N. Stars disappointed not to play their best in final game
It wasn't the 45-12 final score that left St. Charles North senior linebacker Dom Imbordino most frustrated about the North Stars' loss in the Class 7A quarterfinals at Glenbard West Saturday.
It was that the North Stars ended a season that likely will go down as their best ever without giving the Hilltoppers their best shot.
That includes all three phases. An offense that turned the ball over five times. A special teams that fumbled once and didn't convert any point after touchdowns. And a defense that didn't generate any take-aways - which left St. Charles North on the wrong side of a 6:0 turnover ratio.
"The thing that gets me is we made a lot of mistakes, defensively, offensively, special teams, and we kind of screwed up," Imbordino said. "Glenbard West is a great team but they didn't beat us on our best day."
Trailing 14-0 before you've run an offensive play from scrimmage is no way to beat any team - let alone one now 12-0 like the Hilltoppers.
"Against a good team like this that's your nightmare start right there," North Stars coach Mark Gould said. "They are everything we thought they would be."
When asked if there was a turning point, a time when the game slipped away, Gould offered a smile.
"It becomes a blur when it's 45-12," Gould said.
"That first five minutes was not good. They make that (six turnovers) happen. They put hits on people and caused turnovers and jumped routes."
Like Imbordino said, the North Stars didn't have their best Saturday. But who knows even if that happened - if they could take away a couple passes on offense, maybe get off the field on some third downs on defense - if they could have found a way to beat Glenbard West.
"Hopefully they go all way," senior defensive back Conner Mohs said. "I'd like to say we got beat by state champions. They came out ready to play and they hit us hard. It took us to halftime to kind of wake up."
That's what Imbordino said disappointed him the most, the North Stars' psyche early. Their heads seemed to be spinning against a truly outstanding opponent in the middle of a party atmosphere on the Hilltoppers' picturesque home field.
"We came out and I feel like we were intimidated a little bit," Imbordino said. "The second half we turned it up after we realized what was going on. We needed to come out to a faster start if we wanted to win that game."
It might seem odd in a 33-point loss, but there were moments St. Charles North looked like it could play with the Hilltoppers: Jeff Stolzenburg's two touchdown grabs, the way Bergren moved the team down the field several times, a defense that held Glenbard West on a pair of fourth-down plays, including one at its 1-yard line, a special teams that produced a pair of long kick returns.
"I don't think we laid down for them today," Bergren said. "I think we came out to fight even if the scoreboard doesn't really show that."
Bergren threw a pair of touchdowns but also was intercepted three times and fumbled. As one of the few juniors on this year's team, he'll be a focal point of the 2010 North Stars.
"We don't have an area that is lacking, we just need to tighten up," Bergren said. "We need to buckle down, we need to strengthen what our strengths are already and just get better. We need to cut down on the mental and physical errors and come with a new fire next year."
Gould certainly is excited to see what Bergren can do with a full season under center after he finished this year with 14 touchdowns and just 4 interceptions while also leading the team in rushing.
And that's where a game like Saturday against an elite opponent can really help, letting the North Stars know where they need to improve to take another step.
"I saw some really nice things, (Jake) made some really nice throws, got a lot of great experience," Gould said. "This is an experience you can't replicate. Playing against a team that's a state champion caliber team. They play so fast I think it's great for our young guys to see. This is how it is. This is what you have to pick it up to."
Gould started the season talking about the success of Geneva and Batavia's programs, how a St. Charles school is trying to do what the Vikings and Bulldogs have done with their recent appearances in state championship games. It turned out Gould's North Stars was the last Tri-Cities team standing in 2009.
(The end came earlier for this football-rich area than we've had since 2005, the last time a local team didn't reach the state semifinals. In 2008: Aurora Christian, Geneva; 2007: Aurora Christian; 2006: Batavia, Geneva, Kaneland.)
That type of success, taking St. Charles North's program to a place it has never been, is what this senior-dominated group will remember, not the way Saturday's game went.
"I'm going to tell my kids about every single one of them (the seniors) and how much fun we had all year," Mohs said. "I'm going to remember them forever. Coach said we'll get a (quarterfinal) plaque that has never been in our school before. We'll be able to be remembered by that."
jlemon@dailyherald.com