Through his four years at Naperville Central High School, senior Tommy Dougherty has never felt — or seen — student spirit quite like this.
Just days away from seeing their varsity football team vie for a shot at the Class 8A state championship, the campus is buzzing with anticipation, the 18-year-old says.
“The school spirit, honestly in all my four years, has never been better,” Dougherty said Thursday, some 56 hours before Naperville Central (11-1) hosts Elmhurst’s 14th-seeded York (10-2) in its first semifinal appearance in more than a decade. “I think we have so much involvement.
“All of the kids want to come out, even the freshmen and sophomores. Even the kids that can’t drive to the games. They want to be there and support the team. I’ve just never experienced this.”
Last week, Naperville Central eliminated the previously unbeaten second-seed Lyons High School in the state quarterfinals, giving the 2024 Redhawks a shot at being the fifth team in the school’s history to make it to a state final.
The last time Naperville Central played in a semifinal game was in 2013. That year, the team went all the way.
The Redhawks also were crowned state champions in 1999, Naperville Central Athletic Director Jeff Plackett said, and runners up in 1995 and 2001. Going back further, before the Illinois High School Association started offering a state series, Naperville Central went undefeated in 1942 and 1948.
This season may likewise mark a year the school looks back on. Students certainly think so.
“I’ve never been more excited,” Dougherty said. “There’s not a doubt in my mind that the boys are gonna go out there and play a great game. You know they want it. You can tell that they want it. And we’re gonna go out there, we’re gonna cheer loud.”
Beyond just feeling the student spirit in hallways and in between classes, Dougherty especially has a pulse on school pride. He’s part of a small group of student spirit leaders dubbed “Redhawk Rowdies.” The team of eight specially selected students is tasked with rallying campus support.
“The hype started off really strong this year,” Rowdie member AJ Landorf said. “We had our first game against Hinsdale Central, and I think everyone knew that once we won that game, there was something going on here.”
Wanting to bring student support up to par with the Redhawks’ potential this season, Rowdies have tried to boost excitement as much as possible. For every football game, they’ve organized themes for attendees, where fans are encouraged to dress up in different ways to show their support for players.
Past themes have ranged from beach day to western day. For the semifinals Saturday, Rowdies are having Naperville Central “white out,” or dress up in all white. They also be walking around the school Friday equipped with speakers, blasting music in their themed outfits to students passing by — another pre-game tradition.
“Every Friday, we walk around … and we play music just to get people ready for the game,” senior Rowdie Mabel Li said.
Fan festivities won’t end when the last bell rings Friday either. Emulating college football fanfare, the Rowdies have organized a tailgate for Saturday’s game, complete with free hot dogs and s’mores.
“We just want everybody at the games,” Li said.
Their efforts have not gone unnoticed.
Take last week’s match against Lyons. Though it was an away game — 40 minutes from Naperville in Western Springs — Naperville Central’s student section was “overflowing,” Li said.
“We ran out of seats,” Li said. “I was honestly … surprised at how many people came.”
The energy was palpable, she said.
“We just went crazy,” she said. “Every time we got a touchdown, every time we did something good, our student section went crazy. … And when they actually won, it was so exciting. I started to lose my voice because I was screaming so much.”
Momentum has carried on through this week, she said.
“I think the turnout (Saturday) is going to be amazing,” Li said, “especially because it’s home.”
The energy is radiating to players themselves.
“You can tell that the school is just starting to get a little more excited every day,” said football captain and senior linebacker Daniel Nussbaum.
“Yeah, it makes it really easy to get motivated when we as players can tell the whole community is excited and behind us,” fellow captain and nose guard Jason Figg said.
Both playing for Naperville Central since their freshman year, alongside the Redhawks’ two other captains Aaron Nussbaum and Aiden Clark, they see Saturday’s game — and really this season as a whole — as a feat they’ve worked towards their entire high school careers.
“Making it to a semifinal game, hoping to make it further, it’s not built in one year,” Daniel Nussbaum said. “I mean, everyone on our team, especially our leaders and our key players, we’re been working hard off season, every practice. We haven’t missed anything for four years.”
The confidence they’ve sown as a team is only compounded by the community’s backing.
“Even when you’re going to the grocery store or just walking around somewhere, people talk to you and they wish you luck,” Nussbaum said. “People you don’t even know. … The really cool thing about high school is people who go to the games, the people rooting for you are people you’ve grown up with. People who have mentored you your whole life.
“It’s your own community. Playing in front of your hometown fans is really something special.”
As they head into Saturday, the captains said they are feeling good. To this point, they’ve been focusing on one game at a time, they said. The semifinal is no different.
“Especially during the playoffs, what we’ve always gone back to and our coach has gone back to is you’re playing one game to earn seven more days with each other,” Nussbaum said. “I think that sense of being together as a family is what really has been pushing us this far.”
tkenny@chicagotribune.com
