Dynamite
 
Defense makes the difference as Central opens 2001 with win

By Brad Engel
STAFF WRITER

  To pinpoint the one entity responsible for Naperville Central's season-opening victory would be as silly as trying to identify the first drop of rain that hit the ground Friday night.

   It took millions of drops to make the field wet and hundreds of well-executed plays to propel Central to a 42-3 victory against Marian Catholic at the Redhawks' Memorial Stadium. After allowing the Spartans a 26-yard field goal early in the first quarter, the defending DuPage Valley Conference champions kept the Spartans from entering the red zone on all but two of their remaining possessions.

   "The defense got us right back in the game," said Central senior fullback Jason Paquette, who in his second varsity start scored a career-high three touchdowns. "We started off with a huge bang and kind of died off a little bit."

   Central's backfield — Paquette and senior tailback Kyle Griffith — got Central rolling early. Griffith darted 41 yards on the fourth play of the game, giving Central an early 7-0 lead after senior place-kicker Chris Szatko successfully made the point-after attempt. With 65 yards gained in Griffith's first three attempts, things looked good for Central's offense.

   The Spartans flashed a running game of their own when they got the ball in the first quarter, putting the ball in the hands of senior Travis Bushnell. Bushnell, who got his team in position to earn its only points of the game, recorded 210 yards rushing on 38 carries for a 5.5 yards-per-carry average.

   "It was a little slippery out there in the beginning, and we really needed to get a hand on him, because he kept getting away from us at the start," said Central outside linebacker Matt Benson. "But we got a hold on him a little later in the game and slowed him down, and we did a good jobwrapping him and (holding) on to him."

   The defense forced the Spartans to punt on their next four possessions, setting up Central's second-quarter touchdown. After throwing incomplete on three of his first four attempts, senior quarterback Phil Horvath threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to Paquette. Griffith's two-point conversion run gave the Redhawks a 15-3 lead with 2:33 left to play in the half.

   Then the Central defense added to its list of well-executed plays on the Spartans' next possession. Having traveled 41 yards to Central's 24-yard line by mixing passes with Bushnell's running, the Spartans looked to the air again. But this time Central defensive back Bob Siciliano intercepted Marian quarterback Donald Busse and ran the ball 66 yards to the Spartans 16-yard line. Paquette then took the first handoff of the drive for a touchdown run. Central entered the break with a 22-3 lead behind Griffith's 107 rushing yards.

   "Coming into the game we didn't look that well in practice, but we've been trying hard," Griffith said. "Our (offensive) line's huge. They opened up some big holes for me tonight and they worked really hard in the off-season, and we just proved how good we were tonight."

   Central's starting offensive line comprised left tackle Jeff Houghtabing (6 feet 3 inches, 300 pounds), left guard Brendan Baskin (6-1, 245), center Ross Bernardi (6-4, 210), right guard Justin Swartz (6-0, 200) and right tackle Jeff Burdorf (6-4, 315).

   The Redhawks defensive line — Benson (6-3, 215), right tackle Ryan Senica (6-3, 240), nose guard Kyle Schueler (5-9, 205), left tackle Rob Bentley (6-1, 230) and left defensive end Pat Watson (6-4, 240) — put the initial crack on Bushnell, the Spartans' lone offensive threat.

   "We tried to tire them down, and they didn't get tired enough," Marian coach Dave Mattio said. "You know what I was really most impressed by was the play of the linebackers. The initial level, I thought, there were some pretty good collisions, but we had some tough times. They offset some linemen and the linebackers came free, and we just didn't pick them up and hit them solid and square and move them. But yet we relied an awful lot on (Bushnell)."

   Central linebackers Mike Lucas and Nick Ehrlich helped a defense that limited Bushnell to 3 yards or less on 18 of his 38 carries.

   "We only knew of three returning starters on the offense, and that was all on the offensive line," Senica said. "We didn't know of their running backs or anything."

   In the second half, Central's running backs kept pushing farther. Griffith bettered his 41-yard scoring touchdown of the first half by carrying the ball 60 yards for a score with 4:27 left in the third, giving Central a 28-13 lead. Griffith, who led the Redhawks rushing game with 190 yards on 14 carries, noticed the positive remarks surrounding his name throughout the preseason.

   "I just want to play my game," he said. "I know everyone compares me to Ryan Clifford. I just want to play my own game and stop wondering about the past and what we did in the past and just worry about the future."

   Clifford rushed for 2,600 yards and scored a state-record 51 touchdowns during Central's state championship season of 1999.

   When speaking of records, Horvath says he would like to break Tim Lavery's single-season passing record of 2,417 yards, set in 1995 when Lavery's Redhawks lost to Wheaton Warrenville South in the state final. Horvath got off to a slow start Friday, completing five of 13 passes for 54 yards. Receivers dropped at least two sure passes of substantial yardage.

   Central widened the gap with Paquette's third touchdown in the third quarter and senior defensive back Brad Matthews' 95-yard interception return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter, sealing a 42-3 victory in the opening week.

   In Week 2, Central travels to play Stevenson at 7:30 p.m. Friday. The Redhawks begin conference play Sept. 7 on the road against Wheaton Warrenville South.

 
Contact Brad Engel at (630) 416-5289 or bengel@scn1.com. Quarter by Quarter 1st quarter Central scored on the fourth play of the game when senior Kyle Griffith broke free for a 41-yard touchdown run. Marian Catholic retaliated on its first drive with a 26-yard field goal. Naperville Central leads 7-3. 2nd quarter Marian and Central traded possessions six times before Central marched 63 yards, capped by senior Jason Paquette's 8-yard touchdown reception. Less than two minutes later, the Redhawks scored after senior Bob Siciliano's 66-yard interception return set up a Paquette touchdown run. Naperville Central leads 22-3. 3rd quarter Siciliano sacked Marian quarterback Donald Busse on third-and-9 for a 7-yard loss. The Spartans punted, and two plays later Griffith rushed 60 yards for a touchdown. Less than three minutes later, Paquette hit a hole for a 28-yard touchdown run. Naperville Central leads 35-4. 4th quarter With seven minutes to play, senior defensive back Brad Matthews returned an interception 95 yards to give the Redhawks a 42-3 lead. Naperville Central wins 42-3. By The Numbersnumber:5 Naperville Central and Marian Catholic combined for five fumbles. Central fumbled the ball four times, starting with senior Tyke Spencer's mishandle on the first play of the game in the pouring rain. Quarterbacks Phil Horvath and Blake Jeffers fumbled the ball a total three times, one of Horvath's resulting in Central's only turnover.number:2, 9 Horvath wore jersey No. 9 last year but switched to No. 2 for his senior season. Last year, wide receiver Dan Prazak wore No. 2, and this year backup quarterback Jeffers wears No. 9.number:16 Senior fullback Jason Paquette averaged 16 yards per carry last year after rushing the ball eight times for 124 yards. Paquette finished 4-for-52 against Marian, keeping his average in the teens at 13 yards per carry in the young 2001 season.number:11 Eleven of last season's 22 starters for Central find themselves on college rosters this year. The former Redhawks are Drew Kocsis, Joe Alvarez, Chris Hill, Mitch Nowicki, Ryan Amberson, Luke Summer, Matt Yellin, Owen Daniels, Kevin Noel, Kyle Adams and Joe Hickock. boxhead:Naperville Central 42, Marian Catholic 3 boxperiods2: Marian 3 0 0 0 -- 3 Central 7 15 13 7 -- 42 ag NC — Kyle Griffith, 41-yard run (Chris Szatko kick) MC — Sergio Flores, 26-yard field goal NC — Jason Paquette 8-yard pass from Phil Horvath (Griffith run) NC — Paquette, 16-yard run (Szatko kick) NC — Griffith, 60-yard run (kick failed) NC — Paquette, 28-yard run (Szatko kick) NC — Brad Matthews, 95-yard interception return (Szatko kick)Team statistics MC NC First downs 20 13 Comp-att-int 6-23-2 5-13-0 Yards passing 65 54 Rushes-yards 55-257 25-262 Total yards 322 316 Fumbles-lost 1-0 4-1 Penalties-yards 3-22 5-40 Individual statistics RUSHING: Central — Griffith 14-190, Paquette 4-52, Horvath 5-13, Dan Passarelli 1-4, Joel Barenbragge 1-3. Marian — Travis Bushnell 38-210, Michael Holmes 5-38, Christopher Rodriguez 5-20, Forrest McCain 1-2, Donald Busse 5-(-4), Joe Grubisic 1-(-9). PASSING: Central — Horvath 5-13-0 54, Blake Jeffers 0-0-0 0. Marian — Busse 6-19-2 65, Grubisic 0-4-0 0. RECEIVING: Central — Tyke Spencer 1-21, Paquette 2-16, Curt Benson 1-9, Passarelli 1-8. Marian — Todd Zarlengo 1-27, David Carcelli 2-17, Tom O'Brien 1-12, McCain 1-5, Jeffrey Graveline 1-4.

08/26/01