By Phil English
Special to the Tribune

September 8, 2001

Not many would want to question the reputation of Naperville Central's Joe Bunge as a football coach. As a statistician, he's not too bad either.

The No. 2 Redhawks (3-0) got an interception return and fumble recovery from senior Brad Matthews and the defense continually set the offense up for big plays Friday night as visiting Naperville Central throttled No. 20 Wheaton Warrenville South 38-15 to win its 15th consecutive DuPage Valley Conference game.

"Our secondary played outstanding," Bunge said. "When you intercept the ball three times and return one for a touchdown, 90 percent of the time you're going to win the football game."

Matthews and the defense helped get the Redhawks off to a rousing start as the safety picked off Wheaton Warrenville South quarterback Dan Braur's first pass of the game and raced 59 yards for a TD and a 7-0 lead.

"We're feeling pretty confident right now," Matthews said. "[South] came out fired up and we stuck it to them. I think we came out a little sluggish early, but we stepped it up. That's what we're known for."

The defense continued to shine throughout the night. The Tigers threatened on the following series, but this time it was Josh Rubin who intercepted Braur (13-for-27, 156 yards) in the end zone to end the scoring threat. Eleven plays and 80 yards later, Naperville Central quarterback Phil Horvath (11-for-17, 166 yards) hit Curt Benson for a 9-yard score.

Central's defense again held on the next possession and the Redhawks needed only 53 seconds to build on their lead. On the third play of their next drive, fullback Jason Paquette took a handoff and ran 28 yards untouched for a 21-0 lead with 2:39 left in the first half.

The Tigers got on the board when Braur hooked up twice with receiver Thomas Walters on a late first-half drive, the second time for a 29-yard score to cut the lead to 21-8.

"It wasn't just the guys in the backfield," Bunge said. "You have to have that pressure up front, and tonight we had the whole package."

Copyright 2001 The Chicago Tribune