St. Charles North QB Ethan Plumb throws school record 7 TD passes in playoff-opening win

ST. CHARLES – Seven days after accounting for five touchdowns in St. Charles North’s 35-21 victory over previously unbeaten Geneva, senior quarterback Ethan Plumb may have outdid himself.

Plumb, who led the North Stars to first-half touchdowns on their first four possessions, completed 21-of-26 passes for a school-record seven touchdowns during North’s 49-14 first-round Class 7A state playoff victory over Rolling Meadows in St. Charles.

“Every game, your job is to command the offense and let the chips fall where they fall,” said Plumb, who connected with four different receivers — Carsen Durante, EJ Mondesir, Keaton Reinke, and Braden Harms — for first-half touchdowns.

“The seven touchdowns and everyone scoring comes from preparation. We focus so hard on all the little things we run throughout the game.”

On their opening drive, the North Stars capitalized on a fake punt, as Plumb hit Reinke for a 10-yard pass on fourth-and-4 from their own 37.

“I have the option,” said Plumb, who doubles as the North Stars’ punter. “That’s supposed to be a punt but Keaton (Reinke) was uncovered. When you uncover a kid who is having a 1,000-yard season, I’m going to take it.”

Six plays later, Plumb tossed a 12-yard touchdown pass to Durante, who was filling in for injured senior Joell Holloman, and the North Stars led 7-0.

After junior Daniel Escaro blocked the Mustangs’ 36-yard field goal attempt, the North Stars marched 77 yards in five plays to pad their lead on Plumb’s 26-yard TD pass to EJ Mondesir.

Rolling Meadows cut the lead in half on Luke Harvey’s 1-yard TD run early in the second quarter.

Reinke, who finished with nine catches for 210 yards, scored the first of his three touchdowns on a 37-yard toss from Plumb, capping a three-play, 46-yard drive, to make it 21-7.

Plumb closed out the half with a 34-yard TD strike to Harms to make it 28-7 before the Mustangs capped a five-play, 83-yard drive with Joe Brigham’s 23-yard touchdown pass to Sean Kerr with 38 seconds left before halftime.

St. Charles North led 28-14 at halftime.

Following a three-and-out series on the Mustangs’ first possession of the second half, the North Stars struck with another big play — this time, a 33-yard TD pass from Plumb to Reinke.

Plumb’s sixth touchdown pass, a 15-yard screen to Durante (six catches, 68 yards), extended the lead to 42-14 after 3 quarters, and the fourth-year signal caller capped the night with an 80-yard TD toss to Reinke with 11:42 remaining.

“This dude,” Reinke said of Plumb. “We knew from the start of the season that it was going to be a connection. We just come out here every day and perform to our best.

“We get into this mode where it seems like nobody can stop us.”

Reaching the playoffs for the first time in 3 seasons, Rolling Meadows finished at 5-5.

“I thought our kids played well and obviously in the second half, we had negative plays and penalties that hurt some drives,” said Mustangs first-year coach Robbie Gould, whose teams battled through numerous injuries.

“We had a lot of kids go in and out, especially later in the year. I was proud of how they competed.”

https://www.dailyherald.com/20241101/prep-football/plumbs-school-record-7-tds-send-st-charles-north-past-rolling-meadows/