09/23/00
By Bob Reynolds
SPECIAL TO THE BEACON NEWS
NAPERVILLE — Naperville Central's marching band plays its school's fight song after every Redhawk
touchdown.
By now, consider that song perfected.
The state's No. 1-ranked team continued on a march to a second consecutive state title, carving up West Aurora 42-0 in clinical fashion. The Redhawks now have amassed a winning margin of 202-0 in moving to 5-0 overall and 3-0 in the DuPage Valley Conference.
"They're a great team," noted Blackhawk coach Mike Runge. "I can't say anything about them that hasn't been said already."
The Redhawk roster says a lot about this team. A total of 86 varsity players allows Central to wear down the opposition with waves of quality players, and the Blackhawks were simply bowled over.
West played toughest in the first quarter. The Redhawks faced a third-and-13 from the Blackhawk 18, but junior quarterback Philip Horvath connected with Dan Prazak down to the West Aurora 2. From there, burly fullback Matthew Yellin scored the first of his two touchdowns for a 7-0 lead five minutes into the game.
Horvath, filling in for star quarterback Owen Daniels (out for the season with a knee injury), was an efficient 8-for-11 passing for 136 yards and two scores.
The Blackhawks made the first of two journeys into Central territory before being forced to punt. From that point, the Redhawks marched 80 yards to take a 14-0 lead with 29 seconds left in the first quarter. A 27-yard pass from Horvath to Tyke Spencer got Naperville Central in position for John Sladek's 15-yard scoring run.
The three second-quarter scores all started deep in Blackhawk territory, courtesy of a fourth-down stop, a fumble, and an interception.
Horvath connected with Kevin Noe on the evening's prettiest play, a 33-yard lob into the back of the end zone which gave the Redhawks a 21-0 cushion seven minutes before halftime.
After a John Slocum fumble at the West 23, the Redhawks wasted no time capitalizing. Horvath ran the option to the Blackhawk 12, then pitched to Sladek ,who completed the slick touchdown run.
Yellin finished off the half with a two-yard run to make the score 35-0. Then the Redhawks proved their versatility starting the second half by marching 68 yards in 16 plays and 8:03 to finish the scoring on a one-yard Spencer Palmer run and activate the continuous clock.
"They (the Redhawks) have a lot of guys who execute, and they're big and physical," said Runge.
The Blackhawks (1-4 overall, 1-2 conference) were held to 44 yards rushing, 44 yards passing and three first downs by the tenacious Naperville Central defense. Their deepest penetration was to the Redhawk 47 before the door slammed shut.
West Aurora can take consolation in some hard-hitting defensive plays. Matt Meyer had two tackles for losses, and Nate Eimer had one as West held the state champs to 176 yards in 50 carries.
The Blackhawk sophomore squad fell to 4-1 with a 35-8 loss to Central.
09/23/00