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St. Charles North faces Mt. Carmel in Round 2 of the 2024 Class 7A IHSA football playoffs. Friday Night Drive reporter Joel Boenitz will have live updates, scores and news from the game.
What to know
St. Charles North vs. Mt. Carmel kickoff: 5 p.m. Saturday
Where: Mt. Carmel High School
St. Charles North-Mt. Carmel preview
About the North Stars: St. Charles North saw its win streak extend to six games after securing a dominant 49-14 victory at home over No. 30 Rolling Meadows. The North Stars have now made it to the second round six times in eight postseasons under head coach Rob Pomazak, and will be looking to make their third quarterfinal with a win. QB Ethan Plumb continued his excellent play during the second half of the season in the win, throwing for 400 yards and a school-record seven touchdowns in the contest. He wasn’t the only player to make history on the night, as WR Keaton Reinke had a school-record 210 receiving yards in the contest, while also becoming the first North Star player to record over 1,000 receiving yards in a season. This will be the first time North has faced Mount Carmel since their matchup in the state semifinal in 2018, where current New York Giant Tyler Nubin carried the North Stars to a 27-21 victory to advance to their first and only state title game.
About the Caravan: After being limited to just seven points in their final regular season game against Loyola Academy the week before, Mount Carmel went right back to its winning ways with a dominant 56-14 victory over No. 14 Harlem. The two-time defending Class 7A champions managed to put up 49 points by halftime in the victory, with QB and Vanderbilt commit Jack Elliott leading the way through the air, while Danyil Taylor and Madden Taylor controlled the ground game. The Caravan have made it to the quarterfinals in each of the last six playoffs, with Glenbard West being the last team to take them down in the second round back in 2015, the same season the Hilltoppers went on to win it all.
Advancement: The winner plays the winner of No. 11 Prospect (8-2) at No. 6 Normal Community (9-1).
FND Pick: Mount Carmel