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Whether it be out of the double-wing formation or out of the spread offense that third-year coach Sean Drendel first instituted back in 2010, running the football has been and will always be a staple of Naperville North’s offense.

Whether it be Chris Brown, Aaron Fanthorpe, Jordan Tassio or Matt LaCosse from the recent past, a wealth of dangerous options have thrived within the Huskies’ backfield.
Junior running back DeSean Brown may be the next one in line.

“He’s a two-year starter for us and he’s done a lot of good things for the past two years,” Drendel said. “He was injured for a large portion of the year (in 2011), so looking at stats. … As a coach, you don’t always look at stats. You look at production. I mean, you look at how the kid helps the team win, and DeSean has done that for us in the games that he’s played.”

Running for 121 yards and a touchdown in limited time last year as a sophomore, the 6-foot, 190-pound Brown has led the way for Naperville North’s offense in 2012 by gaining 515 yards, second only to Sharad Crosby’s 523 yards, to go along with a team-high eight touchdowns.

Showing his versatility within the spread, Brown is the team’s leading receiver with 12 receptions for 158 yards and two TDs.

Brown played a critical role in the Huskies’ victories over Thornton and West Chicago by combining for 205 rushing yards and five touchdowns in a pair of games the Huskies won without throwing a single pass.

Entering Friday night’s crosstown meeting with Naperville Central on a three-game winning streak, spearheaded mightily by a running game that’s averaged 385.7 yards during that stretch, DeSean Brown will be a major part of Naperville North’s offensive focus.

“DeSean’s a great player for us and we gotta find ways to get him the ball and have him be more active in our system,” Drendel said. “We expect great things from him and he’s beginning to show that as a junior. So we need him to do more.”