Senior cornerback Nick Zbylut and his teammates in Naperville Central’s secondary knew they faced a stiff challenge last week.
They had to try to stop Fremd junior quarterback Johnny O’Brien, a Northwestern commit.
“He throws a nice ball, for sure,” Zbylut said. “He’s not going to Northwestern for no reason, so we knew we had to prepare for him and we had to prepare for the receiver corps that is insanely fast.
“We just followed the game plan.”
For Zbylut, that meant keeping track of his man as well as the ball, not an easy task against O’Brien, who threw four touchdown passes during a furious second-half rally in a Class 8A second-round playoff game at Memorial Stadium.
But overlooked in all the excitement of the Redhawks’ 31-28 victory was a great play the 5-foot-11, 182-pound Zbylut made early in the second quarter.
Fremd trailed 14-0 but had driven to Naperville Central’s 19-yard line. O’Brien threw a pass into the left corner of the end zone, where Zbylut made a leaping interception. The Redhawks scored on the ensuing possession when senior quarterback Sebastian Hayes tossed a 13-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Garrett Nichols.
Naperville Central extended the lead to 24-0 at halftime and needed that cushion to advance to a quarterfinal game against host Lyons in Western Springs at 7 p.m. Friday.
“All week in practice, I had been practicing the double moves, so that guy tried to get me to bite on a shallow route and then went deep,” Zbylut said of his interception. “But all along I was ready for it, so I guess when my chance came, my eyes just lit up, and I executed.
“It was my first interception of the season — long-awaited, in my opinion.”
But it wasn’t surprising to the teammates who know Zbylut best.
“I met Z-Bo in eighth grade,” Naperville Central senior linebacker Aaron Nussbaum said. “We played flag football together. Freshman year, he was a stud. He went up to the sophomores.”
Nussbaum caught up to Zbylut the following year, when they were two of six sophomores to play on the varsity team. They’ve been rocking receivers ever since.
“Our defense, we just swarm the football and we run hard,” Zbylut said. “There’s really nothing more to it. It’s plain-and-simple hard-nosed defense.”
Hard-nosed defense, of course, involves more than muscle. Players also need to know where to be and what to do when they get there.
Such was the case on Zbylut’s interception.
“We knew all game they were going to try to throw short, and we were saying, ‘Just stay deep,’” Nussbaum said. “He stayed deep, he glued to his guy and he made a play when we needed it. That’s why we’ve got seven more days.”
Zbylut’s interception caused Naperville Central coach Mike Ulreich to flash back to the team’s second-round loss to Barrington last year.
“Same type of play, he made a great play in the air,” Ulreich said. “We thought the ball hit the ground, but they called it a touchdown.
“To see him in that same situation go make that play was awesome. It was huge.”
Zbylut has been making plenty of plays all season, if quietly. He has 35 tackles, including four for loss, with eight pass breakups and a forced fumble.
“They put me at corner because they knew I would excel there,” Zbylut said. “That’s what I’m doing. If they put me at receiver, I’d go play receiver and run my butt off.”
Zbylut said he would like to play football in college but doesn’t have any offers yet. Ulreich believes Zbylut has the tools to reach the next level.
“One hundred percent, he can play,” Ulreich said. “He’s long-armed. He is so strong for his frame. I think it would surprise people how strong he is, but he’s a lacrosse kid and wrestler too.”
But Zbylut’s intangibles are just as valuable to the Redhawks.
“He’s an unbelievable kid,” Ulreich said. “He’s a three-year starter for us. He’s a long-bodied corner, but I think the coolest thing is he loves the family aspect of football, and he’s just an awesome kid to have around.”
Zbylut and the Redhawks will be around for at least one more game.
“We’ve been working hard since the offseason, and we’ve just been telling ourselves, ‘Let’s earn seven more days,’ and today that’s what we did,” Zbylut said after beating Fremd. “I’m just ready to compete with a genuinely good team. This is where it gets real and it’s win or go home.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter.
