Naperville Central rolls past West Aurora

On Naperville Central’s first possession quarterback Jake Kolbe darted 80 yards down the sideline for the Redhawks’ first score.

That was all that was needed as the Redhawks scored six more times before halftime to defeat West Aurora 55-0 on Friday in Aurora. Kolbe ran for another touchdown and Ben Andreas ran for two more to lead the team.

The speedy Redhawks (5-0, 3-0) averaged 43 points a game coming into Friday’s matchup and quickly showed why they are undefeated in the DuPage Valley Conference. Following Kolbe’s first touchdown, Joe Nussbaum snatched the ensuing kickoff from Sean Anthony at the 10-yard line and dashed into the end zone before a stunned West Aurora homecoming crowd could cheer for a runback. The score was 14-0 just five minutes into the game.

Kolbe, an Illinois State recruit, was 7-of-11 passing for 72 yards. Using his fleet receivers, Andreas and Michael Kolzow, he led the Redhawks to their third consecutive shutout.

“We just play as hard as we can,” Kolbe said. “Me and (Ben Andreas) have been playing since we were in sixth grade, so we have a good chemistry. He ran a good route. His speed is insane.”

Andreas ran 49 yards for a touchdown to close the first quarter with the score 21-0. Kevin Clifford, Kolbe, Nolan Davis and Andreas scored in the second quarter to put the Redhawks ahead 49-0 at the half and the game out of reach for the Blackhawks, who will leave the DVC and enter the Upstate Eight Conference next year.

“It’s not a lot of fun for our kids,” said Blackhawks coach Nate Eimer. “The hard thing about it is they put a lot of time and work in. But the reality is (Naperville Central) is a much better football team. The game was a little faster than our kids were ready for.”

Redhawks coach Mike Stine pushes his team to always improve following each game.

“We came out and Jake (Kolbe) got the long run and then the kickoff special teams touchdown and it kind of went off from there,” Stine said. “Our kids played hard, fast and physical in all three phases of the game — offense, defense and special teams. These kids have really played hard and they stayed focused.”

“Right now it’s all clicking. We have to still get better. This team has some big goals ... and loves to work.”

Kolbe gave credit to his team’s overall play.

“It starts upfront, our offensive line is great,” Kolbe said. “They opened up lanes for our running backs and gave me time to throw to our great receivers.”