By Brad Engel
STAFF WRITER

  New Trier fans showed up at Naperville Central in Robinson coach buses with huge, white banners on the side that read, "No, we're No. 1."

  The No. 16 Trevians' confidence trickled down to their fans as they prepared to face the top-seeded Naperville Central Redhawks on Saturday afternoon at Memorial Stadium in Naperville. The Redhawks shot down the Trevians last year in Round 2 of the state playoff series, and they did so again with a 26-9 victory this season. The Trevians fell to 7-4 on the season and remained winless against Central.

  Central will play No. 9 Conant (9-2) in the quarterfinals next weekend in Hoffman Estates at a time and day to be determined later. Conant upended No. 4 Hinsdale Central (9-2) on Friday.

  "Naperville Central has a great program," said New Trier quarterback Mike Duda after a 15-for-32 passing performance against a top-ranked Central secondary. "We knew it would be a challenge. We prepared hard all week. They were the better team today."

  The Trevians entered the game riding the momentum of a 16-12 first-round victory against No. 17 Glenbard North, another successful DuPage Valley Conference program. The Trevians also benefited from a tough schedule. The Trevians battled with No. 2 Maine South and Class 7A's No. 14 seed Loyola Academy, setting the stage for a well-prepared Central Suburban South team trying to halt the Redhawks' journey to state.

  It showed on the first possession of the game. New Trier capitalized on Central's deferring the possession choice on the coin flip, mixing a series of traditional runs, draws and pass plays with formations featuring Duda in the shotgun. Duda completed his first four passing attempts on the drive for 52 yards, testing Central's interception-laden secondary.

  "Their (quarterback) was excellent," said Central senior linebacker Nick Ehrlich, who intercepted Duda, tipped two of his passes and hurried him one other time. "He was on target, and their wide receivers didn't drop one pass."

  That first drive moved into Central territory and stopped after a total 55 yards at the Redhawks 25-yard line. Sophomore Rob Russell then kicked a 41-yard field goal to give the Trevians a 3-0 lead with 7:02 to play in the first quarter.

  But while New Trier reached Central's red zone only once in the next eight possessions, Central began flashing the Jason Paquette show. The senior tailback carried the ball on six of seven plays during the Redhawks' first scoring drive, finishing with a 32-yard sprint to the end zone. Paquette played a limited role at fullback in the first six weeks of the season until senior tailback Kyle Griffith suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.

  "The transition was difficult at first," said Paquette, who rushed the ball 25 times for 215 yards and three touchdowns. "This is only my fifth game at running back. The tailback at Naperville Central is the premier back. It's a big transition."

  Paquette never blinked against New Trier, taking advantage of what he described as the offensive line's best two weeks of the season, including the game against Schaumburg last week. Paquette commended the offensive line for its work on the cutback play that seems to frequently create touchdown runs for the Redhawks.

  New Trier followed the Redhawks' first touchdown drive with a series of follies on two attempted punt plays. Two 15-yard penalties, one for a 12th man on the field and one for unsportsmanlike conduct, pushing the Trevians into poor field position.

  The Trevians did manage to form a pass attack with Central showing a run defense, leaving it up to the cornerbacks to deliver in the secondary for the Redhawks. Central limited the Trevians to 93 yards on 25 carries.

  "We came out to stop the run," Ehrlich said.

  With Central leading 19-9 at halftime, the Redhawks didn't hold back on their first drive of the second half. It ended with an incomplete pass on fourth-and-6 from the Trevians' 28-yard line, but it sent them a message that there would be no letdown.

  Central quarterback Phil Horvath struggled with a 4-of-12 performance that included a stretch of five consecutive incompletions, but he still directed his team like a veteran.

  "We knew their run defense was not as good, so we stuck with what was working," said Horvath, who threw for 87 yards. "Their run defense was average, and, actually, their passing 'D' played great. They had me flustered at times."

  With less than six minutes to play in the third quarter, Horvath turned the ball over to Paquette six of the next seven plays. Horvath led the Redhawks 37 yards to the Trevians' 17-yard line where Paquette took off and scored his third touchdown of the game. Central led 26-9 and let the defense hold New Trier scoreless in the fourth quarter. Central has allowed only 21 points in its past five games.

  boxhead:Naperville Central 26, New Trier 9 boxperiods2: New Trier 3 6 0 0 — 9 Central 7 12 7 0 — 26 ag NT — Russell, 41-yard field goal. NC — Paquette, 32-yard run (Szatko kick). NC — Paquette, 39-yard run (kick failed). NC — Szatko, 30-yard field goal. NT — Spellman, 7-yard run (kick failed). NC — Szatko, 32-yard field goal. NC — Paquette, 17-yard run (Szatko kick)

Team statistics NC NT First downs 17 14 Comp-att-int 4-13-0 15-32-1 Yards passing 87 165 Rushes-yards 44-257 25-93 Total yards 344 258 Fumbles-lost 1-0 0-0 Penalties-yards 7-50 6-72

Individual statistics RUSHING: Naperville Central -- Paquette 25-215, Barenbrugge 7-29, Small 7-17, Schueler 1-4, Horvath 4-(-8). New Trier -- Spellman 19-68, Duda 5-22, Peters 1-3. PASSING: Naperville Central -- Horvath 4-12-0 87, Paquette 0-1-0 0. New Trier -- Duda 15-32-1 165. RECEIVING: Naperville Central -- Passarelli 2-50, Spencer 1-22, Benson 1-15. New Trier -- Napoleon 9-98, Schmidt 2-34, Peters 2-31, Spellman 2-2.