Senior running back Joe Gallelli wanted to make sure the Friday’s trip to Edwardsville was time well spent for No. 17 Naperville Central (7-3).
“We traveled 4 1/2 hours to get down here, and there was no way we weren’t going to come out with a victory,” Gallelli said.
Gallelli did his part, rushing for 163 yards on 21 carries and scoring on runs of 1 and 14 yards in Naperville’s 42-21 victory over previously unbeaten Edwardsville (9-1) in the first round of the Class 6A playoffs.
Jason Harsant completed eight of 15 passes for 182 yards for Naperville. He threw touchdown passes of 20 and 43 yards for the Redhawks, who led 14-7 in the first quarter and 35-21 at the half.
Edwardsville was led by Travis Evans, who rushed for 164 yards and a touchdown, and quarterback Matt Allaria, who rushed for 112 yards and two touchdowns.
Naperville Central will meet the victor of Saturday’s game between Thornton and Maine South in the next round.
More Top Picks Best E Readers For Reading In Sunlight
Other results in Class 6A:
Barrington 38, Homewood-Flossmoor 0: Dan Pohlman rushed 12 times for 109 yards and three touchdowns for the No. 7 Broncos (10-0), who rolled to a 31-0 halftime lead. Barrington opened the scoring with a safety off a blocked punt. Just eight plays after the free kick, Pohlman plunged in from a yard out.
“Our guys came out at the start and took away the momentum from them,” said Barrington coach Al Kamradt, whose team will play Leyden in the second round.
Scott Sagehorn completed nine of 12 passes for 135 yards and a score for Barrington. Homewood-Flossmoor finished 6-4.
Leyden 37, Moline 7: The Eagles (9-1) picked up their first playoff victory in 21 years behind a 28-point third quarter. Jermaine Shaw scored on runs of 3 and 25 yards in the third in helping host Leyden pile on to its 9-7 halftime lead.
Senior defensive end Jon Kowalyshen blocked two punts that directly led to nine Leyden points in the second quarter. Kowalyshen added five tackles, two sacks and a fumble recovery that led to another Eagles touchdown.
Despite trailing at halftime, Moline (7-3) outgained Leyden 154 to minus-1 in the first half. Moline opened the scoring on Chad Kelly’s 7-yard touchdown run in the first quarter.
St. Charles 27, Lake Park 0: No. 3 St. Charles (10-0) shut out Lake Park (6-4) for the second time in two weeks to stay undefeated. The Saints scored their first touchdown with 12 seconds left in the first quarter on Jonathan Drach’s 2-yard run, which was set up by Todd Bryski’s 44-yard interception return.
St. Charles, which will play New Trier or Loyola in the second round, followed with 20 points in the third. Nick Blaesing scored on a 6-yard pass from Drach, George Springer scored on a 3-yard run and Kyle Robinson caught a 6-yard TD pass from Drach. John Godish kicked three extra points.
Drach completed 10 of 21 passes for 138 yards. St. Charles’ defense had three interceptions.
Class 5A
Providence 28, Notre Dame 19: Justin Ruggio ran 22 times for 170 yards and three touchdowns as the No. 4 Celtics (9-1) held off the Dons to advance to the second round against Antioch or Hubbard.
Notre Dame (7-3) had closed to within 21-19 before Ruggio capped the scoring with a 39-yard TD run.
“At that point I knew someone had to step it up,” Ruggio said. “Whether it was me, the fullback or the linemen. The adrenaline carried me into the end zone.”
Jim Kirby led the Providence passing attack with a 15-for-20, 211-yard performance and added a touchdown pass to Brandon Johnson.
Ryan Barrett (12 rushes, 101 yards) had a 68-yard touchdown run and 83 yards passing to lead Notre Dame.
Batavia 19, Rockford Boylan 14: Batavia (9-1) took control in the fourth quarter with 5 minutes left when Jon Cevek sacked Boylan’s quarterback on a fourth-and-26 situation at Batavia’s 41-yard line.
Batavia’s winning drive consisted of three plays for 46 yards and was capped by Dave Rakow’s 14-yard TD pass to Alan Campbell with 4:23 to go.
Boylan finished 7-3.
Eisenhower 21, Dunbar 14: At Gately Stadium, Eisenhower’s Torri Stuckey scored 14 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to lift the Cardinals over Dunbar (7-3) and into the second round against McHenry.
With 3:41 remaining, Stuckey scored his second touchdown of the game on a 1-yard run and added his third on a 7-yard dash with a minute left after Eisenhower recovered an onsides kick. Stuckey added the two-point conversion run.
Stuckey had 26 carries for 170 yards. Dunbar’s Rom Battles rushed 15 times for 230 yards.
McHenry 31, Jacobs 13: Brian Hisel threw for 230 yards and two touchdowns on 16-of-23 passing as No. 20 McHenry (10-0) eliminated Fox Valley Conference foe Jacobs (6-4).
“We got tired of reading in the papers about Jacobs,” said McHenry coach Mike Noll, whose team beat Jacobs 17-10 in the regular season. “We’re the team that’s 10-0 and ranked (seventh) in the state (by The Associated Press), and we’re still not getting any respect. And without a doubt, that motivated our kids.”
Hisel connected with Sean Quayle twice for touchdowns. Quayle added another rushing. Jacobs’ Matt Fehring rushed 15 times for 164 yards.
Simeon 22, East Moline United 6: Inspired by a halftime pep talk, Simeon (8-2) scored all of its points in the second half to eliminate East Moline United (7-3).
More Top Picks Best Slip Resistant Shoes For Comfort
“We talked about our goals and desire to win, (and) after coming out in the second half we showed it all around on the field,” Simeon coach Al Scott said.
In the third, quarterback Dana Spraggs scored from the 1-yard line for Simeon and then hit Mario Gillespie with an 11-yard TD pass. The Wolverines went up 14-6 after Spraggs’ two-point conversion pass to Allen Rasberry.
Oscar Scott, who rushed 12 times for 65 yards, scored Simeon’s final touchdown on a 13-yard run with 12 minutes left. The Wolverines will play Rock Island next weekend.
Rock Island 38, Maine West 7: Host Rock Island (10-0), last year’s Class 5A runner-up, used 101 yards rushing by Ashley Rush to down Maine West (6-4).
Oswego 35, O’Fallon 14: Jim Gossett had 206 yards and two touchdowns on 26 carries to spark host Oswego (9-1), which outscored O’Fallon 21-7 in the second half. Nick Oeser had 93 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries for the victors, who will meet Champaign Centennial next weekend.
Oswego finished with 329 yards of total offense. Junior Adams rushed 19 times for 157 yards and both touchdowns for O’Fallon (7-3).