By Dave Miller Daily Herald Sports Writer
Posted on October 28, 2000
About 35 minutes before its 7 p.m. Class 6A playoff game with Fremd, a
transformer blew and left the stadium in the dark. There was immediate
speculation that the game would have to be delayed until today.
But 15 minutes later, the lights came on again as the players took the field for
their warmups. It turned out to be the only power outage of the night for
defending state champion Naperville Central. The top-seeded Redhawks
steadily rolled to their 24th consecutive victory, handling No. 32 seed Fremd
36-6.
The anxious moments for the Redhawks (10-0) came when they were left in the
dark with everyone else.
"We were just confused, wondering what was going on, wondering if we were
going to have the game," said Naperville Central senior Kyle Adams, who
kicked 3 field goals and caught 3 passes for 107 yards. "We thought it might
have been lightning or something. We didn't know what was up."
When power was restored, Adams made sure his team got off on the right foot.
He perfectly negotiated a strong crosswind to boot field goals of 35, 29 and 35
yards to give the Redhawks a 9-0 lead a minute into the second quarter.
Adams said he aimed for one of the uprights and the wind took his kicks
through the middle of the goal post. He had kicked 2 field goals on the season
entering the game.
"I was pleased to be able to get the experience, especially with the upcoming
games, but I'd like to see the touchdowns as well," Adams said. "But I'm just
glad we were able to get points on the board."
The Redhawks followed with a 5-play, 49-yard drive, capped by a Phil
Horvath 1-yard touchdown sneak. Adams' kick made it 16-0 at 7:32 of the
second quarter.
Fremd (6-4) scored next after Eric Billimoria recovered a fumbled punt on the
Redhawks' 16. Six plays later, Joe Klein ran for a 2-yard touchdown to bring
the Vikings within 16-6 with 3:04 remaining in the second quarter, and that's
where the score stood when the 2-point pass fell incomplete.
After pinning Fremd deep in its territory on its next possession, the Redhawks
forced a punt and drove 31 yards, scoring when Kevin Noel caught a 5-yard
touchdown pass from Horvath with :40 left in the half. Adams' kick gave
Naperville Central a 23-6 halftime lead.
The Redhawks turned the ball over three times in the first half, but their defense
limited Fremd to 75 yards over 31 plays. The Vikings turned the ball over twice
themselves.
In the second half, Horvath (11-for-17, 175 yards) scored on another 1-yard
sneak and Kyle Griffith (17 carries, 140 yards) ran for a 25-yard touchdown.
Fremd's Tim Donatucci finished with 67 yards on 19 carries.