October 27, 2001 11:51 PM CDT
Naperville Central tailback Jason Paquette scored two touchdowns and quarterback Phil Horvath ran for one score and threw for another on the way to a 41-3 Class 8A first-round playoff rout of Schaumburg in a rematch of the 1999 6A title game won by Naperville.
"It was like pulling teeth those first couple of drives," Redhawks coach Joe Bunge said. "The second half was more a game of big plays."
The host Redhawks (10-0) failed on their opening possession and didn't regain the ball until the second quarter as the Saxons (5-5) had control for 11 of the game's first 13 minutes.
But that didn't prevent Naperville Central from scoring. The Redhawks grabbed a 6-0 lead on a 31-yard interception return for a touchdown by defensive back Dave Atkinson midway through the first quarter. Schaumburg responded with a 38-yard field goal by Andy Schaefer early in the second period.
After that, it was all Naperville, the top seed in 8A.
Starting with a 14-play, 75-yard drive, Naperville Central scored touchdowns on five of its next six possessions, while the Redhawks' defense kept the Saxons bottled up in their own territory.
Horvath connected on 12-of-14 passes for 222 yards, including 10 straight through the second and third quarters.
"We watched a lot of films, so we kind of knew what they were going to do," Horvath said.
Jack McCarthy