By Bob Sakamoto
Tribune Staff Writer
The defending Class 6A champion had just scored three touchdowns in the fourth quarter Saturday and an estimated crowd of more than 7,000 was rocking Memorial Stadium.
None of that seemed to faze Naperville North quarterback Jay McCareins, not the dramatic nature of this quarterfinal playoff game nor the suspicion of impending doom sneaking up on some of his teammates after they had squandered an 18-point lead in the twilight of the fourth quarter.
"Jay was giving us inspiration to keep driving," said junior fullback Steve Sarm. "He said, 'We've come this far. Let's take it down one more time.'
"For the seniors, this could have been the last drive."
Instead, the underdog Huskies marched 76 yards through a proud but weary Central defense with Sarm's 18-yard touchdown run providing the difference in Naperville North's 36-33 upset of No. 1-ranked, No. 1-seeded Naperville Central. The loss snapped Central's 25-game winning streak.
Once the Huskies return to earth, they will be at home this coming Saturday for a semifinal game against Glenbard North (10-3).
"It was amazing," Sarm said. "To score the winning touchdown in a game like this made me feel like the king of the world. Everyone was screaming because it meant so much."
There was still 1 minute, 12 seconds left, plenty of time for Central, which had scored on fullback Matt Yellin's 1-yard plunge and Kyle Griffith's runs of 5 and 28 yards in a six-minute span.
Enter Naperville North's pooch-and-recover strategy. So sophisticated has the game become in this fanatic football community that the Huskies use Brian Edwards for short kickoffs, Chris Cahill for PATs and Nick Costakis for field goals and long kickoffs.
Edwards lofted one about 20 yards that landed on the foot of a Central blocker.
"There was nobody for me to hit, so I just headed for the ball," said North's Jeff Hartman. "The ball took a lucky bounce and fell into my hands.
"First, my heart stopped. Then, I grabbed it with both arms. There were hands flying around, head butts, kicks coming from everywhere. I was not letting go of that football. It was like a million bucks to me."
The Huskies had nurtured a growing sense of confidence all last week after Central had struggled to beat New Trier in a second-round game. They were also buoyed by the recovery of top running backs Bill Jurjovec and Kevin Hahn from injuries.
After Central's Kyle Adams and North's Costakis exchanged field goals, Naperville North (11-1) stunned its crosstown rival with Hahn's 5-yard touchdown run, a 31-yard TD pass from McCareins to Sarm and Jurjovec's 6-yard TD run.
Central QB Phil Horvath hit Dan Prazak with a 77-yard touchdown pass 33 seconds before halftime to pull the Redhawks within 22-11. But McCareins' quarterback sneak late in the third quarter provided a seemingly comfortable 29-11 advantage.
"I thought we had them when we wore them down at the end," said Naperville Central coach Joe Bunge. "But, they came back. We were having problems stopping them the whole time. It was a good run, but I thought it would go a little longer."
Avenging an earlier 31-14 loss to Central, North piled up 427 yards total offense to 269 for Central, outrushing the Redhawks 327-88. McCareins ran and passed for 187 yards while Sarm rushed for 112 yards in 14 carries and Hahn added 91 yards.
A Huskie defense led by linebackers Jon Boyajian, Steve Kasperski and Peter Hwang and defensive back Andrew Gordon closed down the Redhawk running game, although Horvath completed 11-of-22 passes for 181 yards.
"It just came down to will," Sarm said. "And we had more willpower."
Copyright 2000 The Chicago Tribune