Overpowering effort puts St. Charles East past North

Nobody can ever accuse Wes Allen of shying away from the football.

The senior tailback had his name called early and often, as he carried the ball 44 times for 227 yards a pair of touchdowns to help lift St. Charles East (6-2, 5-1) to a 21-0 Upstate Eight Conference triumph over host St. Charles North (5-3, 3-2) in Friday night's ninth annual cross-town clash.

He certainly made a believer out of North Stars coach Mark Gould.

"He's a great runner," Gould said of Allen. "You see how hard he runs ­­- one guy's not going to take him down. You have to have a lot of guys taking him down."

Allen also had some help from his teammates, particularly an offensive line powered by Blake Griffiths, Brennan Walls and Andrew Bradburn, and a defensive unit that completely stifled the North Stars' ground game.

For the game, the Saints accumulated a lopsided 235-10 edge in rushing yards.

"I thought our defensive line played great," said Saints defensive back Bryce Barry, whose interception in the end zone thwarted 1 of the North Stars' 2 red-zone opportunities in the fourth quarter.

Despite dominating the statistical numbers throughout the first half (175-24 edge in total yards), the Saints needed a last-second touchdown run to score the only points of the opening half.

Allen's 29-yard TD run on a 4th-and-2 play with 14 seconds remaining enabled the visitors to grab a 7-0 lead on their fifth consecutive drive inside St. Charles North territory.

"I thought that gave us a lot of momentum because it's tough going into the second half tied," said Allen, who had 117 first-half yards on 23 carries. "That really helped us out and put the defense on their heels - and it put more pressure on their offense."

Defensive lineman Mark Lindholm's fumble recovery helped set up the Saints' first TD.

"We were trying to get (Jordan) Huxtable in some open room so we called an option," said Gould. "But unfortunately we bobbled the pitch. It was one of those situations where we were thinking, 'should we call it or not?'

"It came back to haunt us."

After being outgained 224-39 through 3 quarters, the North Stars finally mounted their first offensive threat early in the fourth quarter.

Wide receiver Jon DeMoss, who wasn't expected to play due to an elbow injury, caught a 41-yard strike down the left sideline from quarterback Sean McGushin (13-of-25, 147 yards) to set up a 1st-and-goal inside the Saints' 5-yard line.

However, the drive stalled as linebacker Pat Friel made a pair of tackles before defensive back Peter Chacon broke up a pass in the end zone on a 4th-and-goal play with 10:40 remaining.

On their next possession, the North Stars marched inside the 20 before Barry's sliding interception put an end to their last true scoring opportunity.

"I wanted to make a play for our defense and luckily our offense came through with a touchdown afterward," said Barry.

Two plays later, Tim Russell (7-of-15, 138 yards) connected with Tyler Nutting (4 receptions, 125 yards) on an 81-yard TD pass that helped give the Saints some breathing room, leading 14-0 with 6:48 left.

"That really was the backbreaker," said Allen. "That just busted everything open."

"We had chances in the red zone," said Gould. "We couldn't get it in and score. That's disconcerting."

Allen's 1-yard TD run with 3:09 remaining sealed the deal for the Saints, who grabbed a 5-4 career edge over the North Stars.

"It feels great to get the key back on our side of the river," said Barry. "Hopefully we can keep it there for a while."