Naperville Central's Dodd gives Milwaukee school headaches

A migraine wasn't enough to slow down Naperville Central's Tyler Dodd. Neither was the defense of Milwaukee Riverside University.

The Redhawks rolled to a 44-8 interstate victory Friday night, largely behind Dodd's efforts. The senior running back rushed for 96 yards and three touchdowns - all in the first half and all with a splitting headache.

"Tyler's great. I have no problem handing him the ball," Redhawks quarterback Chris McCormack said. "He was battling through a migraine so he was pretty banged up from the get-go. You wouldn't have noticed from how he played."

It didn't take Central and Dodd long to find the end zone Friday night. Just four plays and 84 seconds, in fact.

Dodd scored on a 10-yard run, jumping through defenders at the goal line to get in. McCormack contributed a 14-yard keeper and a 16-yard completion to Daniel Nussbaum on the short drive that was set up by a long return on the opening kick by Caleb Brown.

"The fact we scored so quickly really helped us throughout the entire game," Dodd said. "It's what helped keep everyone's energy up. Last week we had a really hard time rushing the ball so the biggest part of this game was making sure our rushing game was on point."

After a safety put the Redhawks ahead 9-0, Dodd scored his second touchdown early in the second quarter on a sweep to the left. He picked up a key block from Christopher Bern on his way to the end zone.

Dodd's third touchdown came only four minutes later when he ran in from the 2. The lead went to 30-0 when McCormack sprinted 14 yards to the end zone with 32 seconds left before halftime.

McCormack, who sat out the second half along with the other starters, was 7-for-11 passing for 89 yards and also ran for 49 yards and a touchdown in the first half.

Two third-quarter touchdowns from Brown pushed the lead to 44-0, putting the game into running time.

"It was a statement week for us, for sure," McCormack said. "We wanted to make a name for ourselves in the running game because Plainfield North set us back. We got blown up a lot at the line."

Meanwhile, the Tigers (2-2) were mostly kept in check, not scoring until late in the game to ruin the Redhawks' shutout bid.

"This was a great win for us," Dodd said. "I'm ready to get started back next week for DVC play."