St. Charles North survives late two-point conversion to edge rival Saints
Having won 19 of 23 games the past two seasons, St. Charles North’s football team is unaccustomed to lengthy losing streaks.
Following consecutive losses to DuKane Conference powers Geneva, Wheaton North, and Batavia, the North Stars (3-3, 1-3) snapped their first three-game skid since 2021 with Friday night’s 28-27 homefield victory over St. Charles East (3-3, 1-3).
In the process, the North Stars extended their winning streak to seven against their crosstown rivals.
“It was great entertainment for the fans,” said North Stars coach Rob Pomazak. “It was great for St. Charles. We needed an opportunity to prove that we can finish — and they did it.”
It wasn’t easy.
Senior running back Tommy Vendl capped a personal 53-yard scoring drive with his second touchdown of the night, a 30-yard burst to the outside, extending the North Stars’ lead to 28-14 early in the third quarter.
That came after the North Stars recovered an odd fumble following an attempted exchange from center.
The Saints fought back, cutting the deficit to 28-21 on a two-yard touchdown run by senior tailback Johnny Solano (26 carries, 123 yards) with 10:08 left in the contest.
After forcing a North punt, the Saints capped an 11-play, 70-yard drive with Solano’s third touchdown of the game — from 10 yards out to make it 28-27 with 2:34 remaining.
At that point, Saints coach Nolan Possley elected to go for the win.
“I was confident in the group and felt like we had momentum,” said Possley.
Quarterback Cruz Herrera’s two-point pass fell just wide of intended receiver Christian Hirniak in the corner of the end zone, and the North Stars’ Payton Urry recovered the ensuing onside kick, helping seal the decision.
“I give our guys a ton of credit,” said Pomazak, “and I give Coach Possley a ton of credit — they played a fantastic game.”
Vendl finished with 150 yards on 18 carries with a pair of touchdowns.
“It was very tense,” said Vendl, who also saw extended time on the defensive side of the ball. “We have a lot of things to improve on, but this is a real good game for us.”
“In my opinion, Tommy has been the best running back in the conference, and he did it again today,” said Pomazak.
After the North Stars grabbed a 7-0 first-quarter lead on Landon Conroy’s 33-yard touchdown pass to Jack Leigl, the two teams combined to light up the scoreboard for four touchdowns over the final 5:25 of the second quarter.
Each team scored a pair of touchdowns — the Saints on Solano’s 22-yard run and Herrera’s 64-yard strike to Brady Habas (three receptions, 85 yards) on a third-and-nine play — and the North Stars on Vendl’s 31-yard run and Conroy’s five-yard pass to senior tight end Jackson Weasler with 23 seconds left in the first half.