Despite the struggles his team has shown through the season at certain points, Naperville North coach Sean Drendel has been pleased with the overall effort and passion his team has played with.
Still trying to find that magic combination on offense, which has seen Chris Gajcak and Evan Kujawski split time at quarterback, the Huskies entered Friday on the brink of postseason elimination with Wheaton Warrenville South coming to town.
Jonathon Johnson and Keishawn Watson, combining for 291 total yards and five touchdowns, helped Wheaton Warrenville South evade postseason elimination itself for at least one more week courtesy of a 41-0 shutout of Naperville North on Friday night.
“We didn’t play very well. I mean, that’s the disheartening thing. Our kids have played hard all year, for the most part, and it’s been two games we haven’t played very well and didn’t play hard,” Drendel said. “When you’re playing a good program and you don’t play hard, they’re going to take it to you.”
Managing just 39 total yards and one first down in a first half that saw them go into halftime down 21-0, the Huskies were limited to 140 total yards on offense, all told.
Defensively, aside from a David Pinkerton interception in the first quarter, the Huskies did little to stop the Tigers from doing what they wanted to offensively, which mainly consisted of Johnson and Watson.
Watson put a cap on the first half by completing a 36-yard touchdown on a double pass to Michael Campos that gave them a 21-0 lead with just over a minute-and-a-half left in the first half.
“Well, I mean, if I was playing us, I’d throw a double pass every time. You know, we’ve gotten beat by it four times,” Drendel said. “I mean, we lost to Glenbard North on it. I wouldn’t (say I was surprised by it). Nothing is shocking this year.”
Handed a fifth straight defeat after season-opening victories against Neuqua Valley and Thornton the first two weeks, Naperville North (2-5, 0-3 DuPage Valley) will be sitting idly by during the postseason for the first time since 1996—seeing the longest current such streak in the DVC snapped at 17.
The message Drendel’s counterpart with Wheaton Warrenville South, Ron Muhitch, shared with him following the game was one of just keeping your head up and staying positive with the team over the course of the last two weeks.
“Sean Drendel’s a great coach. … He’s taken a high road, too. His two nonconference games are tough opponents,” Muhitch said. “Billy Mosel at Thornton and Neuqua Valley are two really good football programs. So, I mean, he hasn’t had a shortcut. And the DVC, in Game 7, to put those kind of pressure on teams (at 2-4) to win out, I mean, c’mon. We still got to win out (ourselves). … We’ll just take it one step at a time.”
