Naperville North secured a dramatic 38-31 victory over Fremd in a Class 8A first-round playoff football game Friday night at Harshbarger-Welzel Stadium in Naperville. The Huskies’ win marked their first playoff triumph since 2010 and was highlighted by the strong return of junior running back Jayke Collins, who rushed for 135 yards and two touchdowns after recovering from a broken collarbone sustained in Week 5.

Collins, who missed several games before the Huskies’ opening-round bye, scored on runs of 8 and 70 yards and credited the rest for aiding his recovery. “Coming off the injury, I knew I had to ball out,” Collins said. “That bye helped us out big time, got me a little extra recovery. But I’m back, better than ever.”

The game remained tightly contested throughout, with both teams exchanging leads. Fremd, the 13th seed, took early leads of 10-7 after the first quarter—boosted by a 99-yard kickoff return by Kale Peterson—and 17-14 at halftime. Naperville North responded in the second half, thanks in part to Collins’ long touchdown run, initiating a series of five consecutive scoring drives by both teams.

Additional touchdown runs by Huskies players Charlie Neumann, Brendon Wickert, and Victor Tyson kept Naperville North competitive. Neumann’s 21-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter, followed by a 33-yard field goal from kicker Miles Nio with just over three minutes remaining, put Naperville North ahead 35-31—a lead they maintained until the final whistle.

Fremd, led by junior quarterback Will Clark and senior running back Jayden Faulkner, mounted a late drive and advanced to a first-and-goal situation at the Naperville North 9-yard line with under a minute left. However, a missed pass to an open receiver in the end zone and strong defensive coverage by linebacker John Lyons and defensive back CJ Geist prevented Fremd from scoring in the closing seconds.

Fremd head coach Lou Sponsel characterized the contest as a back-and-forth battle. “They couldn’t stop us, we couldn’t stop them,” Sponsel said. “Really, it felt like it was going to come down to who had the ball last, and yes, we were going for two.”

Naperville North coach Sean Drendel praised his team’s resilience and improvement following challenges related to COVID-19 disruptions. “It’s great for our community, it’s great for our school,” Drendel said. “We keep getting a little bit better each year since COVID and we’re trying to kick in some doors.”

With the victory, 13th-seeded Naperville North improved to 8-2 and will advance to face fourth-seeded Oswego (9-1) in the second round of the playoffs.