NAPERVILLE – Naperville Central and Naperville North enter Friday’s annual crosstown battle going in different directions.
North comes in winners of four straight, including a season-changing 21-14 win over Wheaton Warrenville South that turned around a 1-3 start to the season. Central, meanwhile, started 5-0 with impressive non-conference wins over Neuqua Valley and Waubonsie Valley, only to see a 14-7 loss to WWS start a three-game skid. Both teams stand at 5-3 heading into the final week of the regular season.
The game will be played at 7:30 p.m. Friday at North Central College. CN100 will air the game at Noon and 4 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 26, and 7 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 28. You can also find the game throughout Chicagoland with Xfinity On Demand.
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“We’re playing a lot better,” North Coach Sean Drendel said. “We’re playing with confidence. The kids are making plays. They’re playing hard. From that standpoint, I like where we’re at. We’re still making a few too many mistakes, but we’re playing well enough to win games.”
The Huskies had to rebuild both the offensive and defensive lines after massive graduation defections from a pair of 5-5 squads. The lines have come together as the season has moved along and put the Huskies in position for their 17th straight postseason appearance. Running backs DeSean Brown and Sharad Crosby have carried the load for North. Safety Danny Schertz is the defense’s leader.
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“Those three guys are really leading us and doing a great job,” Drendel said. “They provide great leadership.”
Naperville Central has a high-flying offense, led by Illinois State recruit Jake Kolbe at quarterback. He has passed for 1,472 yards and 12 touchdowns with only three interceptions and rushed for 236 yards and six touchdowns. His top targets are Michael Kolzow (43 catches, 473 yards, six touchdowns) and Ben Andreas (41 catches, 558 yards, five touchdowns and 118 yards and three touchdowns rushing). Kevin Clifford paces a balanced rushing attack with 266 yards and seven touchdowns.
“We’re definitely not taking them lightly,” Drendel said. “They’re the favorites going into the game. Everyone talks about their quarterback and a couple of their receivers, but it’s a combination of everybody doing what they needed to do. I think they’re doing it as a whole team. Offensively, they’re great. It’s going to be a tough night for us.”
The atmosphere is always electric for this game, no matter what the teams’ records are. And this figures to be no different as each team is trying to confirm a playoff spot and get some momentum going into the postseason. The good thing is, unlike many bitter rivalries, there won’t be any hard feelings no matter who wins.
“For us, this is old-school Naperville,” Drendel said. “It’s a massive game. It’s pretty much all the guys think about and talk about. It’s a game they want to win. We’re pretty good friends as coaches. For a couple hours, we’re enemies, but during the year, we’re very good friends. You want to beat people like that. I think they’re one of the top teams in 8A. For us to be in that conversation, we have to find a way to win.”
- Paul Johnson, CN100 Correspondent
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