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St. Charles North ready for upcoming challenges

St. Charles North enters a critical two-week stretch that will determine if third-year coach Rob Pomazak's football program is ready to compete with the Upstate Eight River elite.

The North Stars are off to a 3-0 start after defeating three playoff nonqualifiers from a year ago - Schaumburg, Bartlett and West Chicago - by a combined score of 127-28.

St. Charles North will be a heavy favorite in its final four games of the season against UEC River foes Larkin, Streamwood, St. Charles East and Elgin, which enter Week 4 with a combined 2-10 record. Thus, the next two games against Geneva (3-0, 1-0) and four-time defending league champion Batavia (3-0, 1-0) are pivotal to the North Stars' division title hopes.

"The second third of our season will test our mettle. We're ready for the challenge," Pomazak said. "It's been a three-year process for us since I took over. We feel like this is a chance to go against quality opponents and take the next step."

Defensively, the North Stars make a habit of swarming to the ball, paced by 6-foot-3, 205-pound junior linebacker Jack Wolf and sophomore safety Lucas Segobiano, each of whom have registered a team-high 21 tackles.

Senior defensive back Jake Spaniol has 20 tackles and 2 pass breakups, 6-foot-5, 220-pound senior lineman Jack Glavin leads the team with 2 sacks and senior nose guard Quinn Calcagno (5-9, 205) boasts a team-best 3 tackles for loss.

Offensively, the spread attack is directed by junior quarterback Zach Mettetal, who has thrown for 638 yards and 8 touchdowns. An elite baseball player already committed to the University of Memphis, Mettetal throws as accurately on the gridiron as the diamond. Not only has he completed 72 percent of his pass attempts (41 of 57), he has yet to be intercepted.

Mettetal spreads the ball around. Against Bartlett, he completed passes to seven receivers. Against Schaumburg and West Chicago he connected with five different targets.

That group of talented receivers is led by 5-10 senior Kyle Novotney, who missed the second half of the Bartlett game due to injury and was held out last week to fully heal, though he could have played if necessary, Pomazak said. In limited time Novotney has 9 catches for 151 yards.

Junior Griffin Hammer (6-4, 215) leads the group with 14 receptions for 119 yards, while senior Jayson Reckards has 7 catches for a team-best 158 yards. Each has scored 3 touchdowns. Junior Tyler Mettetal (6-1, 202), a South Carolina baseball commit, has contributed 8 catches for 97 yards and a score.

The St. Charles North offense gains 41 percent of its yards on the ground, led by running back Eric Lins. The 6-1, 195-pound junior has carried 28 times for 201 yards and 6 touchdowns behind one of the better offensive lines in the suburbs, formed by 6-7, 300-pound senior tackle Nick Koenig, junior guard Sam Ambrogio (6-3, 292), Illinois State recruit Isaac Hawn (6-6, 270), senior Kyle Begovich (6-0, 240) and senior Andrew Winkelman (6-2, 223).

Lins also has 7 catches out of the backfield for 46 yards, a testament to the diverse nature of the offense. Pomazak said it's no accident that Mettetal has spread the ball around so efficiently. He credits offensive coordinator Brian Flynn and wide receivers coach Jeff Peterson for doing "a great job of game planning and adjusting to what the defense is giving them." He also credited Zach for his poise.

"Zach has that 'it' quality to him," Pomazak said. "I don't believe in gamers, but even though he practices well he has another level at game time. He has that sixth sense where he feels pressure and knows where the game is going. I still don't think we've seen the best from him, though."

Old-fashioned mud bath: While synthetic turf fields have become vogue in the last two decades due to the cost stability and multiuse opportunities they provide, the emergence of such artificial turf has begun to pare down the number of muddy battles that have long dotted high school football lore.

However, natural grass remains in place at several area schools, including Dundee-Crown, where at least one player was excited about playing in "real" football conditions last Friday night.

Moments before Dundee-Crown met Morris on the waterlogged grass at the D-C Bowl, senior two-way lineman Christian Brunner knelt on the deteriorating D-C sideline and squeezed a handful of fresh mud between his fingers.

"This is real football," Brunner exclaimed to any teammates within earshot. "We've got mud on the ground and everything. Let's go."

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