Aidan McClure’s pick-six secures St. Charles North’s 3-0 start with win over Wheaton North

ST. CHARLES – Aidan McClure knew St. Charles North had to protect its home field.

A fast start in the DuKane Conference opener against Wheaton North surely would help that cause.

With St. Charles North already ahead by two scores, McClure intercepted a pass and scampered 32 yards untouched into the end zone to help the North Stars pull away early in a decisive 31-14 win over the Falcons on Sept. 13.

“That was a huge play, but this was a team [win],” said McClure, who also forced a fumble and recovered it in the first half. “We knew we had to come out fast to beat them. This is a very good conference and that’s a very good Wheaton North team.

“The hot start really gave us momentum in the first half.”

After losing to Wheaton North last season, St. Charles North (3-0, 1-0 DuKane Conference) left no doubt Friday night, taking a 21-0 lead into the halftime break.

Quarterback Ethan Plumb ran for a touchdown and threw another to wide receiver Braden Harms – the first of the duo’s two connections for scores on the night.

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“Start fast, finish strong,” St. Charles North coach Rob Pomazak said. “We’ve talked about that a lot and I’m really proud of the way the kids came out and competed. I have to look at some things to put us in better spots in certain situations moving forward, but we’re sitting here at 3-0 and we’re pretty happy about that.”

Plumb, who completed 15 of 24 passes for 131 yards, hooked up with Harms for a 7-yard score on the opening drive of the second half to wipe away any hopes of a Wheaton North comeback.

From that moment on, the North Stars relied heavily on their rushing attack and defense to close out the victory.

Joell Holloman finished with a game-high 130 yards on the ground. Plumb rushed for 80 yards. Twenty of the 32 plays by the North Stars after halftime were runs.

“We just honestly saw something that worked and kept going to it,” said Holloway, who also finished with a team-high five receptions for 46 yards receiving. “I feel like with our [offensive line] blocking the way it did tonight, if I can get in the open field and make a man miss, it’s go time from there.”

Despite running more offensive plays than the North Stars, Wheaton North was outgained in the rushing attack 210-134. Max Serbick led the way offensively for the Falcons (2-1, 0-1), carrying the ball 26 times for 104 yards.

“[St. Charles North] does a great job. They space you out and have good athletes all over the field,” Wheaton North coach Joe Wardysnki said. “I didn’t think we did a very god job tackling tonight. There were a lot of yards after contact, which is something we have to improve on, but you have to give them a lot of credit. They did that to us.”

The Falcons tried to make things interesting when quarterback Nick Johnson found Tyler Kading over the top of the North Stars’ defense for a 70-yard touchdown to cut the deficit to 28-14 with 8:42 remaining. That score followed a Dylan Jung 3-yard touchdown to get the Falcons on the board. Kading finished the night with a game-high 123 yards receiving.

Holloway and Plumb put the game away, marching down the field to set up a Lucas Tenbrock 28-yard field goal on a drive that spanned 5:41.

“It’s a huge momentum boost for us to start 3-0,” McClure said. “It’s kind of like a catalyst getting us into Week 4. We know Batavia is on deck, a state contender every year, and they’re always a hard team to play against. We have to prepare as well as we can and come ready to play.”