St. Charles North stymies Williams, Larkin

Averaging nearly 200 rushing yards in his first 4 games, Larkin tailback Jalen Williams was literally the center of attention for St. Charles North's defensive unit Friday night.

Combine relentless pursuit from linebackers J.J. Weaver, Spencer Swarts, Ben Dvorak and defensive lineman Brian Pedersen with sloppy field conditions - and the North Stars (4-1, 2-1) mixed the proper ingredients together to slow Williams on the way to a 20-7 Upstate Eight Conference victory over the Royals (3-2, 0-2) on homecoming night in St. Charles.

Williams, a 5-foot-7, 160-pound senior who rushed for 364 yards and 5 touchdowns in Larkin's 40-21 Week 4 win over Lake Forest Academy, was never able to get on track as he was limited to 53 yards on 21 carries.

"With that back, the key is don't let him outside," said North Stars coach Mark Gould. "Obviously our linebackers and corners were doing a great job forcing him to bubble it or turn it inside - then you have to have pursuit so our linebackers had to be flowing really well."

Coming into the game, the North Stars were well aware of Williams' prowess.

"I saw him play last week and he made some people look foolish," said Gould. "He can stop on a dime and then accelerate."

Weaver, who led the North Stars with 10 tackles, including 5 for loss, tried to keep things simple.

"There's not a lot you can do to prepare for a guy like him with the cutbacks and all," said the 6-1, 200-pound senior. "All you can do is do your job, fill your gaps and hope he doesn't break a big run."

Williams' longest run of the night - covering 13 yards - came on the third play from scrimmage in the second half.

By that time, the North Stars had already built a 14-7 lead, turning a pair of short-field possessions into first-half touchdowns.

After Conner Mohs returned the opening kickoff 30 yards, it took the North Stars 11 plays to march 41 yards for the game's first points, capped by a 2-yard TD run by Ben Hodges (23 carries, 100 yards).

Late in the second quarter, Mohs' 35-yard punt return (originally a 55-yard return for a TD that was called back due to a penalty) helped set up Hodges' 9-yard TD run. Hodges also caught a 2-point pass from Jake Bergren (6-of-14, 106 yards) to put STC North on top 14-0.

But the Royals answered with a late touchdown of their own before halftime, as Williams' 43-yard kick return and 22-yard halfback option pass to Trevor Whitehead eventually led to a 6-yard scoring strike from Kyle Newquist to tight end Alex Wahl.

"The key to them stopping us was that we weren't getting enough hats on their three stacked linebackers who were really good athletes," said Larkin coach Matt Gehrig. "At times tonight they outhit us and in a close, defensive game like this, usually the team that hits the hardest is going to come out on top."