Naperville North’s Mitch Lewis thought his future was in basketball, but now it may be football.
It’s easy to see why.
Lewis made three big plays Friday, none bigger than the senior wide receiver’s late 28-yard catch to get the Huskies out of the shadow of their goal line.
The 6-foot-6 Lewis and Naperville North went on to a 21-13 DuPage Valley Conference win over Glenbard North, continuing its best start since 2008.
“This was a huge game,” said Lewis, who had three catches for 123 yards and a touchdown. “We knew with Neuqua next, this part of the season was huge. We’ve been preparing for this since the summertime.”
It’s indeed been a remarkable turnaround for now playoff-eligible North (5-0, 4-0).
After back-to-back 2-7 seasons, the Huskies have followed a 14-game losing streak with seven straight wins.
The latest was an eye-opener according to senior defensive back Grant Ericksen, who had two interceptions.
“Glenbard’s a great team, but we’re just as good as anybody in the DVC,” Ericksen said. “I think we put Naperville North back on the map.”
Clinging to a 21-13 lead late, the Huskies were backed up to their own 4 after a fumbled snap. Forgoing a safe option, Luke Cegles threw deep out of his end zone and found Lewis across the middle.
“Our coach knew that they were going to think we were running it,” Lewis said. “We caught them off guard.”
Naperville North hit Glenbard with four big plays, and Lewis was central in three of them.
After the Huskies had gone three-and-out their first four possessions, Lewis’ 30-yard catch-and-run set up Eric Wright’s 1-yard TD run.
“That’s what you’re looking for out of your playmakers,” Naperville North coach Sean Drendel said.
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Cross Robinson broke off a 43-yard run after Ericksen’s second interception. That led to Robinson’s 14-yard TD for a 14-7 halftime lead.
Later, Cegles (9-for-18, 150 yards) threw a jump ball to Lewis in double coverage, who ran to daylight for a 65-yard TD to make it 21-7.
“No idea what happened there,” Lewis said with a grin. “I just grabbed the ball and kept running.”
Nobody is enjoying the season more than Lewis.
A series of leg and foot injuries forced him to miss all but two games last year, and cost him seven basketball games. He returned to lead the Huskies to the DVC title. They’re poised to duplicate it in football.
“It’s just great to be able to play from the beginning of the season,” Lewis said.
Glenbard (3-2, 2-2), averaging 38.8 points per game, was held to a season low. Running back Vittorio Tricase ran for 112 yards and a 11-yard score after going for six TDs in each of the last two weeks.
“We wanted to keep him in a bubble and not let him get outside because he’s explosive,” Ericksen said. “He’s like a rabbit he’s so fast.”
Naperville Central 43, Wheaton Warrenville South 42, 2 OT: AJ Deinhart threw a halfback option pass to Josh Ruiz for a 2-point conversion in double overtime of the DVC victory, giving the visiting Redhawks (3-2, 3-2) their third straight win.
Patrick Ryan threw for 225 yards and three TDs for the Redhawks, with TDs to Josh Boomgarden and Deinhart in OT.
Deinhart ran for 96 yards and Luke Turner had a 48-yard interception return for a TD for Central, which led 21-0 at halftime.
Benet 26, Nazareth 21: Jack Sznajder threw a go-ahead 32-yard TD pass to C.J. Birck for the East Suburban Catholic win and later ran in a 1-yard score for Benet (4-1, 3-0), which snapped a three-game losing streak against Nazareth (2-3, 0-3).
Ben Cooney had an 80-yard punt return for a TD and the clinching interception in the final minute. It was his seventh interception of the season.
Neuqua Valley 35, Bishop Chatard (Ind.) 14: Notre Dame recruit Isaiah Robertson had five catches for 79 yards and two TDs, one each from Jack Bastable and Jake Eskoff. Cameron Raupach also ran for 127 yards and a score for Neuqua (5-0) in Indianapolis.
Anthony Ippolito had a go-ahead 6-yard TD run in the third quarter for the Wildcats, who scored the game’s last 21 points. Jon Rhattigan added 13 tackles, Ippolito had 11 and Robertson had 10.
Joshua Welge is a freelance writer for the Naperville Sun.