St. Charles North's quick strikes lead to easy win

Fueled by a quick-strike offense and unrelenting defense, St. Charles North's football team became playoff eligible following Friday night's 41-0 DuKane Conference victory over visiting Glenbard North (0-7, 0-5).

Despite only having the ball for 5 ½ minutes in the opening half, the North Stars (5-2, 3-2) built a 21-0 halftime advantage, thanks in part to a pair of 1-play touchdowns.

After Glenbard North punter Will Ryan pinned the North Stars inside their 10-yard line, the home team grabbed a 7-0 lead on Ethan Plumb's 93-yard touchdown pass to senior receiver Aedan Hayes - the first offensive play from scrimmage.

"I think it was an alignment issue," said North Stars coach Rob Pomazak. "They didn't have the perimeter receiver covered, and we took advantage of it."

Early in the second quarter, Jaden Harmon's interception set up the North Stars' second 1-play touchdown drive - a 25-yard screen pass from Plumb to Joell Holloman.

Plumb, who completed 9 of 17 passes for 214 yards, tossed his third touchdown of the first half - and second to Hayes on an 18-yard strike, capping a 6-play, 46-yard drive.

The North Stars wasted little time extending their halftime lead, as Holloman took a handoff from Plumb and raced 78 yards through the middle of the field on the first play from scrimmage in the second half for a 28-0 advantage.

"Our offense has been pretty explosive all season, so that's kind of our M.O.," said Pomazak. "We're going to put the ball in the end zone pretty quickly."

While the offense hurt the Panthers with big plays, the North Stars' defense did its part.

Led by senior linebackers Angelo Bradley, Riley Sprindis, and Logan Landmeier, sophomore linebacker Matthew Plumb, senior defensive backs Robert Messina and Harmon, and senior lineman Julio Sanchez, the North Stars recorded their first shutout of the season, limiting the Panthers to 67 yards of total offense.

The 6-foot-2, 240-pound Sanchez recorded 6 tackles, including 3 of them for losses, while anchoring the interior.

"I was most proud of the guys around me," said Sanchez. "They support me, and I support them."

"The shutout - that's pretty impressive," said Pomazak, whose team hadn't allowed an opponent below 14 points in its first 6 games. "When you look at our schedule, it's not like we're playing slouches. We've played a pretty tough schedule, and I feel we're getting better at the right time. It's about improvement."

Perhaps no North Stars player has displayed that improvement better than Sanchez.

"Julio is one of those kids who was a soccer player coming into eighth grade," said Pomazak. "We got him out for football. He was a JV guy last year. He worked hard in the weight room, and he's probably been our most consistent defensive lineman. That's a tribute to his work ethic."

Sanchez is happy to contribute.

"My friends got me into football," said Sanchez. "They got me loving the sport, and it has been a great experience."

Holloman (13 carries, 162 yards) capped the scoring with his second and third touchdown runs, covering 58 yards and 1 yard, respectively.

Hunter Liszka delivered 6 PAT kicks for the North Stars.

Sophomore tailback Lucas Kramer led the Panthers with 48 yards, while Dylan Hendee added an interception.