Three players, one from Waubonsie Valley and two from Neuqua Valley, were suspended Friday by the Illinois High School Association.
A junior for Waubonsie Valley and a pair of Neuqua Valley seniors have been given one-game suspensions for their roles in the sideline altercation during Neuqua’s 24-17 win.
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The suspensions, to be served on Friday, were handed down Tuesday by IHSA after a review of the incident.
“I understand that rivalry games can become heated, but it was clear to me after reviewing the film that the actions of these players escalated a contentious situation into a potentially dangerous one,” IHSA executive director Craig Anderson said in a statement. “While there were no ejections on the field that night by the game officials, I believe that was the result of the location of the altercation, which made it difficult to identify players and actions.”
The scuffle that occurred late in the first half went viral on Twitter after a player posted a video of it Saturday.
No players were ejected, but unsportsmanlike penalties were called on a Waubonsie Valley player and the Neuqua bench.
The incident didn’t go unspoken during halftime.
“I told them we didn’t come here to be involved in extracurriculars,” Neuqua coach Bill Ellinghaus said. “We are not fighters, we’re football players.”
The losses for both teams are significant.
Neuqua (3-0) hosts Wheaton Warrenville South on Friday. Waubonsie Valley is at Naperville Central this week.
Asked Monday about potential disciplinary measures, Waubonsie coach Paul Murphy said none would come from his end.
“We feel our kid didn’t do anything wrong,” Murphy said. “He was the one jumped by multiple kids. He got penalized, and he deserved to.”
Ellinghaus said the incident was discussed briefly at Monday’s practice.
“Our kids reacted to a play out of bounds,” Ellinghaus said. “I wish we would have stopped it earlier, and I wish it wouldn’t have happened. There is no place for it.”
Redwing to rescue: Danny O’Malley made sure Benet’s two-hour drive to Woodstock didn’t go for naught.
The Benet senior safety laid out for an interception in the waning moments of a 14-10 win at Marian Central.
“They tried to run a vertical seam and he made a run on the ball,” Benet coach Pat New said.
Benet’s defense only allowed a field goal and was stout late.
During Marian’s second-to-last series, Devin Petersen’s sack on second-and-goal kept the Hurricanes out of the end zone.
“Defense and special teams bailed us out,” New said. “We had our backs against the wall.”
Huskies say hello: It’s official: Naperville North is back. The Huskies served notice around the DuPage Valley Conference, routing previously unbeaten Wheaton North 33-7 in Wheaton.
All three phases got in on the fun.
Luke Cegles threw for 190 yards and TDs to Luke Calcagno and Mitch Lewis. Eric Wright ran for 118 yards and two TDs.
Defensively, Malik Wells had three sacks. On special teams, Matt Malan booted field goals of 44 and 30 yards and Brett Zdrubecky blocked a punt.
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North (3-0, 2-0) is off to its best start since 2008.
“We’re looking forward, not behind,” Cegles said.
Joshua Welge is a freelance writer for the Naperville Sun.