When Naperville Central senior linebacker Aaron Nussbaum suffered a torn ACL against Lockport five weeks ago, everyone assumed his high school career was over.
Nussbaum had other ideas, despite the risk of further damage.
“(The doctors) said there’s a chance you can tear your meniscus or tear another ligament in your knee,” he said. “They said, ‘We’re going to give you four weeks of PT to get back. If you’re ready after that, you can play.’”
Nussbaum was ready and returned to action for a Class 8A second-round playoff game against Fremd at Memorial Stadium on Friday. He was only allowed to play fullback and was limited for the first three quarters.
“I had four plays until those last few drives,” Nussbaum said. “When the team really needed me, I was like, ‘I’m going to do everything I can.’ And that’s what happened.”
Indeed, Nussbaum made several dramatic plays that provided an ending only a Hollywood script writer could dream up. He had a key 27-yard reception and then provided crucial blocks for star running back Aiden Clark as the seventh-seeded Redhawks held off 10th-seeded Fremd and won 31-28.
Clark, who shrugged off a sore knee to rush 37 times for 174 yards and a touchdown, couldn’t believe the ending, which ensured Naperville Central (10-1) will play at second-seeded Lyons (11-0) in the quarterfinals.
“We didn’t even know he was going to come back,” Clark said of Nussbaum. “It’s really inspirational. Especially in that situation, that play seemed almost like a movie, where it’s like, ‘Oh, my God, I can’t believe that just happened.”
The Redhawks rode the running of Clark and the arm of senior quarterback Sebastian Hayes to a 24-0 halftime lead. But their only points in the second half came on senior safety Gavin Wade’s 55-yard interception return for a touchdown.
The visiting Vikings (9-2) rallied behind junior quarterback Johnny O’Brien, a Northwestern commit who completed 35 of 49 passes for 416 yards and four touchdowns. His 15-yard TD pass to junior wide receiver Marquan Brewster cut Naperville Central’s lead to three points with 4:41 left in the fourth quarter.
On the ensuing drive, the Redhawks had a 2nd-and-8 at their 48-yard line. That’s when Hayes, who was 20 of 26 for 194 yards, two touchdowns and an interception, found Nussbaum open in the right flat and hit him in stride for a 27-yard gain to Fremd’s 25.
It was the first time Hayes had targeted Nussbaum all season and was the first pass Nussbaum has caught in the past two years.
“We hadn’t run that play in practice all week,” Nussbaum said. “He called it, and I was like, ‘Dang.’
“I wasn’t supposed to go out for a pass. But I saw both linebackers fill in, and I’m like, ‘I’m going to be wide open.’”
Even so, Nussbaum was stunned when he turned around and saw the ball coming his way.
“First, I was like, ‘Oh my God, he threw the ball,’” Nussbaum said. “Then I was like, ‘Catch it, catch it.’
“As soon as I caught it, I was like, ‘Oh, my goodness, I might score.’ Then I realized, ‘Dang, I can’t run very fast.’ I tried to give (the defender) a little stiff arm, and then I just went down. I wasn’t going to risk anything.”
Hayes knew he wasn’t risking much by tossing the ball to Nussbaum, who caught 11 touchdown passes from Hayes when they both played on the freshman team.
“Actually, he was supposed to down-block on that,” Hayes said. “He popped open, I saw him and I just threw it to him.
“Aaron usually has pretty good hands. He doesn’t drop a lot of balls, and when I saw him wide open, I knew it was going to be uncontested and that he was going to come down with the ball.”
Nussbaum did down-block on the next three plays, all runs by Clark, whose last one was a 5-yard gain for the clinching first down.
Naperville Central coach Mike Ulreich was thrilled for Nussbaum and Wade, who returned after missing four games with a shoulder injury.
“We thought both of those guys were gone for their career,” Ulreich said. “We thought that maybe that was the last football we’d ever watch those two play.
“Just to have the presence of those two in the huddle and on the sideline, but then to see those two make plays in the second half was unbelievable. It’s crazy.”
Some might think it crazy to play on a torn ACL. Nussbaum’s father, Andy, who is one of Ulreich’s assistants, left the decision up to his son. Surgery was scheduled for Tuesday but has been postponed until after the season.
“First of all, he’s 18, so he makes his own decisions,” Andy Nussbaum said. “Second of all, he’s got two parents in their 60s, so he has a visual picture of what it might look like walking around at that age. I’m so happy for him.”
So was Clark.
“He’s one of my best friends,” Clark said. “To see him succeed like that, it almost brings a tear to my eye. Especially on a play like that in a situation and an environment like this, there’s not a whole lot more you could ask for.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter.
