Who says Naperville Central doesn’t have a passing game?
The fourth-quarter struggles six nights prior in a one-point loss to Waubonsie Valley serving as a reference point, Conor Joyce and Emmanuel Rugamba picked a fine time to finally bust loose.
Behind Joyce’s efficient night through the air and doggedness to get tough yards on the ground, No. 10 Naperville Central used a 13-point fourth quarter to help earn a 20-8 DuPage Valley victory over Wheaton Warrenville South.
A week after throwing for only 47 yards in the loss to Waubonsie Valley, which saw Naperville Central (4-1, 4-1) lose a 14-point lead heading into the fourth, Joyce was highly effective in throwing for 188 yards.
“We were talking all week that we were going to come at them early because the past – all season – we’ve been running the ball first play,” Joyce said. “So we knew we were going to come at them early and we got the weapons outside to do it and they made plays tonight.”
Of his eight completions on his 14 passes, Joyce found Iowa-bound Emmanuel Rugamba six times for 166 yards and a TD.
After allowing the Tigers to get into its territory before stalling on the game’s first possession, Joyce and the offense wasted little time.
Buoyed by Rugamba taking advantage of a broken coverage in the Tigers’ secondary, Joyce hit him in stride for a 75-yard score as the Redhawks found paydirt after just four plays.
“I feel that it was just something that was bound to happen because last year, we were a running team and we ran the ball well,” Rugamba said. “We came to the playoffs and we kind of became one-dimensional somewhat, but two years ago we were able to run the football and pass the football and it helped us tremendously.
“So I feel to definitely get that under our feet, to be able to throw the football – it definitely opens up a lot of things, both run game and pass game. To be to able to start that in the middle of the season is something that’s really important to us as a team.”
The four-play, 85-yard scoring drive marked the bulk of what the Redhawks did offensively in the first half as they managed 117 total yards – 111 of which came from Joyce through the air.
With a running game spearheaded by Luke Brady and Jeremiah Wiggins, Naperville Central has shown an uncanny ability to sustain long drives.
A week after engineering drives of 16 and 13 plays in the first half against the Warriors, the Redhawks were at it again against Wheaton Warrenville South (1-4, 1-4).
With the Tigers up 8-7, Joyce led the offense down the field on a 17-play, 88-yard scoring drive that took 8:32 off the clock and spanned the end of the third and start of the fourth.
Joyce, who kept the drive alive with a 10-yard completion to Rugamba on a fourth down, ended the drive himself with a two-yard TD run to put the Redhawks back in front at 13-8 with 10:28 left in regulation.
After junior quarterback Matthew Dohse and the Tigers’ offense stalled out after an eight-play drive, Joyce and Rugamba found one another again.
On the third play of their next drive, a 44-yard completion from Joyce to Rugamba set the Redhawks up at the Tigers’ 12-yard line.
Two plays later, Joyce was back in the end zone after a nine-yard TD run to end a five-play, 64-yard drive, putting Naperville Central up 20-8 with 4:03 to play.
“It was a great game – overall – for the offense,” Joyce said. “We knew we had to step up coming off that loss and we were struggling a bit after that first touchdown. I couldn’t be more proud of my guys up front. They just kept battling and Manny made some great plays. I couldn’t be happier with the guys up front.”
Dohse, playing at quarterback in place of both Michael Stebbins and Jack Maher, ran for 53 yards and a score on 15 carries for Wheaton Warrenville South.
Dohse led the Tigers on a 14-play, 76-yard scoring drive – a drive he ended with a two-yard TD run with 6:25 left in the first half.
A botched snap on the extra point attempt allowed Wheaton Warrenville South to recover by completing the two-point conversion and take an 8-7 lead.
The Tigers would take that one-point lead into the fourth but a pair of interceptions from Rugamba and Garrett Purdy allowed Mike Ulreich’s defensive unit to put its foot down.
“We didn’t really know much,” Ulreich said of Dohse. “Just really impressed. He was a tough runner. I know we had him wrapped up a couple times. We didn’t tackle very well, but he was a good runner.”
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