St. Charles North survives long delay, Plainfield Central

It's only going to go into the record books as one win even though it felt like St. Charles North deserved two after its long night Friday at Plainfield Central.

The first win was easy enough, the North Stars up 14-0 and in total command early in the third quarter behind another dominating effort from their defense and some opportune conversions with great field position from their offense.

But that's when the lightning hit - or at least was spotted in the distance. The teams and fans went to the field house for a little over an hour, and it looked like two different teams returned to the field to finish the game.

St. Charles North made one mistake after another, and the next thing the North Stars knew Plainfield Central scored twice and was driving for the win in the closing minutes.

The North Stars had to win the game again, and they did, holding the Wildcats on fourth down from St. Charles North's 20-yard line with under two minutes to go for a 14-9 victory.

St. Charles North (2-0) started with a bang. Thanks to a long kickoff return and a long punt return, the North Stars began their first two drives at the Plainfield Central 29- and 31-yard lines.

A fumble ended the North Stars' first drive. The next time there were no such mistakes. Instead it was the Wildcats who committed a penalty after Dom Sidari had made a 29-yard field goal on fourth down.

North Stars coach Rob Pomazak elected to take the three points off the scoreboard, and Sidari made that decision look great when he rambled around the right end for a 5-yard touchdown run and a 7-0 lead.

The North Stars made it 14-0 on their next possession, again capitalizing on a short field. Quarterback Kyle Novotney's 36-yard strike down the left sideline to Jayson Reckards was the big play that set up Novotney's keeper from a yard out.

That touchdown came with 3:31 left in the first quarter, and that's where the score remained at halftime and also into the third quarter when lightning was spotted.

The North Stars had just held one of the Wildcats' better drives and were awaiting a punt with 8:47 left in the third quarter.

The North Stars got the ball when the game resumed, and on their third play Novotney was intercepted.

The Wildcats (0-2) scored two plays later on a 23-yard pass from Marcus Hayes to Sebastian Perhon. The point after try was blocked.

St. Charles North was its own worst enemy on its next drive, snapping the ball over punter Sidari's hands to again give the Wildcats great field position. Linebacker Carson Schmitt came up with a big tackle on third-and-goal from the 3, and the Wildcats elected to go for a field goal from Jarod Petrovic that cut the North Stars' lead to 14-9 with 11:56 left in the game.

The momentum continued to swing toward Plainfield Central when the North Stars committed their third huge mistake after the lightning delay, this time a fumble that gave Plainfield Central the ball on its 36 with 5:40 remaining. Hayes drove the Wildcats to second-and-2 from the North Stars' 12-yard line before a key 9-yard loss put the Wildcats in a 3rd-and-long. Hayes threw incomplete on both third and fourth downs, the final pass just missing connecting with Jon Perez in the back of the end zone.

The North Stars ran the clock down to 16 seconds before punting, and the Wildcats didn't come close to a miracle finish on their punt return or final play.

Editor's note: Because of the lightning delay there was not time to get postgame reaction.