Trailing by 11 points in the second quarter and with its top running back injured, Naperville Central had a big challenge.
But the Redhawks also had Mark Williams.
The speedy junior broke free for a pair of long touchdown catches, and Naperville Central held on for an 18-14 home victory Friday against Warren in the opening round of the Class 8A playoffs.
Williams, who was just named the DuPage Valley Conference offensive player of the year, caught four passes for 175 yards. His touchdowns came on consecutive possessions in the third quarter — a 67-yarder down the right sideline and a 74-yarder down the left sideline — and gave the Redhawks (6-4) an 18-14 lead with 1:59 left in the period.
Both passes were thrown by senior quarterback Simon Hayes, who was 12-for-24 for 254 yards.
‘‘Me and Simon have been working all summer, waiting for a moment like this,’’ Williams said. ‘‘And it just proves how good of a team we are. Our chemistry, it’s showcased with all the summer work we put in.’’
Naperville Central is heading to Oswego (8-1) for a first-round game next week a year after missing the playoffs for the first time since 2019.
‘‘I knew in the offseason we definitely had to make changes,’’ Hayes said. ‘‘Two-and-seven [last season] isn’t what Naperville Central is known for, and I think me and Mark — that kind of had a chip on our shoulder.’’
The Redhawks also have a running back with big-play capability in Ryan Jacobson. But he left with an injury after running twice for 43 yards.
‘‘I trust everyone on this team to do their job,’’ Hayes said. ‘‘And it shows. When someone goes down, the next person’s ready. And they’re going to do the best job they can.’’
Another person who stepped up was junior cornerback Eron Kennedy.
His pass breakup forced a turnover on downs at Naperville Central’s 7-yard line with 8:18 left, then he intercepted a pass with 4:17 to play.
‘‘The story of our season is how much better our defense has gotten since Week 3,’’
Redhawks coach Mike Ulreich said. ‘‘We went out to Prospect and played a bad football game [a 45-14 loss]. And we needed to grow up a lot and get some things corrected. . . .
‘‘And it helps that Mark Williams plays defense now. And Eron Kennedy is an unbelievable football player. At the end of the game, if they want to go at Eron with the game on the line — all day.’’
Junior Jonathan Randolph ran 24 times for 189 yards and both Blue Devils touchdowns, including a 39-yarder. He left the game late in the third quarter and didn’t return.
‘‘Johnny’s one of our great backs we’ve had around Warren for a long time,’’ coach Bryan McNulty said. ‘‘But he was showing signs of a concussion, and, like I told him on the bench, he needs that brain for another 60, 70 years.
‘‘So I’m more concerned with that. And I’m glad our trainers and everybody made the right decision to pull him out of the game.’’
Another impact player for Warren was junior Amari Conley, who stepped in at running back and rushed for 31 yards and also had two sacks on defense.
The future looks bright for the Blue Devils (4-6), who graduate only seven seniors.‘‘We should be OK,’’ McNulty said. ‘‘We need to have a good offseason, though.’’
