The first round of the IHSA 8A football playoffs sees 22-seeded Naperville North on the road after a 6-3 regular season. The Huskies are still in search of that first playoff win since 2010 as they take on Oswego. The Panthers hold the 11 seed thanks to a 7-2 regular season. This highlight is sponsored by BMO.
North eats a lot of clock and strikes first
The Huskies have the ball on their opening drive as Will Eloe picks up a first down with his feet and gets deep into enemy territory.
On fourth down at the Panther 24-yard line, Dante Colasante rolls out, buys time, and then throws to a wide-open Jack Zitko for the touchdown. A drive that ate up almost seven minutes has Naperville North up 7-0.
The Panthers get some help in the second quarter as Drew Kleinhans throws a short pass to Ryan Wynn, but he’ll do the rest and pick up the first down.
The drive stalls, so in comes Kaleb Stumpenhorst to kick a 46-yard field goal, and it’s good to get Oswego on the board, trailing 7-3.
Huskies are looking to get points before the break, and Eloe continues to do his thing on the ground. However, the Huskies miss a field goal as the quarter expires. The score remains 7-3 visitors at halftime.
The Husky defense steps up in the second half, starting with big boy Gabe Hill wrapping up Kleinhans for the sack.
Then the Panthers try the end-around with Dontrell Young, but good luck running away from Hill as he blows the play up. Oswego would then miss a 42-yard field goal after the big loss.
Drew Kleinhans throws Oswego in front
In the fourth quarter, the Panthers finally get it together. Kleinhans passes to a streaking Mariano Velasco down the sideline, and 61 yards later, it’s an Oswego touchdown. The Panthers take their first lead of the night at 10-7.
The Huskies retake the field in need of a long drive, and Colasante shows promise as he hits Finn Bretag to move those chains.
The Panther defense stands tall and takes the round one victory
Then Colasante throws a swing pass to C.J. Giest, but he gets popped by two defenders. To add more insult to injury, the ball comes out, and running down the sideline is Cam Loghmani for the scoop and score. That seals the deal as Oswego takes the 17-7 round one victory and moves on to the second round, where the Panthers will face Lane Tech.
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