St. Charles North erases ghosts of playoff pasts
Turns out St. Charles North enjoys making history so much, they went ahead and did it about three times in a 20-14 victory over Elk Grove Friday night, sending the North Stars into the quarterfinals for the first time.
The clincher?
Dirk Schmitt plows in from four yards out with eight minutes to go, giving the North Stars the lead for the first time.
St. Charles North stuffs Elk Grove on its next possession, and with the way the North Stars' offensive line is controlling the trenches and just five minutes left, you know what time it is. History is here.
Quarterfinals!
Well, not so fast.
The ensuing punt hits a North Star, giving Elk Grove new life. Yet as fast as momentum goes to the Grens, Michael Clancey and Spencer Swarts bring it back with a sack as part of a 4-and-out. St. Charles North ball, and now let's talk about history.
Quarterfinals!
Well, not so fast.
St. Charles North, after running for a first down, is one more first down from the victory formation. Except... another fumble.
Elk Grove marches down to the 5-yard-line, and now what's going through the North Stars' mind? History, only all the wrong kind - the history of all the times St. Charles North has been in position to advance in the playoffs only to see it slip away.
"Nightmares, yes," North Stars coach Mark Gould said. "The (Elk Grove) quarterback is so good, you are just thinking not again. There's no doubt you have that going through your mind."
Only this time St. Charles North's defense has one more stop in it. This time Dominic Imbordino's first varsity interception saves the day - and the season.
OK, now you can celebrate. History.
And that the North Stars did.
"It was a great team effort and all our players stepped up when they had to," North Stars linebacker Matthew Scanlon said. "It's the best feeling in the world. This is why we play football."
Linebacker Spencer Swarts, along with J.J. Weaver and Claney, led a North Stars defense that pressured Elk Grove all night. Swarts also made the stop on the second-down play before Imbordino's interception.
"I'm really glad I get to do it with these guys," Swarts said. "It's a really great group of guys, I wouldn't want to do it with anyone else. This is the group to do it."
After the game St. Charles North talked about two themes they are rallying around, why not us and second chance.
After losing the last two games of a 6-3 regular season, the North Stars looked at the playoffs as a second season, a second chance. They are making the most of it, now 8-3 after wins over South Elgin and Elk Grove.
Imbordino symbolized the second chance with his game-sealing interception. Two weeks ago, he was burned on an 80-yard touchdown in Cover 2 coverage against South Elgin, one of several plays that helped decide the game.
With his second chance, Imbordino made the play that put the North Stars in the quarterfinals.
"I completely forget about it now," Imbordino said of the South Elgin loss. "It's just pure ecstasy. This is awesome."
"Great coverage," Swarts said of the final play. "Dom did an awesome job. When Dom came up with the ball it was the best feeling in the world."
The way the defense picked up the offensive and special teams mistakes in the final five minutes shows what a tight-nit group Gould has, one that has stayed together this year through injuries and more than its share of turmoil.
"We've learned that as a team you have to come together," safety Connor Mohs said. "If the offense fumbled the whole team fumbled. We're not going to put any pressure on them. We tell them to pick their heads up and we'll get the ball back. We've really grown as a team as far as unity."
Not only is this the first time a St. Charles North team has reached the quarterfinals, it's one of the few times any St. Charles team has gone this far. Only three of Buck Drach's St. Charles East's teams in the mid and late 1990s have advanced this far, and none reached the semifinals.
St. Charles North has a chance to do that - why not us, remember? - next week against Glenbard West or Rockton Hononegah.
"I told the guys, keep chipping away and it will come, and that's been the goal of this team is to go farther than any team in St. Charles has in the playoffs," Gould said.
"This is a very resilient group. We just told them (after the two losses) this is what life is, you keep going, you can't sulk. We were fortunate that the playoffs were right there. Second season, let's do it now. They are a pretty good group."
A history-making group.
jlemon@dailyherald.com