By John Lemon Daily Herald Sports Writer
Posted on November 12, 2000
When Jay McCareins and the Naperville North offense huddled up to start its
final drive, the Huskies had more to contend with than just Naperville Central's
vaunted defense.
They were trailing the defending state champs 33-29, and needed to go 76
yards with 4:43 left on the clock on the Redhawks' home turf.
More than that, they needed to reverse all the momentum going against them.
Central had scored 22 unanswered points to erase a 29-11 deficit and position
itself for what looked to be a comeback for the ages.
Even worse for the Huskies, after running all over the Redhawks in the first half,
Central's defense had started to shut North down. The previous two Huskies
possessions both went three plays and out.
But running the ball 9 of 10 plays, the Huskies regained their offensive
dominance just in time, driving those 76 yards in 3:35 for the game-winning
touchdown and a stunning 36-33 victory.
When McCareins and company took the field moments after Kyle Griffith's
27-yard touchdown run, the Huskies (11-1) could feel the upset they had
worked so hard for slipping away.
"I don't think I'd ever been that nervous in my whole life," running back Kevin
Hahn said.
McCareins might have sensed that too, but quickly got his teammates settled
down.
"I said 'If you are nervous, feed off me,'" McCareins said. "If anyone wasn't
confident, look at me. Overall our team confidence was very high."
Naperville North never faced a third down on the drive. McCareins scrambled
for one first down on a 9-yard run, then ran 9 yards for another first down on a
quarterback draw. He finished with 80 yards on 15 carries.
"We love Jay," center Tim Hower said. "He's got great feet in the pocket. If he
gets in trouble, he can get out of it."
The Huskies' double wing offense was working to perfection. Hahn swept
outside for 7 yards, then McCareins kept it, then finally Steve Sarm ran
untouched up the middle on an 18-yard touchdown run that turned the North
sideline jubilant.
"We stress all year how much heart this team has," Hower said. "Playing the
defending champs, the 25-game winning streak...it's hard to describe how much
we wanted this game."
Whoever carried the ball almost always had room to run. Linemen Hower,
Justin Bartl, Marty Fornelli, Mike Polacheck and Dave Sherman paved the way
for 319 rushing yards.
"Our kids persevered," Naperville North coach Larry McKeon said. "We had
some great blocking by our offensive line."
Sarm led North with 109 rushing yards, and Hahn added 95.
"We got stopped early in the fourth quarter, but we didn't fold," Polacheck said.
"We knew we had the biggest hearts."