Daily Herald
Defense gives Naperville North a lift in win over St. Charles E.
By Stan Goff | Daily Herald Correspondent
Published: 9/4/2009 11:37 PM
Junior Matt LaCosse is still learning how to handle the varsity quarterback position at one of the premier programs in the state, so it's not surprising to see the Naperville North attack hit a few speed bumps.
Friday night while taking to the school's new turf for the first time and hosting St. Charles East, the Huskies' (2-0) first two drives resulted in a punt and a turnover on downs as the first quarter ended scoreless.
But the Huskies had no reason to sweat because the offense eventually got on track - scoring touchdowns on four straight possessions during the second and third quarters - and the defense was on top of its game from the opening kickoff, blanking the visitors until St. Charles East tallied a late score off the reserves in a 28-7 victory.
"The defense was amazing. They're tops in the state," said LaCosse, who opened the game's scoring with a 14-yard TD pass to James O'Shaughnessy and later ran for a pair of scores. "It kind of takes the pressure off. It's nice having an amazing defense behind you."
Seven plays into the second quarter the Huskies completed an 85-yard drive when LaCosse hit his 6-foot-4 wideout, who initially bobbled the ball and broke free from the Saints' Sam Leopardo to score. The next two drives resulted in a 1-yard keeper by LaCosse and an 18-yard TD run by Idris Hanidu, who led all rushers with 95 yards on 11 carries.
The Huskies defense, meanwhile, limited St. Charles East to 4 first downs in the half and forced Anders Johnson back to punt 5 times, although Naperville North was guilty of roughing once and the fifth punt attempt resulted in a high snap that set the stage for Hanidu's TD on the very next play.
"We're still struggling (on offense)," Saints first-year coach Mike Fields said. "We'd get a little momentum or get in a rhythm and then we'd shoot ourselves in the foot. But we're going to get better."
Nolan Possley switched between quarterback and fullback and finished the night with 65 yards rushing on 20 carries for St. Charles East but had little success through the air as Naperville North's defense came with a heavy rush all night.
"Last week we struggled too much containing the quarterback, but we worked real hard this week," said linebacker Nick Lifka, who had 2 1/2 sacks for the Huskies. "We really improved from last week as a whole. Our offense was driving the ball and the defense stuck it to them."
Matthew Payne finally got St. Charles East on the board with a late 2-yard run to make the final 28-7. The Saints drove 81 yards for the score despite a trio of tackles from linebacker Matt McGrail.
"That's definitely the strength of our team," North coach Larry McKeon said of his defense. "Arnas Gintautas and Nick Lifka had big games and (safety) David Hess was lights out. The defense has got to carry this offense a little bit until it really gets going."