Never mind his touchdown. Carter Sessa’s most important catch, an interception just before halftime, shifts the momentum as Neuqua Valley stays unbeaten.

If the football is in the air, Neuqua Valley’s Carter Sessa is going to try to catch it.

The senior is remarkably good at it no matter what position he is playing.

Sessa demonstrated that again Friday night, catching five passes for 95 yards and a touchdown.

But his most important reception didn’t come from Neuqua Valley quarterback Mark Mennecke. No, that came on an interception right before halftime.

It led to a field goal by Palmer Domschke and turned the tide in an eventual 31-0 DuPage Valley Conference victory against Metea Valley in Aurora.

Sessa had given the Wildcats (6-0, 3-0) the lead on a 21-yard touchdown reception with 3:01 left in the second quarter. Two possessions later, he picked off Logan Frederick’s pass at Neuqua Valley’s 43-yard line and returned it to Metea Valley’s 45. It was Sessa’s first interception of the season.

“I was playing backside corner, and (the receiver) just did a post route,” Sessa said. “The ball was up in the air, up for grabs, so I went up and made a play.”

Sessa made another one on the ensuing snap, catching a 21-yard pass from Mennecke with three seconds left in the half. Domschke then drilled a 42-yard field goal to extend Neuqua Valley’s lead over the Mustangs (3-3, 2-1) to 10-0.

“The momentum swing was definitely pretty big,” Sessa said. “Being 7-0 right before the half, that’s just a one-possession game. Getting that field goal to make it a two-possession game was huge.”

The field goal was Domschke’s career long and part of another great effort that saw him convert all four of his extra-point tries and boom each of his five kickoffs out of the end zone.

“He’s a Division I kicker,” Neuqua Valley coach Bill Ellinghaus said. “He’s getting better and better punting the football, and obviously he hit that 42-yarder, which was big for us.”

Domschke is willing to kick from any distance. He missed a 53-yarder against DeKalb last season but is never nervous on long attempts.

“Deep field goals, some people think they are difficult, but it’s honestly more movement for the ball, especially with the wind,” Domschke said. “It wasn’t a strong wind, but it was slight right-to-left, so obviously from the right hash you push it in.

“Thanks to Coach E for giving me a chance. He had enough trust in me, and I did what I should do.”

So did Sessa, who rarely comes off the field.

“Sessa is just doing a phenomenal job this year for us, offensively and defensively,” Ellinghaus said. “He’s locking down all these receivers that are getting all these big offers.

“My defensive coordinator and I, we start fighting over where to give him a rest because we know he needs rest.”

Sessa insists he’s not going to run out of energy anytime soon.

“This is my senior year, so I don’t want to come off the field,” Sessa said. “I like going both ways.”

With Sessa and Domschke, who also plays safety, leading the secondary, Metea Valley’s offensive fortunes went only one way — downhill.

The Mustangs mustered only 89 yards, including 1 yard rushing. Frederick was 9-for-17 for 61 yards.

Neuqua Valley dominated after intermission. Mennecke scored on a 3-yard run and tossed a 12-yard scoring strike to Carter Stare, while Jaden McGee rushed 16 times for 78 yards and a touchdown.

“We kind of came out a little slow on offense, but on defense we were like, ‘We’ve got to pick it up,’” Sessa said. “On offense we had to start connecting, and that’s what we did.”