Payton Thorne has heard the stories.
Naperville Central’s visit to Lakewood, Ohio last fall and 35-14 loss to highly touted St. Edward offered opportunity to see a national power up close.
As the undefeated Eagles prepare to return the favor in the home-and-home series, the Redhawks’ new quarterback acknowledges what to expect.
“Well, obviously, they said just how impressive looking the team is,” Thorne said of his teammates’ thoughts on St. Edward. “Very fast, very physical and they got a lot of college football players on that team. So, I mean, we’re going to have to have a great week of preparation and be ready to go.”
Thorne has thrown 12 touchdowns and just two interceptions for Naperville Central (5-0), which is off to its first 5-0 start since 2013.
The Redhawks’ additions of Thorne and Western Michigan-bound receiver Jayden Reed from Metea Valley has caught the eye of third-year Eagles’ coach Tom Lombardo.
“They’re definitely difference makers.” Lombardo said of Thorne and Reed.
With 34 receptions for 530 yards and four touchdowns, Reed has aided Thorne’s transition to the Naperville Central offense.
St. Edward’s travels will see it play teams from Washington, DC and Indianapolis this fall.
Its 45-20 victory over Woodson (DC) earlier this year saw it compete against two Maryland commitments and another skill player headed to Syracuse.
Lombardo compares Reed, who’ll play in the Mid-American Conference, similarly.
“(Reed’s) right with those guys,” Lombardo said. “He looks even a little quicker than those guys. Those guys were kind of long and defensive players. The one receiver was 6-4. The two corners played receiver, but their main position is cornerback. So (Reed) is probably the best receiver we’ve seen this year.”
All-DVC running back AJ Deinhart was held to 50 yards on 18 carries last year against the Eagles.
Thorne and Reed both coming over, coupled with an opportunistic defense, has Deinhart bullish on the Redhawks’ chances to pull an upset.
“I think this year we’re going to surprise them,” Deinhart said, “and we got a pretty good chance to take them out. So we’re happy that it’s going to be at our place with our Rowdies because they do a great job in making it almost a hostile environment, as Coach (Mike) Ulreich says.
“But we’re excited. It’s going to be nice to try to put us on the map nationally because I know that they’re a nationally ranked team.”
Through five weeks, the Eagles (5-0) have outscored their opponents by a margin of 202-43 and are ranked 49th nationally by MaxPreps.
Zach Kincaid and Garrett Dzuro have split time at quarterback for St. Edward, which has seen four players score rushing touchdowns.
Led by Jordan Castleberry’s 490 rushing yards and seven touchdowns, five Eagles have rushed for at least 116 yards.
Devin Maddox, Quintel Kent and Damerisse Freeman all have recorded at least 164 receiving yards while combining for nine TDs.
“They’ve got 11 good players on the field,” Naperville Central coach Mike Stine said of St. Edward. “It doesn’t matter if it’s special teams or offense or defense. So they’re going to be a huge challenge.”
Both Lombardo and Stine touched on how similar the two teams are on each side of the ball.
Last year’s game was tied 7-7 at halftime before the Eagles used a 21-point third quarter to pull away.
Saturday marks the first time since 1998 an out-of-state opponent has visited Naperville Central, with St. Edward following in the footsteps of Bishop Amat (Calif.).
On that early September night, Bishop Amat earned a 28-7 victory over a Redhawk team that eventually won eight games.
A year later, the Redhawks went 14-0 and won the 1999 Class 6A state title behind quarterback Owen Daniels and running back Ryan Clifford.
Regardless of what happens Saturday, expectations to be playing Thanksgiving weekend in DeKalb are paramount for these Redhawks.
The chance to go toe-to-toe with a nationally ranked foe provides Naperville Central another opportunity to be special.
“We’ve played some really good teams,” Stine said. “I know there’s some people out there that think the DVC maybe isn’t as good as it’s been in the past. But I think time’s going to tell that Neuqua Valley and Glenbard North and Naperville North and Waubonsie Valley and us are all pretty quality teams. I think our guys are battle tested for a game like this.”
