Top-ranked Lincoln-Way East football travels to Naperville North for a Southwest Valley Conference matchup. The Huskies honor the legacy of former AD Neil McAuley tonight, who passed away in March at the age of 80. He helped the Huskies capture 11 team state championships and more than 50 individual titles across 26 years at North. The Huskies hope to win a second straight game after defeating Lincoln-Way Central 21-20 in OT, while the Griffins seek a 4-0 start on the season after thrashing Stagg 49-3. This highlight is sponsored by BMO.
Lincoln-Way East and Naperville North football both score on their first drives
Opening drive for East, Jonas Williams throws one up to Christan Remblake who comes down with the catch!
Now inside the 10, Williams rolls out to his left and finds Remblake again, who’s open in the endzone. It’s a quick score for the Griffins, as they lead four minutes in.
Jacob Bell and Naperville North are now near the Red zone on the offense’s first drive. Bell lasers a pass to Chico Thomas on the sideline, and the senior receiver comes down with it!
After converting on fourth and one, Jacob Bell finds his motion man, Brock Pettaway open in the flat. Pettaway dances past one defender and steps into the endzone for the score. North ties it up at seven with six minutes left in the first.
Oregon commit Jonas Williams finds Keagan Ruane in the endzone
Lincoln-Way East would score on their next drive to make it 14-7, and after forcing a punt, the Griffins offense is back on the field. Williams fakes the handoff and fakes out a Huskie D-Lineman with the pump, before a pass to wide-open Keagan Ruane in the endzone. That makes it 21-7 Griffins with under two minutes left in the first.
Jacob Bell and company get right back in the game thanks to big catches and INT
The Huskie offense gets back to work with Bell finding Pettaway over the middle of the field. The senior receiver bounces off the tackle and zig-zags around before going out of bounds for a big gain.
A few plays later, Bell, the Ball State commit, throws a bomb to Nicholas Manzardo, and the Huskie receiver somehow comes down with it! He uses the defender’s helmet to help secure the catch, as the touchdown makes it 21-14 Griffins about two minutes into the second.
Williams and Lincoln-Way’s offense looks to respond, but North DB Zach Mally jumps the throw and picks it off. He gives the Huskies good field position, and they would go on to kick a field goal.
Brody Gish scores his first of two touchdowns for Lincoln-Way East
Now ahead 21-17 and with the ball, East running back Brody Gish gets the handoff, bounces outside and is off to the races. A Huskie takes him down with the shoestring tackle but the Griffins are once again threatening.
Williams rolls out inside the 10-yard line, and the Oregon commit finds tight end Luke Vetter for the touchdown. It’s 28-17 Griffins about halfway through the second quarter.
After forcing a punt, the Griffins’ offense is back on the field. Williams continues to impress, throwing this on the run, but what a grab from his receiver Talen White-Hatch.
Nearing the end of the first half, Williams fakes the handoff and tries to throw one to White-Hatch, but Edward Mumford gets a hand on it for the Huskies. It plops into Jamari Paschal’s hands for the interception. Lincoln Way holds a 28-17 lead at the halftime break.
Lincoln-Way East football shines in the second half to beat Naperville North 49-17
The second half saw a lot of action from the Griffins. After driving down the field, Gish takes the handoff and plows his way in. The visitors lead 35-17, six minutes into the third.
Now in the fourth, Gish gets the rock and it looks like a couple of Huskies stop him, however, the junior back turns up to another gear. He’s free, and no one can catch him. The Griffins score 28 unanswered points to break away from the Huskies, and win it 49-17. East improves their record to 4-0, while Naperville North sits at 2-2.
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