Opponents have little hope of stopping Redhawks

By Brad Engel
STAFF WRITER
 
  West Aurora running back Marquis Hubbard hoped the Wildcats had the unimaginable power to beat Naperville Central — the Sun Super 10's No. 1 team — on Friday at Ken Zimmerman field in Aurora. "We wanted the feeling of taking the big dog, which is them. We just couldn't do it," said Hubbard, who managed 41 yards on the ground on nine carries in a 41-0 loss. "They're so big. They run the same defense as we do, so we thought it would be a little bit easier, but these guys, they're number two in the state. There's nothing you can really do."

   Kind of like an average student taking accelerated classes — set up to fail. A shutout win by the defending DuPage Valley Conference champion might also make the Redhawks (4-0 overall, 2-0 in the DVC) seem perfect, unless of course you're Central coach Joe Bunge.

   "I don't see it that way," Bunge said. "To be honest with you, in the first half, I don't think we looked as sharp as we should have."

   The Redhawks never established a running game. They averaged just less than 0.6 yards per carry (38 rushes, 69 yards) overall with their longest run a 12-yard a touchdown by senior quarterback Phil Horvath in the fourth quarter. Central senior Kyle Griffith carried the ball six times on the Redhawks' first possession for only 15 yards. Griffith's trudging set up senior fullback Jason Paquette's 1-yard touchdown run with 5:11 left in the first quarter.

   Central punted to end its second possession after three downs. Senior defensive back A.J. Sagen got the ball back for the Redhawks after his sack for a 12-yard loss forced the Wildcats to punt from the back of their own end zone. Central took over on the Wildcats 14-yard line, and on the first play Horvath rolled right, used a block by senior Brendan Baskin, and threw complete to junior wide receiver Dan Passarelli in the near corner of the end zone for a 14-0 lead.

   "They were double-teaming Tyke (Spencer) a lot, and Tyke did a great job teaching me all week long about playing," Passarelli said. "He's been a really good teacher all week helping me."

   Horvath connected with Passarelli for completions of 14, 27, 35 and 63 yards. Has Horvath looked any better?

   "No," Passarelli said. "Phil threw the ball extremely well tonight, and he read the defense well and just threw the ball great tonight."

   Horvath completed the first-half scoring with the 63-yard pass to Passarelli, who broke two tackles and juked four other defenders for a 21-0 lead with 33 seconds to play in the half.

   The defense adjusted its play in the second half, keying on the Wildcats running game, which produced only 44 of its 120 total yards rushing after the break. The Wildcats' lack of a passing game (3-of-17 for 13 yards) allowed the Redhawks to key more on the run.

   "We wanted to stop the run tonight, the option, make sure to contain that and make sure they didn't get outside," Central linebacker Nick Ehrlich said. "That's pretty much the main goal."

   West Aurora punted to end its first two possessions of the second half before senior defensive back Josh Rubin intercepted the Wildcats' first play from scrimmage with 14 seconds remaining in the third quarter. Central quarterback Blake Jeffers entered the game and led the Redhawks to their final touchdown. Junior running back Joel Barenbrugge scored his first touchdown of the season on a pitch left for 11 yards and a 41-0 advantage.

   "We really can't look passed any team in the DVC," said senior defensive back Bob Siciliano. "It's so tough. We got mentally charged up after, you know, the whole week. We didn't have practice Tuesday. We came out Wednesday still fired up. You can't look past any games."

   Central plays DVC opponent Wheaton North at 7:30 p.m. Friday in Naperville. North, which beat Glenbard North (3-1) on Friday, will look to upset the Redhawks homecoming celebration.

   "I heard they have a lot of good running backs, so (we'll have the) same test — the inside run more," Ehrlich said.


   Contact Brad Engel at (630) 416-5289 or bengel@scn1.com

Naperville Central 41, West Aurora 0

Period 2: Naperville 7 14 14 6 -- 41 West Aurora 0 0 0 0 -- 0 ag NC — Paquette, 1-yard run (Szatko kick). NC — Passarelli, 14-yard pass from Horvath (Szatko kick). NC — Passarelli, 63-yard pass from Horvath (Szatko kick). NC — Spencer, 12-yard pass from Horvath (Szatko kick). NC — Horvath, 12-yard run (Szatko kick). NC — Barenbrugge, 11-yard run (kick failed).

Team statistics NC WA First downs 14 7 Comp-att-int 6-10-0 3-17-1 Yards passing 159 13 Rushes-yards 38-69 35-120 Total yards 228 133 Fumbles-lost 2-1 4-1 Penalties-yards 4-40 5-35

Individual statistics
RUSHING: Naperville — Griffith 12-37, Barenbrugge 8-19, Paquette 6-15, Passarelli 1-9, Nardi 2-7, Miller 2-2, Kosek 1-2, Jewell 1-(-1), Horvath 5-(-21). West Aurora — Tapley 7-65, Hubbard 9-41, Oliver 2-17, Foster 4-8, Glover 1-2, Glock 1-(-4), Jackman 1-(-4), Hoffman 10-(-5). PASSING: Naperville — Horvath 6-8-0 159, Jeffers 0-2-0 0. West Aurora -- Hoffman 3-15-1 13, Jackman 0-2-0 0. RECEIVING: Naperville — Passarelli 4-139, Spencer 1-12, Paquette 1-8. West Aurora -- Soderlind 1-6, Foster 1-5, Jenkins 1-2.

Sophomore score: Central 32, West Aurora 7.

BY THE NUMBERS number:1 Naperville Central kept West Aurora quarterback Kevin Hoffman from completing his first pass until less than one minute was left in the first half. The Wildcats finished 3-for-17 passing for 13 yards and one interception.number:2 Central suffered two clipping penalties on scoring plays. Junior Dan Passarelli's 75-yard touchdown run on the opening kickoff of the second half was called back, and senior Tyke Spencer's 42-yard punt return in the third quarter was negated.number:55 Junior reserve linebacker Matt DiCianni, No. 55, sacked West Aurora backup quarterback Adam Jackman for a loss of 4 yards, forcing the Wildcats to punt on their second-to-last possession of the game.

09/16/01