Oct. 23 Top 20 roundup 

Clifford leads Naperville Central. 

Compiled by Tribune staff 

There were plenty of mistakes and lots of penalties, but as 
has been the case through eight games for Naperville 
Central, the results were the same in the ninth. 
Ryan Clifford rushed 26 times for 162 yards and two 
touchdowns and returned a punt 66 yards for a third as the 
Redhawks wrapped up their third undefeated DuPage Valley 
Conference title in five years Friday with a 31-20 victory 
over Glenbard East. The win gives Naperville, which 
finished 9-0 for the second time since 1995, a likely top 
seed in next week's Class 6A playoffs.

 
The Rams (6-3, 4-3) were far from losers, putting together 
a strong effort and giving themselves their first playoff 
appearance in the school's 40-year history. 
The Redhawks threatened to make this one a laugher from the 
start when Kevin Noel returned the opening kickoff 91 yards 
for a 7-0 lead. 

East's defense stepped up, along with a little help from a 
penalty-prone Central (eight penalties, 80 yards), and the 
Glenbard offense knotted the game at 7-7 with 6:54 left in 
the first half on the first of quarterback Ricky Storck's 
two TD passes to John Hughes. The Redhawks put any upset 
plans on hold immediately, scoring twice in the final 2:02 
of the first half, both on 1-yard Clifford runs. The last 
TD came on a five-play, 65-yard drive that took just 46 
seconds and ended with Central up 21-7 with 23.8 seconds 
remaining. 

Copyright 2000 The Chicago Tribune 

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