Neuqua Valley senior Isaiah Robertson is used to getting his hands on the ball, but never before like this.
The ball seemed to wait for him Friday, and he knew what to do with it.
The Notre Dame recruit converted a fumbled punt snap in the opening minutes into an improbable touchdown return, and the Wildcats didn’t relinquish the lead.
Visiting Neuqua defeated fellow unbeaten Naperville North 35-20, in the process taking sole possession of the DuPage Valley Conference lead.
“Coach is always telling us to keep our eyes open on special teams,” Robertson said. “A lot of things went our way.”
More Top Picks Best Electric Scooters For Adults Commuting
The bounces indeed broke Neuqua’s way Friday, and it helped having athletes like Robertson around.
On the game’s opening possession, a high snap sailed over North’s punter. Robertson, playing deep on the return, watched it — and then went. The ball scooted around for several seconds, but nobody could fall on it as Robertson ran all the way upfield, made the scoop and took it 12 yards for an early 7-0 lead.
“I was back deep, I watched it go over the punter’s head and I kind of jogged,” Robertson said. “I kept seeing the ball moving around, so then I started sprinting. When I got there it was still on the ground. I just picked it up and went. That was a first.”
Robertson left in the third quarter with tightness in his hamstring, but he made a game’s worth of plays in the first half.
His acrobatic 28-yard catch on the sideline led to Tyler Cristofaro’s 13-yard TD for a 14-0 lead. Robertson later chased down North’s Cross Robinson for a TD-saving tackle, and knocked away a deep ball on fourth down on the same drive.
“He has great hands, and he has great vision,” Neuqua coach Bill Ellinghaus said of Robertson. “He was so opportunistic getting that scoop-and-score.”
Now one game ahead of North (5-1, 4-1) and two ahead of the next DVC pursuer, Neuqua (6-0, 5-0) beat the Huskies for the fifth time in six games.
“This was the moment we needed to capitalize on our standing in the DVC,” said Robertson, who had three catches for 55 yards. “This was the other undefeated team.”
Robinson ran for 111 yards and two TDs for North. The second, a 2-yard TD with 4:54 left in the third quarter, cut the deficit to 21-14.
The Huskies got the ball back three plays later on Julian Collins’ interception but couldn’t capitalize. Neuqua’s Jackson Modaff stuffed Robinson on fourth down.
“Unfortunately, we couldn’t get all the way back,” Robinson said. “That’s a great team we lost to, and we didn’t play our best.”
Jake Eskoff, who finished 6-for-11 for 142 yards, connected with Sterling Gerald for a 14-yard TD to nudge Neuqua further ahead. Cameron Raupach’s 12-yard TD run midway through the fourth quarter made it 35-14.
Earlier, Eskoff threw a 63-yard TD to Donny Navarro to make it 21-6 at the half. North’s Luke Cegles completed 19 of 41 passes for 148 yards with a 9-yard TD to Mitch Lewis in the last minute.
“I thought the night belonged to our defense,” Ellinghaus said. “To hold them to 14 points until the last minute was tremendous.”
Joshua Welge is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.