Scouting: Larkin @ St. Charles North
Larkin (3-1, 1-1) at St. Charles North (3-1, 1-1)
When today at 7:30 p.m.
Last year St. Charles North 41, Larkin 0
Last week Larkin 40, Lake Forest Academy 21; Waubonsie Valley 35, St. Charles North 28
Outlook These schools have faced each other six times since St. Charles North joined the Upstate Eight Conference. The North Stars hold a 4-2 series advantage and have won the last two meetings. Last week at Lake Forest Academy, Larkin senior running back Jalen Williams rushed for 364 yards and 5 touchdowns on 33 carries, the 48th-highest single-game rushing total in state history, according to submitted IHSA records. Through 4 games Williams has amassed 788 yards and 5 touchdowns. Larkin rushed for 374 yards overall last week while passing for 40 on 8 attempts. "We're definitely a running team, no question about it," Larkin coach Matt Gehrig said. "We need to get some good runs to be able to set up some opportunities to make some completions. We'll need to hit a few passes at key points in the game to put us in position to win. Any time you're playing a quality opponent you're not going to ever be one-dimensional." Gehrig called the North Stars a highly evolved team defensively. They play a base 3-5 stack but can shift into a 3-5 double-eagle, in which the ends slide down to tackle spots. They will also run a 4-4 alignment which can morph into a 5-3. St. Charles North is mostly a two-platoon team, meaning Larkin's multiple two-way players will have their conditioning tested. North Stars junior quarterback Jake Bergren has emerged from a three-way battle at the position. Last week against Waubonsie Valley he rushed for 1 touchdown and threw for 2 more. He has completed 28-of-45 passes for 353 yards and 5 touchdowns with only 1 interception. His favorite target is 6-foot-4 senior receiver Jeff Stolzenburg (14 receptions, 223 yards, 5 TDs). "Offensively, they are a triple threat because they can throw the ball down the field, the quarterback will take off and attempt to get good yardage if there's nothing there and, of course, they can run the ball effectively out of a triple-option scheme," Gehrig said. "Their philosophy on offense puts them in position to be balanced, which means we have to be equally balanced in our ability to defend the run or the pass or the quarterback taking off on a called pass play."