St. Charles North football will look to play a full 48 minutes this week at Bartlett

ST. CHARLES – The scoreboard said 30-15 and at the end of the game, that was all that mattered.

The St. Charles North football team was 1-0 after beating Schaumburg in front of their home fans under the Friday night lights to start the season.

But any spectator Friday night at North knows it wasn’t all smooth sailing for the North Stars. Having a 30-3 halftime lead, and seeing the final score end up what it did, showed something that coach Rob Pomazak said at first provided good film for this week’s preparation, but also something that is expected to be corrected heading to Bartlett on Saturday.

“It really came down to Week 1 and not everyone understanding their alignments and assignments,” Pomazak said. “We watched it, corrected some things and it was a good teaching point for us as coaches. If we’re not teaching it well, or they’re not understanding it, we have to step back and see where the disconnect is. We got back to basics and think we’re where we want to be.”

For anyone heading out to Bartlett for the game Saturday, the game has been moved to an 11:30 a.m. kickoff in hopes of avoiding the heat that is expected for the early afternoon.

Practicing in the heat this week has also prepared North for what is expected to be a hot contest, regardless of the kickoff time change. Weather is expected to be hot and humid with temperatures getting up into the mid-to-high 90s throughout Saturday.

Aside from the slow second half, North also took away some positives, like holding a 30-point first half. Now heading out for their first road test of the season, a fast start could be key to another victory.

“It’s huge if we can start like that again,” senior receiver/defensive back Kyle Novotney said. “They’ll have home field advantage and it’s going to be a very hot day, so I think if we start fast, we’ll be in good shape. If we have a team down like we did (with Schaumburg), we have to keep our foot on the gas and finish it off.”

There’s no question that as opponents get tougher, North will pay for mistakes like letting teams back into games, or getting too complacent with a big lead.

But the way things went in their opener, if there was a time for that to happen to teach North that the season won’t be all smooth sailing, it is glad it happened in Week 1 with a strong lead in hand.

Junior quarterback Zach Mettetal used his athleticism to keep several plays alive in both the first and second half, but his thoughts centered around staying focused and keeping the memory of what happened in the second half with Schaumburg in the North Stars’ minds for the rest of the season and beyond.

“It really comes down to staying focused and paying attention to detail on film,” Mettetal said. “It’s a good learning experience for us going forward and just keeping in our minds while we’re out there to not let up. It’s different playing in a close game rather than being [up 30-3], but we have to play the same no matter what the score is.”

When a team has any down moments – not to say this is a down moment because the bottom line is a 1-0 North football team going into Saturday’s game against Bartlett – a team turns to its captains to guide the way.

A defensive leader of the North Stars is linebacker Billy Duhownik, who knows a fast start is important, but a full 48 minutes will determine the winner this week.

“As fast as you start, how you finish is just as important, you know,” Duhownik said. “It’s something we’ve put a lot of emphasis on this week in practice. I think we’re ready and going to get it done. We’re going to be 2-0.”