No comeback necessary in Naperville North win
No comeback was needed this week for Naperville North when it opened DuPage Valley Conference football play Friday at Metea Valley.
The offense was in full gear from the start and went home a 56-37 victor.
The Huskies (2-0, 1-0) racked up 524 yards in total offense and quarterback Drake Davis threw 6 touchdown passes and ran for another.
"We ran the ball a little bit better and we got off the bus and played early. That didn't happen last week," said Naperville North coach Sean Drendel. "And we didn't turn the ball over and when you don't turn the ball over, it makes it easier."
The Huskies came back in Week 1 from a 42-0 first-half deficit to win 53-49 at Edwardsville.
"We're scoring a lot of points, but the defense has to get better."
The Huskies led 7-3 after the opening quarter and prevailed in a combined 42-point second quarter, leading 35-17 at halftime.
Not only did Naperville North rack up the touchdowns, the Huskies racked up the big plays. Only two scores came from within the 10-yard line.
Nick Calcagno scored twice, the first being a 35-yard pass from Davis early in the second quarter and then the play that should be first on the game's highight video. Davis found Calcagno wide open with just 1:48 left in the third quarter and it appeared that he might be tackled around the 20-yard line, but he broke free to complete the 68-yard TD.
"I just kept my feet driving. The coaches emphasize to keep pumping your legs. The traffic kept me covering the ball and I just broke free," he said.
Other big plays were Jack Hinkle's 40-yard touchdown catch and Brett Zdrubecky's 53-yard run.
After losing 35-7 to Neuqua in Week 1, the Mustangs (0-2, 0-2) showed some power on offense, finishing with 365 total yards.
"We got a week under our belts. Some were playing their first varsity game in the first week. We got better and we will improve," said Mustangs coach Ben Kleinhans.
Quarterback Garrett Despot threw 3 touchdown passes and ran for another.
"Our tempo was better. We got into a rhythm. Garrett was executing his passes. The receivers ran better and (running back) Gio Martinez ran really hard," Kleinhans said.
It was announced after the contest that Metea's 36 points was the second-highest point total for the team in stadium history.