Naperville North’s Gabriel Hill and Donavan Howard executed the old strip-it-and-grip-it play to perfection.
The two defensive linemen rarely get their hands on the football, at least during games, but they know what to do when the time comes.
On Friday, that time came three minutes after kickoff when Hill stripped the ball from Neuqua Valley senior quarterback Kiet Truong. Howard scooped it up and returned it 7 yards for a touchdown.
Scoring was a new experience for Howard, a 6-foot-1, 265-pound senior.
“That’s the first time,” he said. “We do it in practice a lot, but we’ve never done it in a game.”
The play provided an early highlight for the host Huskies, who forced three turnovers and allowed only 45 yards rushing in their 42-0 Southwest Valley Blue Conference victory in Naperville.
Hill, a junior with major Division I offers, and Howard play next to each other and often rush the passer together.
“The guard was just leaning over,” Hill said. “So I just threw a swim, used his momentum against him, and I just cleaned him up in the backfield, and Donovan got the ball.”
Howard was ready when he saw the loose ball.
“I already knew that Gabe was going to get pressure,” he said. “It’s always a battle to see who gets to the QB first. This time he got there first, and it worked in my favor. I just picked it up and ran with it.”
Trying to pull off a scoop-and-score has its pitfalls. Sometimes a player can start running before securing the ball. That wasn’t the case here.
“In practice, we actually work on scoop-and-scores, just bouncing the ball on the ground and picking it up and running,” Howard said. “I have one of the better hands on the team, so I knew I had the ability to pick it up and run with it. So that’s what I did.”
Howard raced into the end zone to give the Huskies (5-2, 2-1) a 14-0 lead and then fired the ball about 40 feet straight up in the air. He drew an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for excessive celebration, but nobody was giving him any grief about it.
“That’s my guy,” Hill said. “Defensive linemen aren’t really around the ball. We don’t get a lot of opportunities, so it was a great chance for him to make the play.
“He’s super athletic. He’s really underrated for his athleticism, so for him to show it off and get that scoop-and-score means everything.”
Naperville North coach Sean Drendel was delighted to see Howard reach the end zone and was even more pleased with the defense’s overall performance. Hill and Howard combined for three sacks, and senior defensive backs Zach Mally and Jordan Robinson had interceptions.
“Any time you get a lineman to score and then you get a shutout, our defense played outstanding tonight,” Drendel said. “They were in the right spot and knew exactly what to do.
“They can take some chances because they think we’re going to score some points, which helps.”
The Huskies have had no problem scoring points this season and tied their season-high output. Senior quarterback Jacob Bell, a Ball State recruit, completed 17 of 29 passes for 284 yards and three touchdowns, including an 82-yard swing pass to senior wide receiver Nick Manzardo. Bell also rushed for a 17-yard score, which put the Wildcats (1-6, 0-4) in a 21-0 hole.
Howard, who has an offer from Upper Iowa and interest from Mid-American Conference teams and a couple of Big Ten teams, has a way of putting opponents in holes, but he doesn’t pigeonhole himself.
“I’m really a hybrid,” he said. “I’ll play anywhere. When I talk to many of the college coaches, they said they could see me either at end or a 3-tech, which I play here.”
The Huskies are eligible for the playoffs and hope to keep the season going as long as possible.
“We want to make sure we have a good seed,” Hill said. “We have a lot of momentum.
“A big win like that just feels good.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter.
