Loss paints Blackhawks into playoff corner

Tray Peoples (33) of West Aurora breaks through on the right side for a touchdown against Naperville North on Friday night.
Jon Cunningham / SPECIAL TO THE BEACON NEWS

Font Size

Email

Bookmark

Black Text

White Text

NAPERVILLE -- One year later, West Aurora finds itself in the exact same position.

The Blackhawks no longer have any margin for error. To earn their first postseason berth since 1994, they will have to beat West Chicago and Glenbard North, and then hope their rugged DuPage Valley Conference schedule has earned them enough playoff points to qualify.

That's the fallout from Friday night's 48-12 loss to undefeated Naperville North at Harshbarger-Welzel Field.

Naperville North showed why it's the defending Class 8A champion. Its double-wing offense accumulated 373 rushing yards to score the game's first 28 points. Its pressure defense sacked West quarterback John Nunnally seven times and boxed the Blackhawks (3-4, 1-4) into an ultimatum -- win the next two weeks or miss out.

"We had problems -- they're pretty (darn) good. They're as good as I've ever seen anybody up front," West coach Buck Drach said.

Last season the Blackhawks were 3-4 heading into Week 8. They beat West Chicago 48-27 before losing to Glenbard North 14-7. That game catapulted Glenbard North into the postseason and a playoff run that ended in a loss to Naperville North in the Class 8A final.

The Huskies (7-0, 5-0) are approaching that kind of level again. North running back Nick Mlady rushed past the 100-yard mark midway through the second quarter. The senior finished with 13 carries for 220 yards and two touchdowns. The Blackhawks have gone 0-12 against North since joining the DuPage Valley Conference in 1997.

"They're a great football team. We played like crap," Drach said. "We're not very good. It's real simple, all right, they're good."

Meanwhile, West struggled to generate offensive rhythm while North's defensive ends came rushing off the edge. Nunnally wasn't given much time and finished 9-of-18 for 108 yards and two interceptions.

"We're real physical and we're quick off the ball," North defensive end Tim Weidenbacher said. "We take pride in it. Every week we just work on getting faster."

Nunnally was drilled near the end of the third quarter and laid on the grass for a few moments. He walked off the field, and Drach said he expects his senior to return for next week's game at West Chicago -- one that may or may not have postseason implications.