DeKalb falls at Neuqua Valley despite pair of long touchdowns

NAPERVILLE – The win-loss columns have not been kind to Neuqua Valley this season. But Friday night’s football game against visiting DeKalb might have been what the doctor ordered.

The Wildcats (1-4) showed plenty of dominance as they beat the Barbs 35-12 in a Southwest Valley crossover.

A big part of that dominance came from junior running back Andrew Barkley, who scored four touchdowns and led the way on offense.

His fourth and final touchdown was an 81-yard sprint that put the finishing touches on the victory. That score was a typical example of how Barkley had open space on the field.

“That was nice. I don’t like getting touched on touchdowns,” he said.

DeKalb fell to 0-5 with the defeat. Mariyan Dudley had a long touchdown run for one of the DeKalb scores, while Billy Miller took a long post from Mikey Hodge and turned it into a second long touchdown for the Barbs.

“At the end of the day, a loss is a loss,” DeKalb coach Derek Schneeman said. “But there are things we can build on. There was success in the running game and I think Dudley gained a lot of confidence today.”

Ryan Mascari tipped and intercepted a pass from Cole Latimer 1:15 into the game and returned to the DeKalb 17-yard line, where Barkley ran into the end zone for his first TD.

“It’s one of those things, the kid tipped it into the air and made a play,” Schneeman said. “For whatever reason what killed us was mistakes early in the game, turnovers deep in our territory. But that kid made a great play. What are you going to do?”

Latimer ended up leaving the game due to an injury, and Schneeman said they are hoping it’s nothing serious. He said he liked how Hodge - who competed with Latimer for the starting job before the start of last season - stepped up.

“It’s always tough when your QB goes down,” Schneeman said. “But I really liked how Michael Hodge came in. He was a little nervous but once he settled in he did what he needed to do.”

https://www.dailyherald.com/20240927/prep-football/neuqua-valley-scores-its-first-victory-of-the-season-routing-dekalb/