Aiden Clark’s 290 yards, two TDs help Naperville Central shake off slow start to beat Hinsdale Central

NAPERVILLE – The first five minutes and 45 seconds of Naperville Central’s game against visiting Hinsdale Central Friday didn’t exactly go as planned for the Redhawks.

The remaining 42:25, however, was exactly on script.

Naperville Central couldn’t move the ball early, and after an interception by Braden Howe of Hinsdale Central deep in Redhawks territory, Dominic Tresslar caught a 4-yard swing pass from quarterback Riley Contreras for a touchdown.

That put the Red Devils up 6-0 as the extra point was blocked, and from that point on it was all Naperville Central — thanks in large part to the offensive line and running back Aiden Clark.

The Redhawks O-line controlled the line of scrimmage the rest of the way, and Clark, a senior, ran for 290 yards and two touchdowns in a 24-13 Naperville Central win.

“I think we opened it up slow,” Naperville Central senior lineman Will Erbeck said. “They scored, and we needed to come back. We took it into our own hands the rest of the game.

“That was not what we expected,” Erbeck added of the early deficit. “The start of the game did not go our way at all. But we’ve been in this position before, we got the ball back and we just ran it down their throats.”

Down a score, Naperville Central went on back-to-back long scoring drives.

In the first quarter, Redhawks quarterback Sebastian Hayes scored from two yards out.

Then in the second quarter Erbeck fought through traffic and ran in another TD from five yards away straight up the middle to make it 14-6.

A second Hinsdale Central interception, this one by James Skokna in the waning moments of the first half, prevented another Naperville Central touchdown.

The Redhawks defense rose to the occasion in the third quarter, stopping Hinsdale Central on two drives — the first on a big third down tackle by Daniel Nussbaum.

Naperville Central kicker Gavin Ellison tacked on a 36-yard field goal in the third period, and another score by Clark on a 63-yard scamper made it 24-6 in the fourth.

“Offensive line did a great job,” Clark said, “and our scout team did a great job preparing us all week, so a big run is just me doing my job and everybody doing theirs.”

The defensive highlight for the Redhawks in the fourth quarter was a couple of sacks from Jake Stanish.

Hinsdale Central scored in the final seconds to account for the 24-13 final score.

Contreras fired a pass in the flat to Tresslar, who broke two tackles en route to a 6-yard TD.

Contreras finished with 140 yards passing.

After the game Naperville Central’s Clark was quick to heap more praise on his teammates as the catalysts for Friday’s dynamic ground attack.

“Not a whole lot more you could ask from my O-line tonight,” said Clark, “(and our) wide receivers were making downfield blocks. That’s all you can hope for as a running back.

“A lot of things went right tonight and we came out with the victory.”

After slow start, Naperville Central gets fired up to beat Hinsdale Central (dailyherald.com)