We are back for Week 2 of Spring Football Saturday. Even though, there was no spring football played this Saturday by any of our local teams. I’ll explain that in a little bit, but for now let’s get into the Friday night highlights from Waubonsie Valley traveling to Metea Valley. Both teams in search of a win after starting the season 0-1.
Waubonsie Valley vs Metea Valley
In the opening quarter, Metea quarterback Logan Fredrick tries to set up a screen, but Waubonsie snuffs it out, so the junior goes into scramble mode. He buys time for his receivers to get down field and eventually Alex Cleveland gets behind the defense and catches the 17 yard touchdown. 7-0 Mustangs after one.
10-0 Metea in the second quarter. Warriors knocking on the door as Nathan Pappas drops back and immediately tosses a jump ball up to Tyler Helbing who makes the grab in the end zone. First touchdown of the season for Waubonsie Valley.
Waubonsie up 14-10 late in the third quarter, Jabron Lee gets the handoff and runs off the right side. Some nice blocking down field as Lee finds the end zone and puts WV up 20-10 heading to the 4th quarter.
Mustangs down 20-17 with under seven minutes to play, Logan Fredrick using his legs once again, this time he breaks free and scampers in for the go ahead touchdown. Metea leads 24-20 in search of its first win over Waubonsie since 2015.
Under 40 seconds left. Warriors have 4th and goal from the six yard line. Pappas drops back and throws a back shoulder throw to Sean Clifton who makes an incredible grab in the corner of the end zone. The coverage was good, but the throw and catch was better as the Warriors make the first career win for new head coach Tom Baumgartner a game he will never forget.
Marmion Academy vs Naperville Central
The second game of the weekend features Naperville Central taking on Marmion Academy playing on a Sunday morning. A nice football brunch for two teams who needed week 2 opponents. Central was originally schedueld to host Neuqua Valley before the Wildcats program went on pause earlier in the week while Marmion just came off of a COVID pause of its own.
Naperville Central inside the Marmion 30 in the first quarter. Owen Prucha drops a screen pass to Reggie Fleurima who makes a one handed snag and follows the blocking into the end zone. 10-0 Hawks after one.
Second quarter and Central leads 10-3, Antonio Torres out this game so Nico Green steps in to the running back role and breaks a tackle en route to a nine yard touchdown run. Redhawks up 16-3 late in the first half.
Not long before halftime, Cadets looking to get back in the game. This will help. Quarterback Padraig Fitzgerald unloads a deep ball to Dane Pardridge who hauls it in for a 57 yard touchdown. Marmion down only 16-10 heading to halftime.
After the Cadets take a 17-16 lead, Prucha hands off to Elijah Jordan who powers his way in for the go ahead touchdown. Two-point conversion fails but the Redhawks now lead 22-17 with under five minutes to play.
Time running out for the Cadets. Fitzgerald looking for a receiver, but Shane Roth picks off the pass to seal the victory. The shorthanded Central squad starts the season 2-0 after a Sunday showcase.
Standings and Schedules
And those are the only games for our six local teams so far this weekend. Neuqua Valley’s program is on pause because of a positive COVID- 19 test. Naperville North also had to go on pause for contact tracing purposes because the Huskies played Neuqua Valley last week. So North’s game against Dekalb on Saturday was canceled.
Benet Academy is also on pause, canceling the Redwings home opener against De La Salle. Nazareth defeated St. Laurence on Saturday in the only CCL/ESCC Orange division game.
The schedule next week is full of asterisks because of the aforementioned programs that are on pause. As of now, the Neuqua Valley-Metea Valley game will not be played on Saturday and neither will the Naperville North-Naperville Central game. It is possible the these matchups will move to a later date but that has yet to be determined. It’s possible that Naperville Central and Metea Valley could play each other next week, since both of their Week 3 opponents are on pause. The only game locked in at the moment is Dekalb at Waubonsie Valley.
An announcement has not yet been made regarding Benet Academy’s Week 3 game against St. Laurence but it will most likely be postponed or canceled.
So with that we’ll wrap up the abridged Week 2 of Spring Football Saturday. Hopefully next week our teams will be healthy and back on the field. We shall see. Thanks so much for watching. For Spring Football Saturday, I’m Justin Cornwell.
Want more prep sports content, visit our Naperville Sports Weekly page!
