough Lockport squad.
Lockport would drive down to the five yard line where a few plays later Tyler Pospisil takes the rock and rumbles his way into the endzone for the touchdown to put the Porters up 7-0.
Later in the game, Neuqua quarterback Kiet Truong loads up the deep ball and drops a pass into the arms of Ben Stefanski who is in for a touchdown strike to cut the Wildcats deficit down 14-7.
Still in the second on Lockport’s next possession, Ryan Mascari tips the pass attempt and picks the ball off himself. He’s off to the races and goes all the way back for a 64 yard pick six to cut the Porters lead back down to 21-14. The Porters take a 27-14 lead into halftime after a kickoff return for a touchdown.
The Neuqua defense just could not contain Pospisil. He bulldozes through the Wildcat defenders and is in for his fourth touchdown of the night to put the Porters up 20. Lockport adds another touchdown and wins by the score of 41-14, improving to 2-1 while Neuqua Valley drops to 0-3 on the season.
Andrew vs. Naperville Central
Naperville Central is fresh off another thrilling victory in the Crosstown Classic over Naperville North. The Redhawks must not over look Andrew if they want to improve to 3-0 to start the season.
Naperville Central has the ball at the Thunderbolt 34-yard line when Sebastian Hayes uses the play action before finding DeShaun Williams in the end zone for the touchdown to put the Redhawks up 7-0.
The Central offense continues to show strength on the ground as Aiden Clark scores a pair of first half goal line touchdowns as the Redhawks take a 24-0 lead.
But in the second half the Andrew offense finally gets clicking. Cam Mantiatis runs it in for the Thunderbolt touchdown around the left side and suddenly it’s a 24-14 ballgame.
However, Naperville Central is able to recover the onside kick and ice the game with yet another Aiden Clark touchdown run. Naperville Central improves to 3-0 following a 31-14 win over Andrew.
Standings and Schedules
The local birds, Benet Academy and Naperville Central are the two remaining undefeated teams in the area. Naperville North and Waubonsie Valley are in solid shape at 2-1. Metea Valley and Neuqua Valley are rapidly approaching must-win territory.
In week four, things do not get much easier for any of our teams. Neuqua Valley is on the road once again at Homewood Flossmoor. Metea Valley travels to face Andrew. Waubonsie Valley welcomes Lockport while Naperville Central hosts Stagg. Naperville North with a major matchup on its home turf against powerhouse Lincoln-Way East. Benet Academy returns to Benedictine to host St. Viator.
The season is nearing the midway point, but there is still a lot of ballgame left following week three of Football Friday. We’ll see you once again next week to check out all the highlights from week four. Thank you all for watching, for Football Friday, I’m Justin Cornwell.
For more prep sports highlights, visit the Naperville Sports Weekly page!
