Perhaps it was of little consolation to the Niles North football players and coaches after their 56-14 defeat to Maine South in Park Ridge, but the Vikings’ offense earned the respect of Maine South coach Dave Inserra.
“I told them after the game that they have a great offense, they can score some points and they are going to do some damage against some teams,” said Inserra, whose team won its 76th Central Suburban South conference game in a row. “They can score and the quarterback (Andrew Francis) is a nice player.”
Inserra’s team is the gold standard in the conference, while the Vikings (0-5, 0-1) were playing their first game as a member of the division on Friday, Sept. 23, after moving from the Central Suburban North, which is considered a less competitive division in football.
The schedule-makers did Niles North few favors as it will play host to a talented New Trier team on Friday, Sept. 30.
But rather than looking at moving to the CSL South as a cruel twist of fate, especially in this first season when the Vikings have just 36 players on their roster, Niles North players see the conference switch as an opportunity.
“When we heard we were moving to the CSL South, people at school, who are not on the team, were like, ‘Yeah, this is going to be bad,'” junior wide receiver and Skokie resident Chris Geans said. “But we thought it was a great chance to let Niles North be known as a school that can compete with the Maine Souths, New Triers and Evanstons. We looked at it as an advantage to let other people know what Niles North is about.”
The Niles North defense struggled in the conference opener, allowing Maine South to score touchdowns on its first five possessions. But the offense had some success with its short passing game, and Francis threw a pair of 10-yard touchdown passes. One went to senior receiver Jordan LaBelle and Geans caught the other.
Francis, in his first year as the starting quarterback, said the Vikings were taking what the defense was giving them.
“A lot of the times, the corners and safeties were sitting back in coverage and we were able to pick up the little yards,” said Francis, a senior and Skokie resident.
Niles North first-year coach Mike Garoppolo said the team still had some trouble when it tried to throw farther down the field.
“We got (the short passing game) going a little bit, but we didn’t move off of that, didn’t progress off of that,” Garoppolo said. “We have to keep progressing from there, keep improving as a team.”
Garoppolo said he’s been pleased with Francis’ performance for much of the season. The 5-foot-11 Francis began playing quarterback in eighth grade, but switched to outside linebacker and strong safety last year for the Vikings, who reached the Class 7A quarterfinals.
“Andrew has done a great job for us this year,” Garoppolo said. “He’s a first-year quarterback for us. He’s going to keep progressing and hopefully leading us to a victory.”
Said Geans: “It’s hard to bring (Francis) down. He’s fast and strong and knows what he’s doing. He has a high IQ for the game and makes plays out of nothing. When the ball is snapped and it looks like he has nowhere to go, he finds somewhere to go.”
Often, Francis’ passes end up in the hands of LaBelle, the most experienced and polished playmaker on the squad.
But Niles North’s young receivers are increasingly getting into the act, including players like Geans and fellow juniors Lucas Suycott and Tyson Coles and freshman Christopher Harris. The play of running backs Bruno Prosper-Kanam, a junior, and Myles Davis, a sophomore, also points toward a brighter future for the Vikings.
“These young guys want to win, you can tell,” Francis said. “But at the beginning of the year, they were just getting used to how fast to run, how hard to run, how to make cuts (in the case of the wide receivers). When they (learn to) do that, the sky is the limit.”
Dan Shalin is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Twitter @danshalin
