St. Charles East defeats Glenbard North in overtime for key DuKane Conference victory
While St. Charles East’s football team had opened the season with back-to-back victories, it did not possess the type of statement win looked upon as a program turning point.
Until now.
Senior tailback Johnny Solano scored on a three-yard touchdown run to pull the Saints within a point, and following a Glenbard North penalty, he pounded his way through the middle for the game-winning two-point conversion and a 22-21 overtime victory for St. Charles East (3-1, 1-1) on Friday night at Norris Stadium.
“No doubt, we were going for two after the penalty,” said Solano, who ran for 78 yards. “Give me or (teammate Rowan Slovick) the rock and we’re pounding it in no matter what.
“It feels amazing. We work so hard — we deserve this.”
Glenbard North struck first in the extra session, as quarterback Logan Kramer tossed a six-yard touchdown pass to Pierre Portis, and Anthony Gibson’s PAT kick made it 21-14.
That set the stage for the Saints’ late heroics.
Their possession began inauspiciously as a motion penalty took them back to the 15-yard line. From there Solano gained four yards, and a six-yard pass from Cruz Herrera to Slovick moved the ball to the five.
It appeared that a fourth-down sack by Jorge Banuelos would end it, but a defensive holding call — the Panthers’ 15th penalty of the game — led to Solano’s touchdown run.
After an offside call on the Panthers during the Saints’ tying extra-point kick, coach Nolan Possley elected to go for the win.
“There was never a doubt,” Possley said about the two-point attempt. “From a resiliency standpoint, the defense was holding it for the offense, and when we needed it, the offense pulled through.
“Johnny is that kind of guy. All the work he put in during the offseason was for that play right there at the end.”
The opportunistic Saints turned a pair of Panthers turnovers into first-half points.
First, linebacker Luciano Lito delivered a hard hit that jarred the ball loose from Panthers tailback Angelo Gatses, and senior defensive back Christian Hirniak pounced on the ball at the Saints’ 39.
Following a personal foul penalty against the Panthers, the Saints capped the 61-yard drive with Herrera connecting with Hirniak on an 18-yard touchdown pass. Hirniak stumbled near the 10 but kept his feet and dove toward the pylon for the end zone.
An interception by senior defensive back Luka Sarich and return to the Glenbard North 27-yard line helped set up the Saints’ second score.
Five plays later, Slovick ran untouched into the end zone from the 3, giving the Saints a 14-7 halftime lead.
Defensively, the Saints limited Panthers tailback Angelo Gatses to 70 rushing yards on 18 carries, as defensive lineman Dane Meyer and linebackers Bryan Jordan, Logan Denk and Litro helped with containment.