Kane County notes: In need of another comeback, Ethan Plumb comes to the rescue for St. Charles North

GENEVA — Rob Pomazak knew exactly where the ball needed to go to give St. Charles North a late lead Friday.

With the score knotted at 21-21 heading into the fourth quarter against then-undefeated Geneva, the North Stars found themselves needing a big offensive drive to start the quarter in order to take their share of the DuKane Conference title.

It’s a situation that they’d found themselves in a few times before. They needed a 98-yard drive to take the lead over Palatine in Week 1. They found themselves down by nine points with just a minute left against Wheaton Warrenville South in Week 5.

And much like the first two scenarios, Pomazak put trust in his four-year starting quarterback Ethan Plumb to deliver. And once again, he did.

The senior put the team on his back in the fourth quarter, rushing for over 50 yards in the final quarter and finding the end zone twice to complete the comeback for the 35-21 victory over the Vikings.

“This is his game,” Pomazak said. “He deserved every run. At the end of the game, I said that I want the ball going to nobody but him. He deserves this. He’s worked really hard.”

The win also showed the capability of Plumb’s excellence in the ground game. It’s a feature he has shown in the North Stars’ offense throughout his career, but never to the extent he showed against Geneva. His 106 rushing yards and three rushing scores were both the most he’s had on the ground in his four years at North.

“Football is a team sport, and our offensive line were just absolutely dominant the entire game,” Plumb said. “I’m just so proud of them, and I can’t do what I do and gain those yards if there isn’t a hole for me to run through.”

Batavia survives upset scare from Glenbard North for share of DuKane title

While the North Stars needed an offensive push to secure their share of the DuKane Conference title, Batavia needed a stop against Glenbard North to secure their share.

After the Panthers’ third rushing score cut the Bulldogs’ lead to 35-34 with just four minutes remaining in the game, Glenbard North made the crucial decision to go for the two-point conversion to take its first lead of the game.

With the offense in Wildcat formation, junior running back Donato Gatses took the ball and rushed straight up the middle, fighting for every yard that he could, before being brought down.

And according to the referee on Batavia’s sideline, the Bulldogs had kept the junior down just before the goal line.

The stop, along with a couple first downs on the following offensive drive, helped Batavia stave off the Panthers’ upset bid to move to 8-1 on the season and 6-1 in conference play to join St. Charles North and Geneva atop the DuKane Conference. It’s the fifth time that the Bulldogs have won at least a share of the title since the conference’s debut in 2018, and the 10th conference title since 2010.

Brady Palmer returns to help St. Francis comeback against Nazareth

Things were looking grim for a bit for St. Francis in its Week 9 matchup against Nazareth.

From losing junior quarterback Brady Palmer for a bit in the first quarter to entering halftime down 27-16, the Spartans needed quite the fortitude against the team that’s been ranked the No. 1 team in Class 5A throughout the season.

And sure enough, that’s exactly what they would get.

Palmer threw three second-half touchdowns, including the game-winner to Zach Washington with 4:05 left in the game, to lift the Spartans to a 39-36 victory over the Roadrunners.

Marmion, first-year coach Adam Guerra back in playoffs for first time since 2021

After early playoff bracket predictions indicated that four wins may be enough to sneak into the playoffs, the narrative took a stark shift after Friday’s slate of games, with a majority of the brackets saying that zero four-win teams would make the final cut.

And for a Marmion team that was sitting at 4-4 heading into its final regular season game, that would make a win over Leo much more valuable.

And luckily for the Cadets, they knew it too.

A three-touchdown performance from senior QB Kam’ron Tolliver, as well as a two-interception day from two-way senior Bryan Scales helped Marmion to a 20-14 victory over Leo to secure the CCL/ESCC Red division, as well as get the much-needed fifth win to eventually secure a spot in the playoffs.

Their inclusion in the playoffs is the first time the Cadets have made it to the field of 256 since 2021, where they went to the second round before losing 23-14 to Nazareth. It also marks the first time in program history that Marmion has reached the playoffs in their first year under a new head coach.

For head coach Adam Guerra, it’ll also be his first appearance in the IHSA playoffs since 2021, just with a different team. Guerra led St. Patrick to the Class 5A quarterfinals that season before ultimately falling to Sycamore 14-0.