Week 8 news
Clifford, Redhawks prove they're No. 1 after 34-19 defeat
of Naperville North.
By Bob Sakamoto
Tribune Staff Writer
October 16, 1999 4:00 AM CDT
The big attraction Friday night in Naperville wasn't the
scenic Riverwalk or the burgeoning downtown section with
its festive nightlife. The place to be was Harshbarger-Welzel Field at the
intersection of Ogden Avenue and Mill Street where
Naperville's favorite sons waged a battle for the DuPage
Valley Conference title, an automatic state playoff berth
and bragging rights that will extend into the next century.
After a weeklong buildup with an abundance of media
coverage, visiting Naperville Central justified its No. 1
ranking with a 34-19 victory over Naperville North before
an overflow crowd of 9,000.
Naperville Central running back Ryan Clifford led the way
rushing for 144 yards in 27 carries and scoring two
touchdowns while also throwing a 22-yard halfback-option
pass to Pat Hinsberger for a touchdown.
"Hey, I've got a pretty good arm," Clifford said. "You
know, I'm the centerfielder on our baseball team. When I
saw all those guys coming at me (on the end sweep), I just
pulled up and saw Pat wide open. "Naperville North made me earn every yard I got tonight.
What really helped was our quarterback Owen Daniels. Our passing game is going to make teams stop focusing just on
the run."
Daniels was 7 of 9 for 162 yards and two touchdowns.
It turned into an offensive game, as predicted, with 35
points being scored in the first half.
Unfortunately for those looking for a competitive battle,
Naperville Central went into the halftime locker room with
a 28-7 lead. Bill Jurjovec broke loose on an 81-yard run early in the
fourth quarter to bring the Huskies within 28-13. But
Clifford answered that with his TD pass. Matt Plotke scored
from the 2 with 1 minutes 26 seconds left in the game.
The Redhawks wasted little time making an impact. On
Naperville North's sixth play of the game, Central
linebacker Matt Poremba picked off a J.P. Felmet pass and
set up the Redhawks offense at the North 25-yard line.
An 18-yard pass from Daniels to wideout Kevin Noel paved
the way for Ryan Clifford's 3-yard touchdown run with 7:44
left in the first quarter. That was Clifford's 31st TD of
the season. "That's a tough way to start a game," said Naperville North
coach Larry McKeon. "We were trying to run a ball-control
offense to keep it away from Clifford. They certainly
deserve to be No. 1 in the state. We knew Daniels was a
good quarterback, and he looked like the man out there
tonight."
Naperville North (6-2, 4-2) came right back with a 10-play,
80-yard drive highlighted by Felmet's 22-yard completion to
Tom Neagle. That same combination hooked up again for a
9-yard touchdown pass.
Central wasted little time reasserting itself. First came a
36-yard Clifford run, and then a 47-yard touchdown pass
from Daniels to tight end Pat Hinsberger. Clifford's
2-point run gave the Redhawks a 15-7 lead.
North came back with a 14-play drive that fizzled at
Central's 14. Ever the opportunists, the Redhawks went 86
yards on 10 plays as Daniels hit Brad Spencer with a
36-yard TD pass. In that first half, Daniels, a
6-foot-3-inch, 200-pound junior who has already caught the
eye of college recruiters, completed all four of his passes
for 123 yards and two touchdowns.
Clifford's 40-yard punt return and a 22-yard Daniels' pass
to Hinsberger set up Clifford for his second TD run, a
9-yarder.
Felmet, who passed for 161 yards in the first half, drove
the Huskies to Central's 21 just before halftime. But
Gerald Clark's interception at the 1 halted the scoring
threat. Felmet, who had thrown just one interception in the
first seven games, had two in the first half.
The last thing Naperville Central (8-0, 6-0) wanted was a
close finish. Last year, a mistake by the Central
timekeeper at the end of the game allowed North one last
play. Felmet fired a 29-yard, Hail Mary pass that was
deflected by a Redhawks defender and then hauled in by
North tailback Chris Brown for the winning touchdown.
There's no truth to the rumor that Naperville North's
pressbox crew invited the Central timekeeper to work
Friday's game.
This was one of those rare occasions in high school sports
when the game itself was almost transcended by the
histrionics of the event. There was an almost carnival-like
atmosphere to the showdown with restaurant banners draped
around the field, concession stands hawking specialty items
and everything from pompoms and T-shirts to discount-buying
cards from local merchants.
The Central fans good-naturedly tossed around doggie
biscuits in mocking the Huskies. Thursday night, Ryan
Clifford's father, Tom and Felmet's dad, Jon, teased one
another on the phone and made a friendly wager.
WBBM-TV sportscaster Tim Weigel made a dramatic appearance
in his helicopter that landed on the baseball field.
Several weeks ago at Naperville Central's homecoming, a
skydiver miscalculated his descent and landed across the
DuPage River.
McKeon wasn't worried about his team flattening out after
all the hoopla Friday night.
"We don't worry about stuff like facing them (Redhawks) in
the playoffs," McKeon said.
"Our players had a pretty good perspective on this whole
thing. We wanted this one for the conference title and
playoff seeding."
Copyright 2000 The Chicago Tribune
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