St. Charles North 34, Streamwood 7
Even though St. Charles North took a 14-7 lead into halftime, North Stars coach Mark Gould was searching for something more from his team in the second half.
The North Stars (1-2, 1-0) answered in a big way, scoring touchdowns on 3 of their first 4 second-half possessions to help turn a close game into a 34-7 Upstate Eight Conference triumph over Streamwood (0-3, 0-1) Friday night at Millennium Field.
While junior quarterback Nick Neari (10-of-18, 133 yards) tossed a pair of third-quarter TD passes to junior receiver Jonathon DeMoss, the North Stars also received a boost from their revitalized ground attack.
Led by junior Kyle Harmon (12 carries, 120 yards), the North Stars enjoyed a 160-25 rushing advantage in the second half.
"Midway through the second quarter, the kids said, 'we can run the ball on these guys,'" said Gould. "We needed to prove that we could run the plays without making mistakes -- without the penalties.
"Fortunately, we were able to go out there and put a nice drive together. It was a confidence builder."
The 11-play, 71-yard scoring drive that upped the North Stars' lead to 21-7 was capped by Neari's 4-yard TD toss to DeMoss included 10 consecutive running plays.
"It took us a while to get going but once we did, we looked good," said Neari. "The offensive line was unbelievable and gave me a lot of time back there."
After a defensive stand, the Neari-to-DeMoss combination struck again - this time on a 26-yard TD pass that made it 28-7 with 2:45 remaining in the third quarter.
DeMoss, who sat out the North Stars' first two games of the season with a dislocated shoulder suffered this past summer, finished with 5 receptions for 57 yards.
"Having him back helps," said Gould. "He's a game-breaking type of guy."
"It's nice to have him back," said Neari. "It gave us big-time weapons on both sides of the field."
Senior Tim Ohlrich, the North Stars' other receiving threat, helped put the visitors in front for good when he caught a 31-yard scoring pass from Neari with 1:36 left in the second quarter.
"It's frustrating because the same thing happened against Crystal Lake Central in our opening game," Sabres coach Cal Cummins said of giving up the late first-half touchdown. "It certainly gives the other team the momentum, especially when they're going to come out and receive the kick in the second half."
After Harmon's 5-yard TD run put the North Stars on top 7-0 in the opening quarter, the Sabres tied it midway through the second quarter when quarterback Gabe Roman scored on a 1-yard sneak.
The 10-play, 57-yard drive featured a 32-yard pass from Roman to senior tailback Kevin Wohlhart (13 carries, 43 yards).