Naperville Central sophomore coach Mike Stine challenged his team at halftime after rival Naperville North tied the game right before intermission.
The Redhawks responded, thanks to Dan Passarelli’s 90-yard kickoff return to open the second half, which sparked Central to a 27-15 victory in a DuPage Valley Conference game at North Central College.
“That was big,” said Stine of Passarelli’s return in which he used a block and broke down the right sideline to give Central a 13-7 lead. “At halftime, we talked to the kids, and they came back and responded. The run got us going.”
Central (8-0, 6-0) forced North (6-2, 4-2) to punt on the ensuing possession, and Passarelli again struck for a 40-yard return. Three plays later, Matt Danaher ran for a 13-yard score, giving the Redhawks a 19-7 lead with 7 minutes 46 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
Danaher, who also ran for 10-yard TD in the first quarter, scored on a 15-yard run after another North punt to make it 27-7 with 1:32 left in the third.
Central’s third-quarter outburst was all set up by Passarelli’s return. Passarelli, a 5-foot-10, 160-pound running back ran for 55 yards in 16 carries and added a two-point conversion run.
“He’s a special player,” Stine said.
Domination: Want to know why Naperville Central’s varsity team is so strong? You don’t have to look any further than the sophomore team, which hasn’t lost since the second week of the 1996 season. That’s 32 straight victories for the sophomores.
“When you have good kids, it’s easy,” Stine said.
Cross-country sweep: Naperville North’s boys and girls cross-country teams swept the DuPage Valley meet Friday at DuPage River Park. North’s boys, led by Brian Rae’s championship in 15:44.6 for 3.1 miles and David Rae’s runner-up finish, beat Naperville Central 41-46 for the title.
“The conference meet is important, especially because we run against Naperville Central all the time,” North coach Dave Racey said. “In anything the schools do against each other, there’s always a huge rivalry.”
North’s girls downed defending champion Wheaton North 58-63 behind Lisa Bonistalli and Joanna Veth, who finished seventh and eighth, respectively. Wheaton North’s Samantha Polock defended her title, winning the 2.71-mile race in 16:07.
Full house: Great weather and an unbeatable matchup helped to draw an estimated 15,000-plus fans to Friday’s game.
Helped by a presale of more than 6,500 tickets and a big walkup crowd, the main seats at North Central’s Cardinal Stadium were nearly full at 6 p.m., almost 11/2 hours before the varsity kickoff. The four-story, concrete seating area accommodated up to 7,500 fans, with seating for an additional 1,000 on smaller aluminum stands on the field’s west side.
As kickoff neared for the varsity game, fans lined the fence six or more deep around the field. A long line of fans also snaked around the outside of the stadium, as people were still trying to buy tickets.
“Just about everybody in town is here tonight,” said Naperville Central game announcer Bill Seiple.
Double dose: With the big high school game on Friday and a college game scheduled for Saturday at Cardinal Stadium, North Central officials touted the weekend as “Naperville Football Festival 2000.”
Even the program reflected a double dose of football. One cover, followed by 13 pages of rosters and other information, highlighted the Naperville North-Naperville Central crosstown clash. The reverse cover and first six pages offered information on Saturday’s North Central-Millikin clash.
Media watch: Friday’s game drew the biggest media contingent to Naperville since Republican presidential nominee George W. Bush and his running mate Richard Cheney marched in the Labor Day parade.
Kevin Juday, North Central sports information director, said he issued more than 70 credentials for the game, including staffers for three radio stations and a regional cable outlet. Also on hand was full representation from Chicago television stations, complete with satellite trucks.
Wishful thinking: Friday’s showdown also generated considerable interest among other area high schools and their coaches. Lisle coach Dan Sanko, whose Lions played a key Interstate Eight Conference match at Seneca on Friday, expressed an interest in attending.
“Did they move that game to Saturday?” he asked a reporter earlier this week. When informed that the game was still on Friday, he sighed, “I wished they would have.”
