Naperville Central already had a playoff berth to its credit before Friday night’s matchup against Wheaton North.
The guaranteed postseason spot didn’t lead to a relaxed effort from the Redhawks.
“We always want to be relentless,” senior defensive lineman Christian Rohland said.
Relentless, indeed.
Naperville Central built a 24-0 halftime lead, scored on the first play of the second half to go up 31-0, and went on to a convincing 34-14 DuPage Valley win on senior night.
“I thought the first half we played extremely well in all three phases of the game: offense, defense and special teams,” Central coach Mike Stine said. “We really executed well. They wanted to put a lot of guys in the box, and we were able to throw the ball.”
Conor Joyce, the 6-foot-1, 205-pound senior quarterback, went 15-of-19 passing for 277 yards and three touchdowns as Central (7-1, 6-1) took over sole possession of first place in the DVC.
“The past few weeks, offensively we’ve been on a roll,” Joyce said. “We’re just trying to keep that going. Credit to the offensive line up front. They did a great job all night.”
Tackles Jeff Graf, Trevor Campbell and Fabian Kratz, guards Ryan Culhane and Cooper Ludovice, center Kyle Hildebrand and tight end Jack Piper did the heavy lifting.
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Joyce connected with Piper for a 26-yard scoring pass on Central’s first possession. Three straight completions, including a 31-yarder to Emmanuel Rugamba, set up a 5-yard run by Luke Brady for a 17-0 lead in the second quarter.
Central kept Wheaton North (3-5, 3-4) pinned on its next possession, and Joyce took advantage of the short field after a Josh Ruiz punt return to North’s 24. Jordan Crissy caught a 5-yard TD pass from Joyce for the 24-0 advantage.
“He’s been in some big games, been in some tough situations,” Stine said of his quarterback. “He’s a big, strong kid. He’s a competitor. And we’ve got some weapons on the outside, too. That makes it a little bit easier.”
That was apparent on the first play of the second half when wide receiver Matt Lehmann broke a tackle and scored on a 75-yard reception.
Central’s Connor Assalley kicked a 29-yard field goal in the first quarter and a 38-yarder in the third quarter.
Linebacker Rick Hatton was in on the blocked field goal attempt that ended the first half.
“This is a prideful group,” Hatton said. “On Friday nights, we come out here to perform. We put in a hard week of practice, and the guys came out and we played Redhawk football. That’s what we’re proud to do.”
Central ends its regular season with a key game Friday at Lake Park.
“One of our goals this season was to be conference champs,” Joyce said. “We’re in the running. We want to keep winning out and help us get a good playoff seed.”
Tim Tierney is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.