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Turnovers key again, but this time Naperville Central wins

Turnovers devastated Naperville Central's football team in its season-opening loss to Waubonsie Valley.

Payback came on Saturday.

The Redhawks forced four turnovers in the final eight minutes and Kevin Clifford rushed for 155 of his 247 yards in the second half as Naperville Central pulled away to a 24-14 victory over Waubonsie Valley in their Class 8A second-round showdown in Aurora.

"We came out in the second half and, same thing as last week, we've only got 24 minutes left to play with each other," Clifford said. "It's really just about being 85 strong."

The top-seeded Warriors (9-2), who used six turnovers to beat Naperville Central 20-6 in Week 1, took a 14-10 lead in the third quarter on quarterback Zack Bennema's keeper after the No. 4 Redhawks (9-2) took a brief lead on Conor Joyce's 19-yard pass to Kevin Heybrock.

As soon as the scoreboard flipped to the fourth quarter, though, Naperville Central seized command.

Clifford's 17-yard scoring run put the Redhawks ahead to stay at 17-14. Bobby McMillen, who moments earlier snared an interception, recovered a fumbled punt to set up Clifford's 9-yard touchdown run and a 24-14 lead.

Interceptions by Cam Conners and Justin Wegner ended Waubonsie Valley's next two possessions, with Wegner's coming in the end zone in the final two minutes.

"It was back and forth all game until the turnovers in the fourth quarter," said Warriors coach Paul Murphy, whose team played without injured running back Tony Durns.

"This team is a great team, but we're not as talented as that team we just lost to," he said. "That team is bigger than us, they're stronger than us. We play with heart. They've worked their tail off since last November. In 38 years of coaching, I've never had a group that dedicated to proving that they were a good football team."

Connor Assalley's 29-yard field goal opened the scoring for the Redhawks in the second quarter, but Waubonsie Valley answered on its next possession when Bennema's 32-yard keeper led to Max Ihry's 10-yard touchdown run.

Bennema finished with 57 rushing yards while completing 11 of 20 passes for 124 yards and 3 interceptions. Joyce completed 6 of 10 passes for 68 passes despite being sacked four times.

"Credit to our team," said Redhawks coach Mike Stine. "They hung in there. The first half it was a battle back and forth. In the second half we came out and we made some plays."

For the second straight week Naperville Central used an overpowering second-half performance to beat a quality playoff opponent. Not that the Redhawks want to make it a habit, but strong finishes are getting the job done.

Next week's challenge is Simeon (10-1), a 55-17 winner over Hinsdale Central.

"As a team you need to be able to play for 48 minutes, not just 24," McMillen said. "That's one thing that our coaches I'm sure are going to preach this whole week and in the weeks coming."

Follow Kevin on Twitter @kevin_schmit

Images: Playoff football round two Naperville Central at Waubonsie Valley

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