St. Charles North offense erupts at McHenry
St. Charles North coach Mark Gould knew his team would have to lean on its offense early in the season, having no starters returning from last year's defense.
And Gould needed every point his offense scored on Friday at McHenry.
Senior Matt Schiltz threw for 7 touchdowns leading visiting St. Charles North (1-1) to a thrilling 62-49 victory over McHenry (0-2) at McCracken Field.
"Our quarterback did a great job and our receiver did a great job of catching the ball," added Gould of his high-octane offense. "I didn't want a shootout, but I knew there might be a chance."
Schiltz completed 15 of 21 passes for 383 yards, while senior Josh Mikes (6 catches, 112 yards) scored on catches of 71, 10, 66, and 41 yards in leading the North Stars.
"The line was giving us good protection," said Schiltz who hit Mikes with a 10-yard scoring pass to give the North Stars a 34-21 halftime advantage. "I was able to move in the pocket and my receivers were getting open."
Senior Dirk Schmitt rushed for 79 yards and also caught 3 passes for 65 yards. Schmitt scored on touchdown runs of 3, and 9 yards. The senior added 2 more touchdowns on catches of 48 and 16 yards.
"We wanted to be physical and we wanted to be aggressive," said Gould of his veteran offense.
And they needed every point as McHenry quarterback Robert Tonyan directed the Warriors' quick-strike attack by throwing for 4 touchdowns and adding two more scores on the ground.
Tonyan finished the night completing 34-of-47 passes for 403 yards. But the senior also threw 2 interceptions, including one midway in the final quarter.
Ben Hodges (9 carries, 107 yards) scored on 49-yard run on the ensuing possession to give the North Stars a 62-42 lead with 5:26 remaining.
But just like all game long, the Warriors answered when Jimmy Preston (9 catches 139 yards) caught a 10-yard score.
St. Charles North was able to run the clock out on its final possession, which included a roughing-the-kicker penalty to nail down a thrilling victory.
Trevor Jones had 15 catches for 217 yards for McHenry.
"Credit (McHenry) - they never gave up," added Shiltz. "I was like 'here we go again', but we never gave up."