Naperville Central senior linebacker Nathan Czachor was in class when football coach Mike Ulreich paid him a visit.
The news was not good. The knee injury that outside linebacker Aaron Nussbaum suffered on Oct. 4 was a torn ACL.
“We needed somebody to switch to fill in his spot,” Czachor said. “I didn’t really have an option, but I was willing to do it for the team.”
So Czachor made the switch from middle linebacker to outside linebacker, and Ulreich promoted Jaxon Pytlak from the sophomore team to pair with Daniel Nussbaum in the middle in the Redhawks’ 3-4 scheme.
“(Middle and outside) are both called linebacker, but they’re very different, so it took a lot of adjusting,” Czachor said.
The new lineup made its debut against Metea Valley on Oct. 11, preparing Czachor for a greater challenge against Sandburg on Friday.
“This game really showed me that I could play the position, and I think I rose to the occasion,” he said.
The 6-foot, 180-pound Czachor did exactly that, as did many of his teammates. He made several huge stops as the host Redhawks beat Sandburg 22-8 at Memorial Stadium to clinch the inaugural Southwest Valley Red Conference championship.
“Nate’s a mature kid and understands that sometimes you’ve got to do those things, and he’s accepted that new position,” Ulreich said. “He played unbelievable tonight.”
The Redhawks (8-0, 4-0) led 14-0 when Czachor sacked Sandburg quarterback Anthony Shelton for a 9-yard loss at the Eagles’ 3-yard line. The next play resulted in a bad snap that went out of the back of the end zone for a safety.
Naperville Central increased the lead to 19-0 at the 7:32 mark of the second quarter on the first of Gavin Ellison’s two field goals.
The Eagles (5-3, 2-2) then drove to Naperville Central’s 36 before Czachor stopped them cold. First, he tackled Luke Basiorka for a 2-yard loss on second down. On third down, Shelton completed a screen pass to Basiorka, who was immediately drilled by Czachor for a 5-yard loss, ending the drive. That was Czachor’s favorite play.
“Coach told me that when there’s two backs in the backfield and my back to my side motions out, there’s going to be a screen,” Czachor said. “I saw that motion, I knew it was coming to me and I took that chance to deliver a hard hit on the guy.”
Czachor wasn’t the only one dishing out hard hits to the Eagles, who had just 55 yards of total offense in the first half and finished with 54 yards rushing. Nick Zbylut and Buffalo commit Jake Stanish each had two sacks, and a crushing hit by Garrett Nichols caused Sandburg wide receiver Charlie Snoreck’s fumble that Czachor recovered with 9:45 left in the fourth quarter.
Snoreck made a game-high six catches but gained just 35 yards.
“This game especially I was more into the pass defense,” Czachor said. “I’m used to being a part of the run game all the time. This time, my goal was to stop (Snoreck).”
Daniel Nussbaum was pleased to see Czachor do so.
“At outside, you don’t always get the most stats, but it’s the hardest position on the field,” Daniel Nussbaum said. “That’s why our best players go out there and kick (butt).”
Aiden Clark returned after missing two games with a knee injury to rush 31 times for 159 yards and a touchdown, and quarterback Sebastian Hayes scored on a 3-yard sneak.
But it was Naperville Central’s defense that again shined brightest, stifling a Sandburg offense that was averaging 37 points per game. Czachor helped lead the way.
“When someone goes down, you step up, and that’s exactly what Nate’s done,” Daniel Nussbaum said. “He’s a leader, and that’s what you want.”
Daniel Nussbaum knows there are different nuances to playing middle linebacker and outside linebacker.
“At middle, you’re more free to do what you want,” he said. “You read your keys and take the right steps.
“At outside, you’ve got to take on kick-out blocks, you’ve got to get 1 yard up field. You do your job so that the other brothers can do theirs. Nate has played that role for the team.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter.
