Landon Nelson Strong Debut at Naperville Central
Summary of teh Naperville Central vs. Hinsdale Central Football Game & Team Outlook
This article details Naperville Central’s 28-14 loss to Hinsdale Central, focusing on the team’s struggles with discipline and inexperience, and highlighting the potential of running back Landon Nelson.
Key Takeaways:
Naperville Central is rebuilding: The team is very young,with many first-time starters,and is currently struggling to find consistency. Both the coach (Mike Ulreich) and players acknowledge they are playing “bad football,” especially in the first half.
Discipline is a major issue: The team lacks discipline, particularly against physical opponents like Hinsdale Central. This was a key factor in their loss.
Landon Nelson shows promise: Despite a slow start, Nelson had a strong second half, demonstrating flashes of potential. He finished with 79 rushing yards and 26 receiving yards. He’s currently competing for the lead back role and is learning to manage the faster pace of varsity football.Ulreich believes Nelson has the potential to be a ”realy good football player” but needs to improve his consistency.
Second-half improvement, but needs full-game performance: Naperville Central seems to play better in the second half, but they need to find a way to perform consistently throughout all four quarters.
hinsdale Central is strong: The Red Devils are 2-0 and demonstrated physicality, particularly with their linebackers and quarterback Riley Contreras (who had three touchdown runs).
Game Highlights:
Hinsdale Central led 21-0 at halftime. Nelson scored a 13-yard touchdown in the third quarter to put Naperville Central on the board.
Hinsdale Central responded with another touchdown.
* Naperville Central scored again on a 15-yard pass from Jackson Loth to Vincent Bern.