St. Charles North uses quick-strike offense, shutout on ‘D’ to blow past Glenbard North

ST. CHARLES – Fueled by a quick-strike offense and unrelenting defense, St. Charles North became playoff eligible with a 41-0 DuKane Conference victory over visiting Glenbard North on Oct. 6.

Despite having the ball for only 5 ½ minutes in the first half, the North Stars (5-2, 3-2) built a 21-0 halftime advantage, thanks in part to two one-play touchdowns against Glenbard North (0-7, 0-5).

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

“I think it was an alignment issue,” North Stars coach Rob Pomazak said. “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 one-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 that capped a six-play, 46-yard drive.

The North Stars wasted little time extending their halftime lead. 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.,” Pomazak said. “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 six tackles, including three for losses, while anchoring the interior.

“I was most proud of the guys around me,” Sanchez said. “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 six 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,” Pomazak said. “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,” Sanchez said. “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 six PAT kicks for the North Stars.

Sophomore tailback Lucas Kramer led the Panthers with 48 yards. Dylan Hendee had an interception.

https://football.dailyherald.com/sports/20231006/st-charles-norths-quick-strikes-lead-to-easy-win/