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St. Charles East-St. Charles North preview

By Dave Oberhelman

doberhelman@dailyherald.com

St. Charles East (3-4, 3-2)

at St. Charles North (5-2, 3-2)

Upstate Eight Conference River Division

Game time: 7:30 p.m. Friday

Last year: St. Charles East 28, St. Charles North 21 (OT).

Last week: St. Charles East 42, Larkin 13; St. Charles North 44, Streamwood 6.

Series lead: St. Charles East leads the series 10-4, including a 2005 playoff win; the Saints have won the last six meetings.

Starting offenses:

St. Charles East St. Charles North

Name Ht. Wt. Yr. Pos. Name Ht. Wt. Yr.

Zach Mitchell 6-1 165 So. QB Nathan Didier 6-0 175 Sr.

Ramon Lopez 5-9 190 Sr. RB Dom Sidari 6-1 200 Jr.

Justin Galante 5-9 150 So. WR Tyler Mettetal 6-0 195 So.

Jake Asquini 6-1 180 Sr. WR Jayson Reckards 6-1 160 Jr.

Nick Candre 6-1 170 Jr. WR Blake Kastein 5-11 155 Sr.

Mo Flanigan 5-9 160 Sr. WR/TE Jack Callaghan 6-3 210 Sr.

Jack Sharkey 6-0 235 Sr. LT Ryan Turner 6-1 260 Sr.

Jake Rosenfeldt 6-0 200 Jr. LG Kyle Begovich 6-0 230 Jr.

Eddie Harriett 5-9 225 Sr. C Kevin Bagrowski 6-0 195 Sr.

Zach Reyes 6-0 270 Sr. RG Andrew Winkleman 6-0 210 Jr.

Matt Doyle 6-3 300 Sr. RT Sam Ambrosio 6-3 280 So.

Nick Candre 6-1 170 Jr. K Adam Durocher 5-8 170 So.

Starting defenses:

St. Charles East St. Charles North

Name Ht. Wt. Yr. Pos. Name Ht. Wt. Yr.

Nick Lombardo 5-10 180 Sr. DE Jordan Bergren 6-4 225 Sr.

Blake Fialka 5-9 160 Sr. NT Quinn Calcagno 5-7 220 Jr.

Will Leite 6-1 235 Sr. DT Dalton Young 6-0 180 Sr.

Jake McCann 5-10 180 Sr. DE/LB Ben Thiele 5-11 200 Sr.

Mitch Gillaume 6-0 191 Jr. LB Brendan McCarthy 6-2 220 Sr.

Parker Vidmich 6-0 190 Sr. LB Carson Schmitt 6-3 210 Sr.

Tommy Fink 5-10 185 Sr. LB Jack Callaghan 6-3 210 Sr.

Jack Russell 5-11 180 Jr. S Jake Spaniol 6-0 175 Jr.

Sebastian Grohe 6-0 165 So. S Zach Woeste 6-2 165 Sr.

Max Powers 6-0 180 Sr. CB Tyler Bell 5-6 155 Sr.

Austin Griffin 5-11 152 Jr. CB Jake Chantos 5-10 160 Jr.

Nick Candre 6-1 170 Jr. P Eric Lins 5-11 175 So.

When St. Charles East has the ball: Once the 21st annual Kick-A-Thon concludes the Saints will look to establish the run while maintaining a semblance of balance with sophomore quarterback Zach Mitchell, younger brother of last year's all-conference passer, Jimmy. A quick scrambler, Mitchell got his first varsity reps last week, completing 2 of 6 passes with a 14-yard touchdown to Nick Candre. Mitchell, who split time at quarterback last week with Nick Sciarrino, is the fifth Saints quarterback this season, following starters Kyle Cook and Aiden Wright. The Saints have 562 yards passing - Jake Asquini the go-to receiver with 226 yards on 22 catches - with 5 touchdowns to 8 interceptions. When things are going well it's mainly been Ramon Lopez on the ground. The workhorse has 519 yards rushing, 8 touchdowns, 459 yards more than St. Charles East's second-leading rusher, Cook. The veteran offensive line is a strength but took a big hit when starting left guard Brennan Bosch suffered a possible season-ending injury. All of the above will have to adjust on the fly against one of the area's strongest defenses. St. Charles North has allowed just 82 points, less than Batavia or Geneva, the North Stars' sole losses. They can pound with linemen Dalton Young and Quinn Calcagno and prototype linebacker Carson Schmitt, have height and mobility at ouside linebacker in the 6-3 Jack Callaghan and 6-2 Brendan McCarthy, and have picked off 16 passes. Then there's defensive end Jordan Bergren, switched from linebacker to engage his closing speed for 61 tackles, 18 for loss with 7 sacks. A special teams bounty for St. Charles East is Candre, a kicker with 45-yard range who also averages about 36 yards a punt. The Saints can use perimeter and vertical aspects to keep St. Charles North from jamming the box. Mainly they can use chain-moving execution.

When St. Charles North has the ball: The North Stars' quarterback spot also began unsettled until Nathan Didier took over the option read during the Week 4 31-13 loss to Geneva, moving junior Kyle Novotney to slot receiver in a winning combination. The passing game is still not a smooth machine with 8 interceptions to 6 touchdowns and 730 yards passing, but Didier averaging 7.5 yards a carry without losing a fumble atones. When the North Stars throw it's typically to Tyler Mettetal, Blake Kastein or deep threat Jason Reckards, the latter for a team-high 234 yards. Possession receivers Novotney and Kastein lead with 2 touchdown grabs each. While St. Charles North was gaining offensive identity a great thing happened - sophomore back Eric Lins, leading rusher with 314 yards. Now, projected preseason starting tailback Dom Sidari has returned from injury and the ground game is cooking with gas. In his first game back Sidari ran for 126 yards and Lins for 139 against Larkin in Week 6. Coach Rob Pomazak figures to use them on a complementary, "whatever's working" basis but won't rule out putting Lins and Sidari in the same backfield. Another reason North has run for 700 yards the last two games is an offensive line bookended by tackles Sam Ambrosio and Ryan Turner and the strongest lineman pound for pound, in center Kevin Bagrowski. But St. Charles East's defensive front seven, though not huge, is stout and active. Farquhar hopes his defensive line of Jake McCann, Will Leite, Nick Lombardo and wrestler-type nose guard Blake Fialka can plug gaps to stifle the run. That would give linebackers like bruiser Parker Vidmich and leading tackler Tommy Fink an open lane. When Didier does throw he'll have Mitch Guillaume to contend with in the second level and athletic safety Jack Russell deep.

St. Charles East coach Bryce Farquhar says: "This is one we've got to have, we know that. It's a playoff game for us because we lose and we're done."

St. Charles North coach Rob Pomazak says: "In a high school football game it usually comes down to 10, 15 plays that make a difference, and we've got to be able to go 10-0 on those plays."

Intangibles: St. Charles North looks to end East's six-game series winning streak, only one game (21-0 in 2008) with a margin greater than 8 points. Though the North Stars would seem good against winless Week 9 foe Elgin, their 21 playoff points makes a sixth win mandatory to qualify. St. Charles East must win out to even have hope.

Next week: St. Charles East at West Chicago (3-4, 2-3), Oct. 24; St. Charles North at Elgin (0-7, 0-5), Oct. 24.

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