Led by Jameson Purcell’s 479 yards and 6 TDs, Maine South wins barnburner with Naperville North

PARK RIDGE – The story entering the Class 8A first-round playoff game between Naperville North and Maine South was the quarterbacks.

Would the Huskies’ seasoned Jacob Bell or the Hawks’ up-and-coming Jameson Purcell lead their team into the second round against West Aurora?

Youth ended up beating experience in this case as Purcell threw for 479 yards and six touchdowns to send the Hawks back to Park Ridge with what turned into an exciting 49-42 victory.

“The biggest thing you can prepare on is watching film each and every week,” Purcell said. “And I do a lot of that. And I think it just super prepares you, so that when you’re in-game, you don’t got much to worry about.”

With the Hawks (7-3) leading 49-28 in the fourth quarter, Bell hit Brock Pettaway for touchdowns on two straight possessions to bring the Huskies (7-3) within seven and give him four touchdown passes for the game.

A Quincy Blaise interception allowed the Huskies a final drive to tie or win the game with time winding down.

Naperville North got into Maine South territory, but shortly after using its final timeout, it stalled out at the 29-yard line with 19 seconds left, putting an end to its season.

“Our kids competed all year long,” said Huskies coach Sean Drendel. “And they continued to do so. It’s a special group of kids, and I’m gonna miss ‘em a ton.”

After the teams traded first-quarter touchdowns, Purcell threw touchdown passes to Dellumo and Mason Patrus, respectively. The latter of those scores ended a 98-yard drive that would have made John Elway jealous.

Bell, whose 422 passing yards in the game made him the Huskies’ single-season record-holder, got Naperville North back in it with a 32-yard touchdown pass to Quinn Morris. That touchdown gave Morris the school career touchdown receptions record with his 15th.

With five seconds left in the first half, Maine South went back up by two scores when Purcell hit Joey Naughton for a 21-yard touchdown.

Each team scored twice in the third quarter with one Hawks touchdown coming in controversial fashion. Purcell completed what appeared to be a 6-yard pass to Naughton from the Huskies’ 20-yard line, and an official’s whistle blew, but that turned out to be premature. Naughton had hit a defender instead of the turf, so he kept going until he reached the end zone to put the Hawks up, 42-21.

Early in the fourth quarter, Purcell threw a touchdown pass from 15 yards out to Jacob Vitel, which proved to be the difference in the game.

“We made promises to each other last night,” said Hawks coach David Inserra. “And they kept their promises of leaving it all on the field. I think we did that.”

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