Huskies Take Down Redhawks in Round 1 of 8A Football Playoffs

CHICAGO -- The mighty have fallen. 

The Marist Redhawks fell to the Naperville North Huskies during Friday's Class 8A football matchup 27-14.

Marist took second in the 2009 state tournament--but was second-best on this night. Still, coach Pat Dunne said he was not disappointed in his team's effort.

"From our end, I couldn't be more proud of our guys and how hard they played all night and all season," Dunne said.

The Huskies (7-3) struck first with an 8-yard touchdown run from senior running back Alex Kinne. Marist was on the move to retaliate before North senior linebacker Anthony Panagos stopped them in their tracks with an interception on the 26.

Minutes later, North senior running back Antonio Owens darted in from 12 yards out to increase the Huskies lead to 14-0.

"We played the way we wanted to play," North coach Sean Drendel. "We were physical. We used our speed. Our kids executed our game plan to perfection early."

The Huskies struck again with just under four minutes remaining in the half on a 1-yard push from senior linebacker/fullback Nick Lifka. The Redhawks would make it to the Huskies' 7 before time wound down and their chance to score would fizzle out. 

Marist (6-4) was finally able to score early in the fourth quarter--on a 5-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Luke Oosterbaan to senior running back Mike Skalitzky. The Huskies struck again with a 2-yard run from senior running back Nick Sianta to increase their lead to 27-7. 

Huskies senior quarterback Matt LaCosse went 3-for-6 for 34 yards and led North with 95 yards rushing. Owens added 72 yards on eight carries and one touchdown.

"Our stars--Nick Lifka and Matt LaCosse--had great games," Drendel said. "Antonio Owens had a great game and the unsung guys on our offensive line were outstanding."

Despite being down by 20 points, the Redhawks did not give up. With just under 2 minutes remaining, Oosterbaan connected with Skalitzky once again from 9 yards out. But it just wouldn't be enough for the Redhawks. 

Oosterbaan completed 22-of-31 for 206 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for 36 yards. Senior running back McKinley Moore led the Redhawks in rushing with 52 yards on nine carries. Skalitzky wasn't far behind with 47 yards on eight carries and a touchdown. 

The Huskies will face York Dukes (9-1) in Round 2 next weekend. 

"York is a great football team," Drendel said. "We'll have our hands full, but we're going to come out and play very hard."