No one expected anything less than a fight to the bitter end from this Neuqua Valley football team, even after Maine South had taken a 14-0 lead in the third quarter of Saturday night’s Class 8A quarterfinal in Naperville. Sure enough the Wildcats, with a proud and talented group of senior leaders, fought hard to the very end before coming up just short in a thrilling, yet gut-wrenching 14-13 defeat to the 11-1 Hawks, who will take on Marist in next weekend’s state semifinal action.

Thanks to its ability to overcome some early game jitters third-seeded Neuqua Valley (10-1) was able to overcame host Palatine 31-8 at Chic Anderson Stadium in the second round of the Class 8A playoffs Saturday to advance to next weekend’s quarterfinal round versus No. 6 Maine South (10-1), a 21-18 winner over Plainfield North (8-3) in Park Ridge Saturday afternoon.

With about a minute left on the clock and its 2021 season, Naperville Central coach Mike Ulreich was still exhorting his charges. “We gotta finish,” Ulreich yelled to his defense, which played lights out in the second half against Loyola, the top-ranked team in Class 8A.

Neuqua Valley running back Jaden McGee knew there was rain in the forecast and he knew that meant the Wildcats coaches might just feed him the ball a little more than usual. He was right, and he took advantage of the opportunities he got against Bartlett in the Class 8A playoff opener in Naperville. McGee gained 109 yards and 2 touchdowns — all in the first half — as the 9-1 Wildcats pounded the visiting Hawks 60-7 to move onto the second round.

Admittedly, Naperville Central running back Tyler Dodd was not ready to be the lead tailback when he was thrust into the role early this season due to an injury. The Redhawks running back needed a little time, and some coaching up from injured starter Niko Gordon, before he felt comfortable in the lead role. But those early struggles are ancient history now.

Waubonsie Valley completed the football season sweep of DeKalb with a 28-14 victory Friday night to close out both teams’ 2021 season.

After that darned pandemic prevented a football postseason in the spring, Naperville Central worked hard to make sure it would return to the postseason in 2021. On Friday the Redhawks wasted little time in making it official.

After going up against his own team’s defense all the time on the practice field, Neuqua Valley running back Jaden McGee is never surprised to see how well they play against opponents’ offenses.

Naperville Central coach Mike Ulreich said getting quarterback Owen Prucha more involved in the running game has a calming effect on the signalcaller, and it showed Friday in the Redhawks’ 48-20 win over DeKalb, which more than likely eliminated the Barbs from postseason contention.

The Waubonsie Valley football team topped DeKalb, 17-10, in a wild second half for both teams.