Jason Figg, Gavin Ellison and Aiden Clark have been coming to watch the crosstown rivalry between Naperville Central and Naperville North for what feels like forever.
On Friday night they were all on the field at North Central College before a standing room-only crowd, and making the plays No. 15 Naperville Central needed to pull out a stirring 24-21 nonconference win.
Figg sacked Naperville North quarterback Jacob Bell, who was brilliant in defeat, on fourth-and-10 from the Central 29-yard line with under a minute left to seal it. Ellison bounced back after missing a field goal and an extra point to boot the go-ahead field goal from 25 yards out with 1:24 remaining.
And Clark, knocked out of the game twice, came back to rush 28 times for 151 yards and the game-tying TD early in the fourth quarter.
Naperville Central (2-0) also had two TD passes from Sebastian Hayes to Indiana State commit DeShaun Williams. Hayes was 15-for-27 passing for 146 yards
To get the win in these circumstances? “Oh man, it’s insane,” said Figg, a senior lineman. “We won it last year, too. And being able to have that experience is definitely something I’ll never forget. You grow up in the D-Zone [cheering section] and in the stands and you want to be the guys on the field. And when you’re finally that guy, it’s a crazy experience.”
Ellison, a junior, is continuing a family tradition of kicking for the Redhawks, following his older brothers Aidan and Logan. Two years ago, Logan kicked a game-winning field goal to beat Naperville North in overtime, giving Gavin a case of deja vu.
“As the clock is running down, I knew I might have a chance to repeat in the same footsteps as my brother,” Ellison said. “So it was somewhat nerve-wracking. But amazing, I felt on top of the world.”
Clark was feeling bad, both mentally and physically, after going to the sideline for the second time in the game, early in the third quarter.
“I got fell on, I had a hard time breathing,” the senior said. “I thought my shoulder was popped out. So I come out of the game, [the trainer] is feeling around, no bone issue.”
Clark was back on the field early in the fourth quarter after the Redhawks took over at the Huskies 30-yard line. Two runs later, he was in the end zone and the game was tied.
“I just thought, ‘I’ve been through it all,’” Clark said. “‘I can’t let it go away now.’”
Figg and his defensive teammates, including Jake Stanish and Troy Kashul, felt the same way about trying to contain Bell. The senior was 31-of-51 passing for 377 yards and three TDs with one interception. Bell had accounted for more than 600 yards passing and eight touchdowns in the first two weeks for the Huskies (1-1). Quinn Morris and Chico Thomas combined for 227 receiving yards and three TDs for North.
“All week all we talked about was [coming] through in the fourth quarter and making a play at the very end of the game when everyone’s tired,” Figg said. “[Bell] is a great player. He’s shifty. But when we have great guys containing him, there’s nowhere for him to go. If we can keep squeezing the pocket, good things are gonna happen.”
“We’ve got to convert a little more,” Huskies coach Sean Drendel said. “We’ve got to do a better job. And that’s on everybody. Our kids played hard, gave great effort. We just weren’t able to do enough.”