St. Charles North gets some playoff revenge
No 12. St. Charles North took its revenge on No. 5 South Elgin on Halloween, thanks to a few monster plays.
The North Stars, who lost to the Storm 10-7 in overtime two weeks ago and lost to St. Charles East by a point in double overtime last week, rode a 99-yard kickoff return by senior Justin Miller, a 49-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Jake Bergren to junior Josh Mikes and Bergren's 66-yard touchdown run to a 28-16 victory in a Class 7A first-round playoff game at Millennium Field Saturday.
St. Charles North will host No. 13 Elk Grove (7-3) in the second round.
"It's a new season and a time for redemption," St. Charles North coach Mark Gould said. "The state gave us a chance to try to get back at one of those teams that gave us a heartbreaking loss."
South Elgin (7-3) not only scored on its first possession, the Storm made it look easy. They traversed 79 yards in 4 plays, all passes by junior quarterback John Menken to three different receivers. He capped the drive by spotting Domico Failla in the corner of the end zone for an 18-yard scoring pass, and David Reisner's point after made it 7-0.
But the North Stars (7-3) responded in a big way. Miller caught the kickoff at the 1-yard line, cut to the right sideline and followed the wall 99 yards to the end zone. Cory Harmon's extra point tied the game at 7 just 1:49 into the first quarter.
"It's about time," Miller said. "I was close on several (this season), but this one just had perfect blocking. Connor Mohs had a great block and so did Jeff Stolzenburg. The sideline was just there and I used my speed to run by."
The score remained tied throughout the first half due to red-zone failures by both teams.
The North Stars turned the ball over on downs at the South Elgin 10-yard line in the first quarter and at the 6-yard line midway through the second. South Elgin failed to capitalize on an 89-yard drive. The Storm faced fourth-and goal at the 1-yard line on the first play of the second quarter, but Menken was stopped at the 2-yard line on a rollout to the left.
However, the North Stars second monster play of the day was stunner. On third-and-1 with time running down in the second quarter, Bergren hit a wide-open Mikes down the left sideline for a 49-yard touchdown pass with 1 second remaining to give the North Stars a 14-7 lead.
"Up in the booth I guess they saw the out-and-up opportunity there," Mikes said. "We got the out, and the good fake there, and Jake just threw a perfect ball. I was basically uncovered, caught it and ran into the end zone."
Said Bergren: "We put that route in this week and we knew it was going to be there."
South Elgin's Desmond Perry recovered a fumble early in the third quarter and Reisner pulled the Storm within 14-10 with a 29-yard field goal, but the passing plays they had connected on so easily in the first quarter simply vanished.
"Those were our key plays we knew were going to work," said South Elgin receiver Jake Kumerow, who had 8 catches for 86 yards. "They keyed on them and tightened down so they didn't let the inside open up. They adjusted good and we couldn't adjust back."
The North Stars responded with a 12-play, 80-yard drive, capped by Dirk Schmitt's 1-yard plunge, to stretch their lead to 21-10 with 1:49 left in the third quarter. Following a South Elgin punt, Bergren provided the dagger - a 66-yard touchdown run with 11:04 to play to make it 28-10.
"We tried our hardest but we just couldn't stop them," South Elgin middle linebacker Sean Kolber said. "We had a couple of mistakes, a couple of big runs and passes and that kick return touchdown. We just made little mistakes that led to their scores. If we could have stopped those, we could have hung in there."
Brad Birchfield's 1-yard touchdown pulled South Elgin within 28-16 with 7:04 remaining, but the Storm drew no closer.
"There's nothing to point at today, any one spot," South Elgin coach Dale Schabert said. "They played very well. They played a great game, they took advantage of any mistakes and we just missed some opportunities."