With a 48-20 come-from-behind victory over Wheaton North Friday in front of 8,000 fans at Memorial Stadium in Naperville, the Redhawks will play for another state title next Saturday at the University of Illinois' Memorial Stadium.

This time, it'll be for the Class 8A championship against today's winner between second-seeded Maine South (12-0) and No. 11 Downers Grove South (10-2). It'll be the third state title game appearance by No. 1 seed Naperville Central (13-0) in seven years.

The last time the Redhawks played in Champaign, they won their only state title in 1999.

"I was a sophomore the last time, but it was nothing like this," said Redhawks senior linebacker Mike Lucas, brought up for the playoffs that season.

"This year we can get a true experience of what it's like. It doesn't get any better than this."

Senior tailback Jason Paquette continued his postseason domination by rushing 27 times for 230 yards and 3 touchdowns to lead the Redhawks to their 38th win in 39 games.

"We're happy to play another week of football," Paquette said. "We're definitely ready. We've worked for this all year."

Twentieth-seeded Wheaton North (9-4) stormed out to a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter, scoring on its first possession of the game. An 11-play, 75-yard drive was capped by quarterback Zach Ullrich's (16 of 28, 172 yards) 6-yard touchdown pass to Dareon Spencer (6 catches, 77 yards).

In the second quarter, Falcons fullback Andy Cvengros (17 carries, 116 yards) scored on a punishing 19-yard run down the right sideline, highlighted by a spin move into the end zone.

The 14-0 Wheaton North lead finally woke up the Redhawks - to the tune of 41 unanswered points.

"We took a little time, but we finally got going," said Redhawks quarterback Phil Horvath (11 of 14, 149 yards). "Things just started to click for us."

After a leaping 39-yard catch by Dan Passarelli (5 catches, 86 yards), Horvath scored on a 1-yard dive to slice the deficit in half. On the Redhawks' next possession, Paquette started to take over.

His 19-yard touchdown run tied the game with two minutes, 32 seconds left in the first half.

The backbreaker for Wheaton North came right before halftime.

The Redhawks got the ball at their own 22 with just 33 seconds left. On the first play, Paquette took the handoff on a draw and raced down the left sideline for a 78-yard touchdown with 20 seconds left.

That gave Naperville Central the lead for good at 21-14.

"We got going, and they're not going to sit back," said Falcons coach Matt Foster, whose team made its first semifinal appearance since 1988. "They're going to keep coming and they did. And they'd stick to what they did until they found a weakness, and they did."

Naperville Central opened a 28-14 lead on its first possession of the second half on Horvath's 5-yard pass to Lucas. On the Redhawks' next possession, it became 35-14 on Paquette's 38-yard run.

Wheaton North pulled within 35-20 on Ullrich's 3-yard pass to Mark Slocum (6 catches, 67 yards). But on the ensuing on-side kickoff, Passarelli snared the ball and went 50 yards for the touchdown.

"Nothing is given to you," said Redhawks coach Joe Bunge. "These kids have worked awfully hard to get to this point. This is a pretty good football team, and they're anxious to get back down there."